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16, 32 or 64 Bit Processing - Processing that manipulates data in 16, 32 or 64 bit chunks. Intel 386 through Pentium 4 chips use 32 bit processing. Can also refer to how programs process data.
ADN (Advanced Digital Network) - Usually refers to a 56 kbps connection.
ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) - One of four DSL technologies, it has a maximum rate of 1.544 mbps in one direction, usually downstream, and a maximum rate of 640 kbps in the other.
AI See Artificial Intelligence
Anonymous FTP See: FTP
API (Application Programming Interface) - A language and message format used by an application program to communicate with the operating system or another application program.
Applet A small Java program that can be embedded in an HTML page. Applets differ from full fledged Java applications in that they are not allowed to access certain resources on the local computer, such as files and serial devices (modems, printers, etc.), and are prohibited from communicating with most other computers across a network. The current rule is that an applet can only make an Internet connection to the computer from which the applet was sent.
Archie A software tool for finding files stored on Anonymous FTP sites. You need to know the exact file name or a sub-string of it.
Archive A version of a file captured or saved for the purpose of quick retrieval.
ARPANet (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) - The precursor to the Internet. Developed in the late 60s and early 70s by ARPA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense, as a wide area network that would survive a nuclear attack.
Artificial Intelligence A branch of computer science that studies how to endow computers with capabilities of human intelligence, such as speech recognition and decision making.
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) - The de facto worldwide standard that assigns code numbers used by computers to represent all upper and lowercase Latin letters, digits, punctuation marks, etc. There are 128 standard ASCII codes, each of which is represented by a seven-digit binary number 0000000 through 1111111.
Backbone A high speed line or series of connections that forms a major pathway within a given network. The term is relative - a backbone in a small network will likely be much smaller than many non-backbone lines in a large network.
Bandwidth How much stuff you can send through a connection, usually measured in bits-per-second. A full page of text is about 16,000 bits. A fast modem can move about 50,000 bits-per-second. Full motion full screen video requires roughly 10,000,000 bits-per-second, depending on compression. Sometimes used with regard to an individual's perceived ability (or inability) to process information. See also: bps, bit, T-1
Baud In common usage the baud rate of a modem is how many bits it can send or receive per second. More correctly, baud is the number of times per second that the carrier signal shifts value - for example a 1200 bits-per-second modem actually runs at 300 baud, but it moves four bits per baud (4 X 300 = 1200 bits per second).
BBS (Bulletin Board System) - A computerized message repository and retrieval system that allows people to carry on discussions, upload and download files and make announcements without everyone being connected to the host computer at the same time.
Binhex (BINary HEXadecimal) - A method for converting non-text files (non-ASCII) into ASCII. Internet email can only handle ASCII. See also: MIME, UUENCODE
Bit (Binary DigIT) - A single digit number in base 2; either a 1 or a zero. The smallest unit of computerized data. Bandwidth is usually measured in bits-per-second. See also: bps, byte, kilobyte, megabyte
BITNET (Because It’s Time NETwork or Because It’s There NETwork) - A network of educational sites separate from the Internet. Email is freely exchanged between BITNET and the Internet. Listservs®, the most popular form of email discussion groups originated on BITNET. BITNET machines are usually mainframes running the VMS operating system. This network is probably the only international network that is shrinking.
BPS (Bits-Per-Second) - A measurement of how fast data is moved from one place to another. A 28.8 modem can move 28,800 bits-per-second. See also: bandwidth, bit
Broadband Any high speed information line or channel. Sometimes used to refer to someone's Internet connection that is faster than your's. See also DSL, ISDN, T-1, T-3
Browser A client program that is used to look present Internet resources on a computer monitor. See also: URL, WWW, Netscape, Mosaic, Home page (or homepage)
Bulk loading Loading large amounts of data into a data store using methods that are specific to that data store. In contrast to typical data loading, which is performed one row or record at a time.
Business Rules The agreed upon meaning of the data in a warehouse. For example: Operational data contains several tables with a "month" column. In some tables "month" refers to a calendar month. In other tables "month" refers to an accounting month, which runs from the tenth to the tenth. A business rule defines exactly what "month" means when it appears in a data warehouse. This rule must be understood by the staff maintaining the warehouse and the business users who access this data.
Business Users The target audience for the data warehouse. Business users are those people within your enterprise who depend on the quality of information that is delivered by your decision support applications. The term business user is often used synonymously with knowledge worker.
Byte A set of bits that represent a single character. Usually there are eight bits in a byte, sometimes more, depending on how the measurement is being made.
