myinternet Internet Glossary

myinternet Internet Glossary will be updated weekly. This area is designed for teachers and students who are new to utilising the Internet as a classroom tool.

Accessibility:
In the context of web site design, accessibility is a measure of how easy it is to access, read, and understand the content of a web site. Accessibility is complicated by the fact that a web site is not a published piece of work so much as a living document that can be interpreted in different ways by different browsers and on different platforms.

Address

These are the letters (or numbers) showing anyone in the world who you are (what computer) and where you are (what country, particular network). See also Domain Name, IP Address and URL.

Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line: A technology that allows more data to be sent over existing copper telephone lines (POTS). ADSL supports data rates of from 1.5 to 9 Mbps when receiving data (known as the downstream rate) and from 16 to 640 Kbps when sending data (known as the upstream rate). ADSL requires a special ADSL modem. It is not currently available to the general public except in trial areas, but many believe that it will be one of the more popular choices for Internet access over the next few years.

Alias

An operational, second copy of either a program or email address, e.g. email address jreid@schooldomain email alisas, jenny.reid@schooldomain. Email aliases allow for long names.

Animated Gif

A GIF graphic file, which consists of two or more images shown in a timed sequence to give the effect of motion or animation.

Anonymous FTP

Accessing data via the File Transfer Protocol using the special username 'anonymous'. This was devised as a method to provide a relatively secure way of providing restricted access to public data. Users who wish to acquire data from a public source may use FTP to connect to the source, then use the special username "anonymous" and their email address as the password to log into a public data area.

Applet
A Java program that can be embedded in a HTML page. See also: HTML, Java.

This is a stated policy of a newtork owner dealing with the way users are to conduct themselves on the network. It is common amongst schools and educational organizations. The SINA incorporates extracts from a generic AUP in the Edu Manager tool. See also SINA EduManager or Dingo webmail Netiquette.

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Baud
A unit of transmission speed. In relation to modems it means the number of bits it can send or receive in a second. The greater the baud rate, the faster data moves from point to point. See also: bit, modem.

Binary file

A file containing words, sounds, pictures and even videos in their basic form. Binary code is the most form of digital information exchange, able to be read and executed by many different types of computers.

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Bit
Shorthand for Binary Digit. This is a single digit number in base 2 (i.e. 1 or 0). This is the smallest unit of computerised data. See also: bps, byte, kilobyte.

Bookmarks
A means of creating a list stored in a browser, of title and URL of favourite pages or sites on the web which can more easily and quickly accessed.

Breadcrumb Navigation

A web page navigation aid that tells the reader where they are in relation to the entry point of the site and usually with the current page as the last item. Clicking on any breadcrumb takes you back to that point. Example:
Home Page>Lesson 1>Lesson 2>How to register a boat

.

Byte
A set of bits that represents a single character. Usually there are 8 bits in a byte, although this can vary depending on how the measurement is made.

CGI

Common Gateway Interface.

A set of rules describing how a Web Server communicates with another piece of software on the same computer and how the 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 or turning the data into a database query.

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CSN
Canberra Schools on the Net. The Internet service as provided by the Department of Education, Telstra and Schoolsnet Australia to schools in the ACT.

Chat
Person to person real-time conferencing. This is the text based, electronic equivalent of CB radio.

Client
A computer system or process that requests a service of another computer system or process. A workstation requesting the contents of a file from a file server is a client of the file server. See also: server.

Connect Ed
The Internet service as provided by Education Queensland, Telstra and Schoolsnet Australia to Queensland government schools.

Cookie
Most common meaning is a piece of information sent by a Web Server to a Browser that the browser is expected to save and send back to the Server whenever the browser makes additional requests from the Server. Cookies can contain information such as login or registration information or user preferences, etc. They are used on dynamic web pages.

Dial Up
A connection, usually made via modems, between two computers (or servers) over standard voice grade telephone lines.

Domain Name
Name to identify a place on the Internet. Not an NT domain. Domain names normally have three or more parts separated by dots (e.g. www.schools.net.au). Each part assists to identify the particular computer or network. The first part from the left is the most specific, identifying a particular computer (the computer with the WWW in this case, however you could have mail.dse.vic.edu.au for the computer which is managing mail). The next part deals with its category on the Internet. The last part identifies the country in which the network is located.

The domain name given to your school is unique for your school.

See also: DNS.

DNS

Domain Name System.

The DNS is the main method of identifying computers and networks on the Internet. DNS is basically the resolution of a domain name to a computer number, (e.g. from http://www.schools.net.au to 203.192.2.68. This is an example only). The Internet runs on numbers and this is the way that the names get converted to the numbers the computers use. See also: Domain Name.

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EduManager
The top level manager area in the SINA product which provides information on effective searching strategies, Acceptable Use Policies and Internet Projects in the classroom. See also: SINA, AUP.

EduNet
The Internet service as provided by Education Victoria, Telstra and Schoolsnet Australia to Victorian government schools over the VicOne WAN.

Electronic Mail

Electronic Mail.

A system whereby a computer can exchange messages with other computer users (or groups of users) via a communications network.

See also: web mail

See also: Web mail , POP Mail, Eudora, Alias.

Eudora

A popular email program, the Eudora email client comes in three versions. The 'sponsored mode' version provides the full-featured program for free by displaying a series of static onscreen advertisements that don't interfere with your email workspace. With the 'paid mode' option you can purchase the full-featured program and won't have any ads in the application. Or you may also choose to use Eudora in Light mode with a reduced feature set and no ads, for free. This program is one of the most popular program for email available

See also: Email, POP Mail.