Certificate Authority An issuer of Security Certificates used in SSL connections.
CGI (Common Gateway Interface) - A set of rules that describe how a web server communicates with another piece of software on the same machine and how that other piece of software (the "CGI program") talks to the web server. Usually a CGI program is a small program that takes data from a web server and does something with it, like putting the content of a form into an email message and sending it or turning the data into a database query. You can often see if a CGI program is being used if "cgi-bin" is in the URL, but not always. Any piece of software can be a CGI program if it handles input and output according to the CGI standard.
Cgi-Bin The most common name of the directory on a web server in which CGI programs are stored. The "bin" part of "cgi-bin" is shorthand version for "binary" because, once upon a time, most programs were referred to as "binaries." In real life most programs found in cgi-bin directories are text files - scripts executed by binaries located elsewhere on the same machine.
Client A software program that is used to contact and obtain data from a server software program on another computer. Each Client program is designed to work with one or more specific kinds of server programs and each server requires a matching client. A web browser is a specific kind of client.
Co-Location Most often used to refer to having a server physically located on an Internet-connected network that belongs to another person or group. Usually this is done because the server owner wants their machine to be on a high speed Internet connection and/or they do not want the security risks of having the server on their own network.
Contact Port Synonym for well known port.
Cookie The most common meaning refers to a small file sent by a web server to a web browser that contains a unique identifying character string. The browser software saves the file and sends it back to the server whenever the browser makes additional requests from the server. Depending on the type of cookie used and the browser’s settings, the browser may accept or not accept the cookie and may save the cookie for a short or long time. When a server receives a request from a browser that includes a cookie the server is able to use the information stored in the cookie. For example, the server might customize what is sent back to the user or keep a log of particular users' file requests. Cookies might also contain information such as login or registration information, online "shopping cart" information, user preferences, etc.
Cookies are usually set to expire after a predetermined length of time and are usually saved in memory until the browser software is closed down, at which time they may be saved to disk if their "expire time" has not been reached.
Cookies can not read your hard drive and send your innermost secrets to the Forces of Evil, but they can be used to gather information about a user 's web browsing habits on a particular site.
CPU (Central Processing Unit) - The big chip in a computer that does all the data manipulation (processing).
Cyberpunk Cyberpunk was originally a cultural sub-genre of science fiction taking place in a near term, dystopian, over industrialized society. The term grew out of the work of William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. It has evolved into a cultural label (usually derogatory) encompassing many different kinds of human, machine and punk attitudes, especially clothing and lifestyle choices. See also: cyberspace
Cyberspace A term originated by author William Gibson in his novel Neuromancer. Cyberspace is currently used to describe the whole range of information resources available through computer networks.
Data Mart A collection of data organized to support a specific application. The application typically is used by a specialized set of users who have a finite set of questions and reports. Therefore, the data can be optimized for this use.
Data Model A collection of business rules that specify the meaning of data and how that data is used. The business rules that comprise a data model are stored as metadata.
Data Store A table, view or file that is registered in a data warehousing solution.
Data warehouse A collection of data that is organized and optimized for distribution and access. Business rules are applied to the data available through the data warehouse, which allows the data warehouse to provide data quality or "a single version of the truth."
Data Warehousing The process of collecting and organizing enterprise data so that it is optimized for distribution and access.
Digerati The digital version of literati, a reference to a vague cloud of people seen to be informed, hip or otherwise apparently knowledgeable in the digital revolution.
DOLAP (Desktop Online Analytical Processing) Online analytical processing performed from a desktop on a relatively small data warehouse or other relational tables.
Download To transfer one or more files form a remote machine to a local computer. See Upload
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) - A method for moving data over regular phone lines. A DSL circuit is much faster than a regular phone connection but the wires coming into the subscriber’s premises are the same copper wires used for regular phone service. A DSL circuit must be configured to connect two specific locations, similar to a leased line. A common configuration of DSL allows downloads at speeds of up to 1.544 megabits (not megabytes) per second, and uploads at slower speeds. This arrangement is called ADSL. In theory ADSL allows download speeds of up to 9 megabits per second and upload speeds of up to 640 kilobits per second. Another common configuration is Symmetrical - the same bandwidth in both directions.
DSL is now a popular alternative to leased lines and ISDN, being faster and less costly. See also: bit, bps, xDSL
Domain Name The unique name that identifies an Internet site. Domain names always have two or more parts separated by dots. The part on the left is specific and the part on the right denotes a general type or location. A given machine may have more than one Domain name, but a given Domain name can only point to one machine. For example, the domain names caci.com and demographics.caci.com can all refer to the same machine, but each domain name can refer to no more than one machine. Usually, all of the machines on a given network will have the same term for the right-hand portion of their Domain names - caci.com in the examples above.
It is also possible for a Domain name to exist, but not be connected to an actual machine. This is often done so that a group or business can have an Internet email address without having to establish a real Internet site. In these cases, some real Internet machine must handle the mail on behalf of the listed Domain name. See also: IP Number
Email (Electronic Mail) - Messages, usually text, sent from one person to another via a network connection. Email can also be sent automatically to a large number of addresses (Mailing List). See also: Listserv®, Maillist
Encode To convert an audio or video stream into a specific file format for use with media players and web browsers.
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Systems Integrated applications that control day-to-day business operations, such as inventory, scheduling, finance, human resources and billing. From the warehousing perspective ERP systems differ from standard databases in that they have predefined models that must be understood in order to successfully extract the data.
ETL Process The process of extracting, transforming and loading data into a data warehouse or data mart. This process retrieves operational data using supplied location information, transforms the data based on business rules and loads it into a data warehouse. Note: This process is sometimes referred to as data acquisition.
Ethernet A very common method of networking computers in a LAN. Ethernet will handle about 10,000,000 bits-per-second and can be used with almost any kind of computer. See also: bandwidth
Extraction The first step in the ETL process. The extraction step copies the data designated for the warehouse. The extraction process copies data from multiple sources.
Fact An entry in a data table. A fact can be a patient name, an address or a billing amount. It can also be a derived value, such as total billings.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) - FAQs are documents that list and answer the most common questions on a particular subject. FAQs are usually written by people who got tired answering the same questions over and over.
FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface) - A standard for transmitting data on optical fiber cables at a rate of around 100,000,000 bits-per-second (10 times as fast as Ethernet, about twice as fast as T-3). See also: bandwidth, T-1
Finger An Internet software tool for locating people on other Internet sites. Finger is also sometimes used to give access to non-personal information, but the most common use is to see if a person has an account at a particular Internet site.
Fire Wall A combination of hardware and software that separates a LAN into public and private parts in an attempt to protect the files on the private side from unauthorized access. See also: network
Flame Originally, flame meant to speak in a passionate manner in the spirit of honorable debate. Flames most often involved the use of flowery language and flaming was an art form. It has come to mean any kind of derogatory comment, no matter how witless, adolescent or crude. See also: Flame War
Flame War When an online discussion degenerates into a series of personal attacks against the debaters, rather than discussion of their positions. A heated exchange. See also: Flame
Front Office Automation Systems Applications and products that provide Customer Relationship Management (CRM) for an organization. These systems manage the touch points with customers. They provide a vast amount of information about current and potential customers.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) - A very common standard for moving files between two Internet sites. FTP is a special way to Login to another Internet site for the purposes of retrieving and/or sending files. There are many Internet sites that have established publicly accessible repositories of material that can be obtained using FTP - logging in using the account name "anonymous." Thus, these sites are called Anonymous FTP servers.
Gateway The technical meaning is a hardware or software set-up that translates between two dissimilar protocols. For example, Prodigy has a gateway that translates between its internal, proprietary email format and Internet email format. Another, sloppier meaning of gateway is to describe any mechanism for providing access to another system, (e.g., AOL can be called a gateway to the Internet).
GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) - A common format for image files, especially suitable for images containing large areas of the same color. GIF format files of simple images are often smaller than the same file would be if stored in JPEG format, but GIF format does not store photographic images as well as JPEG.
Gigabyte 1024 megabyte. See also: byte
Gopher A widely successful method of making menus of material available over the Internet. Gopher is a client and server program which requires that the user have a Gopher client program. Although Gopher spread rapidly across the globe in only a few years, it has been largely supplanted by Hypertext, also known as WWW (World Wide Web). There are still thousands of Gopher servers on the Internet. See also: hypertext
HDSL (High bit rate Digital Subscriber Line) - One of four DSL technologies, it has a maximum downstream and upstream rate of 784 Kbps.
Hit As used in reference to the World Wide Web "hit" means a single request from a web browser for a single item from a web server. In order for a web browser to display a page that contains six graphics even "hits" would occur at the server; one for the HTML page and one for each of the six graphics.
"Hits" are often used as a very rough measure of load on a server. Each "hit" can represent anything from a request for a tiny document or a request for a missing document, all the way to a request that requires some significant extra processing, such as a complex search request. The actual load on a machine from one hit is impossible to define.
HOLAP (Hybrid Online Analytical Processing) A hybrid OLAP solution that combines the best features of ROLAP and MOLAP to offer access to diverse data sources on local and remote servers.
Home Page (or Homepage) Originally, the web page that your browser is set to display when it starts up. The current meaning refers to the main or lead web page for a website or simply the main page out of a collection of web pages. Another, sloppier use of the term refers to practically any web page as a "homepage."
Host Any computer on a network that is a repository for services available to other computers on the network. It is quite common to have one host machine provide several services, such as WWW and USENET. See also: node
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) - The coding language used to create hypertext documents for use on the World Wide Web. HTML looks a lot like old fashioned typesetting code, where you surround a block of text with codes that indicate how it should appear. Additionally, in HTML you can specify that a block of text, or a word, is linked to another file on the Internet. HTML files are meant to be viewed using a World Wide Web (WWW) client Program, such as Netscape or Internet Explorer. See also: server
HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) - The protocol for moving hypertext files across the Internet. Requires a HTTP client program on one end and an HTTP server program on the other. HTTP is the most important protocol used in the World Wide Web (WWW).
Hypertext Generally, any text that contains links to other documents or files - words or phrases in the document that when clicked on by a reader will request another document or URL to be retrieved and displayed.
Internet (Upper case I) The vast collection of inter-connected networks that all use the TCP/IP protocols. The Internet now connects roughly 250,000 independent networks into a vast global internet.
internet (Lower case i) Any time you connect two or more networks together you have an internet. See also: Internet
Intranet A private network inside a company or organization that uses the same kinds of software that you would find on the public Internet, but that is only for internal use. As the Internet has become more popular many of the tools used on the Internet are being used in private networks. Many companies have web servers that are available only to employees.
Note that an Intranet may not necessarily be an internet - it may simply be a network.
IP Number, Address (Internet Protocol Number, Address) - Sometimes called a dotted quad, a unique 32 bit number consisting of four segments or octets separated by dots (e.g., 185.110.250.25). Every machine that is on the Internet has a unique IP number - if a machine does not have an IP number it is not on the Internet. Most machines also have one or more Domain Names that are easier for people to remember. All Domain Names are uniquely associated with an IP Number. See also: TCP/IP
IRC (Internet Relay Chat) - A large, multi-user, live chat facility that functions like a party line. There are a number of major IRC servers around the world which are linked to each other. Anyone can create a channel and anything that anyone types in a given channel is seen by all others in the channel and online. Private channels can be created for multi-person conference calls.
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) - A way to move more data over existing copper telephone lines. It can provide speeds of roughly 128,000 bps over regular phone lines. In practice, most people are limited to 56,000 or 64,000 bps.
ISP (Internet Service Provider) - An organization that provides access to the Internet, usually for money.
ITU International Telegraphic Union
Java Java is a network-oriented programming language invented by Sun Microsystems that was specifically designed for writing programs that could be safely downloaded through the Internet and immediately run on any hardware/operating system combination without fear of viruses or other harm to computers or files. Using small Java programs called applets, web pages can include functions such as animations, calculators, quizzes and other fancy tricks.
JavaScript JavaScript is a programming language that is mostly used in web pages, usually to add features that make the page more interactive. When JavaScript is included in an HTML file it relies upon the browser to interpret the JavaScript. When JavaScript is combined with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and later versions of HTML (4.0 and later) the result is often called DHTML.
JavaScript was invented by Netscape as "LiveScript" but the name was changed to JavaScript to cash in on the popularity of Java. JavaScript and Java are two different programming languages.
JDK (Java Development Kit) - A software development package from Sun Microsystems that implements the basic set of tools needed to write, test and debug Java applications and applets.
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) - JPEG is most commonly used as a format for image files. JPEG format is preferred to the GIF format for photographic images, as opposed to line art or simple logo art.
Kilobyte 1024 bytes. See also: bitKbps Kilobits per second. See also: bit, bps
Knowledge Workers The target audience for a data warehouse, often used synonymously with business user.
LAN (Local Area Network) - A computer network limited to the immediate area, usually the same building or floor of a building. See also: EthernetLeased Line Refers to a phone line that is rented for exclusive use from one location to another. See also: T-1, T-3, DSL
Listserv® The most common kind of Maillist, "Listserv" is a registered trademark of L-Soft International, Inc. Listservs originated on BITNET but they are now common on the Internet. See also: email
Loading The last step in the ETL process. The load step takes the data that was extracted from operational data and other data stores and loads them into a data warehouse.
Locator - see: Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
Login Noun: The account name used to gain access to a computer system. Not necessarily a secret (contrast with password). Verb: The act of entering into a computer system.
Maillist (or Mailing List) A (usually automated) system that allows people to send email to one address, whereupon their message is copied and sent to all of the other subscribers on the Maillist.
Mbps Megabits per second. See also: bit, bps
MDX (Multi-dimensional expressions) Syntax for specifying a dataset when using OLE DB for OLAP. From the MSDN Library: "MDX can be viewed as a set of macros defined on top of the SQL language. Although these macros are generally useful for querying a multidimensional data source, their precise semantics are defined by means of their SQL language mappings."
MDDB (Multi-dimensional Database) A specialized storage format that stores derived summary data in a multi-dimensional form, which is a highly indexed and compressed format.
Megabyte (or MB) -1024 bytes. See also: bit, kilobyte
Metadata A definition or description of data which defines data sources, data stores, code libraries and other warehouse resources. The two main kinds of metadata are technical and business. Technical metadata specifies information such as where the data lives and how the data should be accessed. Business metadata is harder to qualify because it is dictated by the business need for the data, but it always defines what the data means to an organization.
MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) - The standard for attaching non-text files to standard Internet mail messages. Non-text files include graphics, spreadsheets, formatted word processor documents, audio files, etc. An email program is said to be MIME compliant if it can both send and receive files using the MIME standard. When non-text files are sent using the MIME standard they are converted (encoded) into text - although the resulting text is not really readable.
Generally speaking, the MIME standard is a way of specifying both the type of file being sent (e.g., a Quicktime™ video file), and the method that should be used to turn it back into its original form. Besides email software, the MIME standard is also universally used by web servers to identify the files they are sending to web clients, in this way new file formats can be accommodated simply by updating the browsers’ list of pairs of MIME types and appropriate software for handling each type. See also: browser, binhex, UUENCODE
Mirror To maintain an exact copy of something. The most common use of the term refers to "mirror sites" which are websites or FTP sites that maintain exact copies of material originated at another location, usually in order to provide more widespread access to and a backup copy of the original resource. Another common use of the term "mirror" refers to an arrangement where information is written to more than one hard drive simultaneously so that if one drive fails the computer keeps on working without losing anything. See also: Web
Modem (MOdulator, DEModulator) - A device that you connect to your computer to a phone line and allows the computer to talk to other computers through the phone system. The modem changes the digital output of a computer to an out-going analog signal, and an incoming analog signal back to digital.
MOLAP (Multi-dimensional Online Analytical Processing) Online analytical processing performed on a multidimensional database or pre-computed data cubes.
MOO (MUD, Object Oriented) - One of several kinds of multi-user role playing environments. See also: MUSE
Mosaic The first WWW browser that was available for the Macintosh, Windows and UNIX, all with the same interface. Mosaic started the popularity of the web. See also: client
MUD (Multi-User Dungeon or Dimension) - A (usually text-based) multi-user simulation environment. Some are purely for fun, others are used for serious software development or education purposes and all that lies in between. A significant feature of most MUDs is that users can create things that stay after they leave and which other users can interact with in their absence, thus allowing a virtual world to be built gradually and collectively. They seem to have a mystical grasp on adolescent boys with poorly developed social skills. See also: MOO, MUSE
Multimedia A broad term encompassing many media types, including audio, video and animation.
MUSE (Multi-User Simulated Environment) - One kind of MUD - usually with little or no violence. See also: MOO
Netiquette The etiquette of the Internet, often exclusively in the eye of the beholder.Netizen Derived from the term citizen, referring to a citizen of the Internet, or someone who uses networked resources. The term connotes civic responsibility and participation.
Netscape A WWW browser and the name of a company absorbed by AOL. The Netscape browser was originally based on the Mosaic program developed at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA).
Network Any time you connect two or more computers together so that they can share resources you have a computer network. Connect two or more networks together and you have an internet. See also: Internet, Intranet
Network Computing Using a network to distribute computing tasks between various machines connected to the network
Newsgroup The name for discussion groups on USENET.
NIC (Networked Information Center) - Generally, any office that handles information for a network. The most famous of these on the Internet is the InterNIC, where new domain names are registered.
NIC also refers to Network Interface Card which plugs into a computer and adapts the network interface to the appropriate standard. Examples are SA, PCI and PCMCIA cards.
NNTP (Network News Transport Protocol) - The protocol used by client and server software to carry USENET postings back and forth over a TCP/IP network. If you are using any of the common software, Netscape, Internet Explorer, to participate in Newsgroups then you are benefiting from an NNTP connection.
Node Any single computer connected to a network. See also: Internet, internet
OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) The analysis of dimensional data that is stored in a database. OLAP enables easy and selective extraction and view of data from different points of view. Often, an OLAP discussion refers to OLAP tools, which enable view, query and report on dimensional data. OLAP tools usually require an OLAP server.
Operational Data Data from an online transaction processing (OLTP) system. Operational data is the data that is used to run a business day-to-day. It is a common source for the information that is extracted and loaded into a warehouse data store.
Operating System The program that controls a computer's execution of application programs, input/output (I/O), resource scheduling and data management.
OS/2 A multitask operating system developed jointly by IBM and Microsoft for use with Intel 80286 and later processors.
Packet Switching The method used to move data around on the Internet. In packet switching all the data coming out of a machine is broken up into one or more chunks. Each chunk has the address of where it came from, where it is going and its order. This allows chunks of data from many different sources to be co-mingled on the same lines and be sorted and directed to different routes by special machines called routers. The receiving computer then assembles the chunks in the correct order to create the transmitted file.Password A code used to identify the user to gain access to a system. Good passwords contain letters and non-letters and are not names of family members. See also: Login
Plug-In A piece of software that adds a feature to a larger piece of software so that users need only install the plug-ins that they need out of a much larger pool of possibilities. Plug-ins are usually created by people other than the publisher of the software the plug-in works with.
POP (Point of Presence, also Post Office Protocol) - A Point of Presence means a city or location where a network can be connected with, often with dial up phone lines. If an Internet company says they will soon have a POP in Peoria, it means that they will soon have a local phone number in Peoria and/or a place where leased lines can connect to their network.
Post Office Protocol refers to the way email software, such as Eudora, gets mail from a mail server. When you obtain a SLIP, PPP or shell account you almost always get a POP account with it. It is this POP account that you tell your email software to use to get your mail.
Port Generally, a place where information goes into or out of a computer, or both (e.g., a modem is connected to the serial port on a personal computer). On the Internet port often refers to a number that is part of a URL, appearing after a colon (:) right after the Domain name. Every service on an Internet server listens on a particular port number on that server. Most services have standard port numbers. Web servers normally listen on port 80. Services can also listen on non-standard ports, in which case the port number must be specified in the URL when accessing the server, so you might see a URL of the form gopher://peg.cwis.uci.edu:7000/. This shows a Gopher server running on a non-standard port (the standard gopher port is 70).
Port also refers to translating a piece of software so it will run on another type of computer system, (e.g., to translate a Windows program so that it will run on a Macintosh). See also: server
Portal Usually used as a marketing term to describe a website that is or is intended to be the first place people go to when using the web. Typically a "Portal site" has a catalog of website links, a search engine and a lot of advertising. A Portal site may also offer email and other services to entice people to use that site as their main "point of entry" (hence "portal") to the web.
Posting A single message entered into a network communications system, (e.g., a single message posted to a Newsgroup or message board).
PPP (Point to Point Protocol) - Most well known as a protocol that allows a computer to use a regular telephone line and a modem to make TCP/IP connections and thus be on the Internet. See also: IP number, SLIP
PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) - The regular, old-fashioned telephone system, in all its glory.
RFC (Request For Comments) - The process for creating a standard on the Internet and the name of the result. New standards are proposed and published online as a Request For Comments. The Internet Engineering Task Force is a consensus building body that facilitates discussion. Eventually, a new standard is established. The reference number/name for the standard retains the acronym RFC, (e.g., the official standard for email is RFC 822).
ROLAP (Relational Online Analytical Processing) Online analytical processing performed on a relational database, such as an ORACLE table.
Router A special purpose computer or software package that handles the connection between two or more networks. Routers look at the destination addresses of the packets passing through them and decide on which route to send them.
SDK (Software Development Kit) - A programming package that enables a programmer to develop applications for a specific platform. Typically an SDK includes one or more APIs, programming tools and documentation.
SDSL (Single-line Digital Subscriber Line) - One of four DSL technologies, it has a maximum rate of 1.544 mbps and is limited to a maximum operating range of 10,000 feet.
Security Certificate A chunk of information (often stored as a text file) that is used by the SSL protocol to establish a secure connection. Security Certificates contain information about who it belongs to, who it was issued by, a serial number or other unique identification, validity dates and an encrypted "fingerprint" that can be used to verify the contents of the certificate. In order for an SSL connection to be created both sides must have a valid Security Certificate. See also: Certificate Authority
Server A computer or software package that provides a specific kind of service to client software running on other computers. The term can refer to a particular piece of software, such as a WWW server, or the machine on which the software is running, (e.g., our mail server is down today, that’s why email isn’t getting out). A single server machine could have several different server software packages running on it providing many different services to clients on the network.
SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol) - A standard for using a regular telephone line (a serial line) and a modem to connect a computer as an Internet site. SLIP is gradually being replaced by PPP.
SMDS (Switched Multi-megabit Data Service) - A new standard for very high speed data transfer.
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) - The main protocol used to send electronic mail on the Internet. SMTP consists of a set of rules for how programs sending and receiving mail should interact. Almost all Internet email is sent and received by clients and servers using SMTP.
SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) - A set of standards for communication with devices connected to a TCP/IP network. Examples of these devices include routers, hubs and switches. A device is said to be "SNMP compatible" if it can be monitored and/or controlled using SNMP messages. SNMP messages are known as "PDU’s" - Protocol Data Units.
Devices that are SNMP compatible contain SNMP "agent" software to receive, send and act upon SNMP messages. Software for managing devices via SNMP is available for every kind of commonly used computer and is often bundled along with the device they are designed to manage. Some SNMP software is designed to handle a wide variety of devices.
Spam (or Spamming) Sending the same message, usually an advertisement or product promotion, to a large number of people who didn’t ask for it and usually resent getting it. It can also mean overwhelming someone's mailbox with junk email.
The term probably comes from a Monty Python skit which featured the word spam repeated constantly. It may also have come from someone’s low opinion of the food product, which is generally perceived as a generic, content-free, waste of resources. See also: Maillist, USENET
Star Schema An arrangement of database tables in which a large fact table that has a composite foreign key is joined to several dimension tables. Each dimension table has a single primary key.
Streaming Media A video or audio file that is delivered as a continuous signal, rather than as a single, discrete file.
SQL (Structured Query Language) - A specialized programming language for sending queries to databases. Most industrial-strength and many smaller database applications can be addressed using SQL. Each specific application will have its unique version of SQL implementing features, but all SQL-capable databases support a common subset of SQL.
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) - A protocol designed by Netscape Communications to enable encrypted, authenticated communications across the Internet. SSL is used mostly, but not exclusively, in communications between web browsers and web servers. URLs that begin with "https" indicate an SSL connection.
SSL provides three important things; privacy, authentication and message integrity. In an SSL connection each side of the connection must have a Security Certificate, which each side’s software sends to the other. Each side then encrypts what it sends using information from both its own and the other side’s Certificate, ensuring that: only the intended recipient can de-crypt it; the other side can be sure the data came from the place it claims to have come from; and the message has not been tampered with.
Sysop (System Operator) - Anyone responsible for the physical operations of a computer system or network resource. A System Administrator decides how often backups and maintenance should be performed, the System Operator performs those tasks.
T-1 A connection capable of carrying data at 1,544,000 bits-per-second. At theoretical maximum capacity a T-1 line can move a megabyte in less than 10 seconds. That is still not fast enough for full screen, full motion video, which requires at least 10,000,000 bits-per-second. See also: bandwidth, byte, Ethernet, T-3
T-3 A connection capable of carrying data at 44,736,000 bits-per-second. See also: bandwidth, byte, Ethernet, T-1
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) - The layered set of protocols that specifies how packets are exchanged and enables the Internet. Originally designed for the UNIX operating system, TCP/IP software is now available for every major kind of computer operating system. See also: IP Number
Telnet The command and program used to Login from one Internet site to another. The telnet command/program gets you to the login prompt of another Host.
Terabyte 1024 gigabytes. See also: byte, kilobyte
Terminal A device that allows you to send commands to a computer somewhere else. At a minimum, this means a keyboard and a display screen and some simple circuitry. Usually you will use terminal software on a personal computer - the software pretends to be (emulates) a physical terminal and allows you to type commands to a computer somewhere else.
Terminal Server A special purpose computer that has places to plug in many modems and a connection to a LAN or host machine. The terminal server does the work of answering calls and passes connections on to the appropriate node. Most terminal servers can provide PPP or SLIP services if connected to the Internet.
Transformation The middle step of the ETL process. The transformation step prepares data for loading into a data warehouse. It includes the cleansing, joining, structuring, validation and summarization of data.
UDP (User Datagram Protocol) - The TCP/IP transaction protocol for data transfer in and between applications. UDP is a "stateless" protocol in that it makes no provision for acknowledgement of packets received.
UNIX A computer operating system originally designed by AT&T. UNIX was designed to be used by many people at the same time (multi-user) and has TCP/IP built-in. It is the most common operating system for servers on the Internet. Also, a rallying point for people who have a visceral dislike for all things Microsoft. (Known as UNIX bigots.)Upload To transfer one or more files form a local computer to a remote machine. See Download
URL (Uniform Resource Locator) - The standard address for any resource on the Internet that is part of the World Wide Web (WWW). A URL looks like http://www.caci.com or telnet://well.sf.ca.us. The most common way to use a URL is to enter it into a browser program, such as Netscape or Internet Explorer.
USB (Universal Serial Bus) - A serial, four wire bus architecture for peripheral Input/Output (I/O) ports that automatically senses up to 128 peripheral devices at a distance of no more than 5 meters (16.4 feet). It has a maximum data transfer rate of 12 mbps.
USENET A worldwide system of discussion groups with comments passed among hundreds of thousands of machines. Not all USENET machines are on the Internet. USENET is completely decentralized with over 10,000 discussion areas, called Newsgroups.
UUENCODE (UNIX to UNIX Encoding) - A method for converting files from binary to ASCII (text) so that they can be sent across the Internet via email. See also: binhex, MIME
VAN (Value Added Network) - A private, leased, enhanced data transmission network that provides added services such as automatic error detection and correction, protocol conversion, message storing and forwarding and business functions.
VDSL (Very High Data-Rate Digital Subscriber Line) - One of four DSL technologies, it has a maximum downstream rate of 52 mbps, a maximum upstream rate of 2.3 mbps and is limited to a maximum operating range of 4500 feet.
Veronica (Very Easy Rodent Oriented Net-wide Index to Computerized Archives) - Developed at the University of Nevada, Veronica is a constantly updated database of the names of almost every menu item on thousands of Gopher servers. The Veronica database can be searched from most major Gopher menus by both file name and description.
VPN (Virtual Private Network) - Usually refers to a network in which some of the parts are connected using the public Internet, but the data sent across the Internet is encrypted, so the entire network is "virtually" private. A typical example would be a company network where there are two offices in different cities. Using the Internet, the two offices merge their networks into one network, but encrypt traffic that travels over the connecting Internet link.
WAIS (Wide Area Information Servers) - A commercial software package that allows the indexing of huge quantities of information, and then makes those indices searchable across networks such as the Internet. A prominent feature of WAIS is that search results are ranked (scored) according to how relevant the hits are, and that subsequent searches can find more stuff like the last batch, and thus refine the search process.
WAN (Wide Area Network) - Any internet or network that covers an area larger than a single building or campus. See also: LAN
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) - secure specification that allows users to access information instantly via handheld wireless devices such as mobile phones, pagers, two-way radios, smart phones and communicators.
WAV A Windows audio file, they have the .wav extension.
Warehousing See data warehousing.
Webcast The live broadcast of audio, video and other multimedia over the Internet.
Well Known Ports The Well Known Ports are assigned by the IANA and on most systems can only be used by system (or root) processes or by programs executed by privileged users. Ports are used in the TCP [RFC793] to name the ends of logical connections which carry long term conversations. For the purpose of providing services to unknown callers, a service contact port is defined. This list specifies the port used by the server process as its contact port. The contact port is sometimes called the "well known port". For a list of Well Known Ports, click here.
WWW (World Wide Web) - Frequently used (incorrectly) when referring to "The Internet." WWW has two major meanings: First, the whole constellation of resources that can be accessed using Gopher, FTP, HTTP, Telnet, USENET, WAIS and other tools. Second, the universe of hypertext servers (HTTP servers) which allow text, graphics, sound files, etc. to be mixed together. See also: browser, Internet, URL
X.25 The standard interface for packet-switched data communications networks, as designated by the ITU.
X.32 The 1984 ITU standard that defines how to use X.25 to connect a packet network through a switched telephone connection.
X86 Refers to the Intel 8086 family of CPUs (286, 386, 486, Pentium, etc.).
xDSL The collective term for ADSL, HDSL, SDSL and VDSL
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ZIP A popular data compression format.
Zip Drive A removable magnetic disk drive that comes in 25 and 100 mb formats.