Extensible Markup Language

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E-Zine

The Web name for electronic magazine or a name for a web site which is either modelled after a print magazine or a magazine that is only available online or through e-mail.

File Server
A computer which stores many files and programs for use by other computers.

FTP

File Transfer Protocol.

A protocol which allows a user on one host to access, and transfer files to and from another host over a network. Also, FTP is usually the name of the program the user invokes to execute the protocol.

See also: SINA Page Uploader, SINA Web Manager - access by the SINA School Administrator

Gateway
The term "router" is now used in place of the original definition of "gateway". Currently, a gateway is a communications device that passes data between computer networks.

See also: Router.

GIF

.gif

This is a tag whci signifies that the file you are viewing is an image file, e.g. button.gif. Gifs are often used in creating web pages.

Gigabyte

1,000 Megabytes.

Homepage
The original meaning was the first page you will see when launching your browser. The more common meaning today is the front or main page for a site with a number of pages behind it. See also:browser.

Host
A computer offering resources that are usable by Internet users. You can access this host computer via telnet, FTP or the WWW. Technically speaking, any computer connected to the Internet via TCP/IP is a host computer. See also: TCP/IP.

HTML

(or htm) Hypertext Mark-Up Language

This is the language used by the Internet to translate language into a format recognized by the Internet. Learning this language will assist you in building and writing pages for the World Wide Web. Files which have the tag 'html' are WWW pages, e.g. 'welcome.html' is often used for the home page or first page a viewer sees when they access a site.

HTTP

HyperText Transfer Protocol

The way WWW pages are transferred over the Internet. Thus every Internet site (or address) begins with http://

Internet

(upper case I)

The Internet is the largest network of networks in the world. It is a three level hierarchy composed of backbone networks, mid-level networks and stub networks. It is the largest and fastest growing computer network.

internet

(lower case i)

Any time two or more networks are connected, there is an internet - as inter-national inter-state.

IP Address
The 32-bit address that is usually represented in dotted decimal notation. It is a unique number consisting of 4 parts separated by dots (e.g. 203.2.135.1). Every machine on the Internet has a unique IP number. These numbers are translated into domain names by DNS. See also: Domain Name and DNS.

Intranet
A private network that uses the same kind of software to browse the Internet, but is only for internal use and not available to others on the WWW. See also: Internet, internet, network.

Internet Explorer
A web browser developed by the company Microsoft. Acts as a interface to allow the Internet user to view the Internet with graphics, colour, sound, etc., rather than in a digital format. To run SINA's webmail you should have a minimum of Version 4.0 of Microsoft Internet Explorer. You can download Internet Explorer from http://www.microsoft.com.

IRC

Internet Relay Chat

A system which enables users to chat (text talk) in real time by using a live Internet link (rather than after a delay as with email messages). See also: Chat.

ISDN

Integrated Services Digital Network.

A relatively new technology offered by telephone carriers around the world. ISDN combines voice and digital network services in a single medium, making it possible to offer customers digital data services as well as voice connections down a single "wire". An ISDN line is about 1.1 to 5 times faster than a Modem. Typically ISDN is available at 64 K and 128 K sizes.

Java
Java is a network based programming language that is specifically designed for writing programmes that can be safely downloaded off the Internet without viruses. It also has a range of features to allow web pages to include animations, moving images and other features.

JavaScript
JavaScript is a programming language that is mostly used in web pages, usually to add features that make the web 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.

JPG
This is a tag which signifies that the file you are viewing is an image file, e.g. button.jpg. Jpgs are often used in creating webpages.

Kbs

Kilo-Bits Per Second.

A data transmission rate expressed in 1000 bit per second units. For example, 56Kbs is 56 x 1000 = 56,000 bits per second.

Kilobyte

1,000 bytes

LAN

Local Area Network

A data network intended to serve an area of only a few square kilometres or less. Because the network is known to cover only a small area, optimizations can be made in the network signal protocols that permit data rates up to 100 Mb/s.

What is a Learning Quest?

A Learning Quest activity is:

• a template which outlines a methodology for guiding learners through an engaging task
  
• involves the development of student centred problem solving
• utilises the Internet as one of many resources
• sharing what is learnt with others.

Learning Quests aim to develop strategies for effectively using the Internet in the classroom. For more information see the Ozprojects Learning Challenge.

Login
Two broad meanings (noun and verb). Noun: the account name used to gain access to a computer system (also known as a username). Verb: the process of entering into a computer system, eg. MyInternet page, Webmail, SINA.

Listserv
Refer to Mailing Lists.

Mail Manager
The top level of the SINA (PRODUCT_SINA) interface which allows you to go the areas of creating email accounts in bulk, managing mailing lists and creating. modifying and deleting email accounts. See also: Mailing Lists, SINA.

Mailing Lists

A list of email addresses. Generally, a mailing list is used to discuss different topics. A mailing list may be moderated, that is messages sent to the list are actually sent to a moderator who determines whether or not to send the messages on to everyone else. Many mailing lists are maintained by a "listserv" (list server program such as majordomo) that automatically handles operations such as adding new people to the list.

You can create Mailing Lists under the Mail Manager tool in the SINA. This will also allow you to add and remove subscribers as desired.

Megabyte
One million bytes or one thousand kilobytes.

Mirror
Generally speaking, "to mirror" is to maintain an exact copy of something. Probably the most common use of the term on the Internet refers to "mirror sites" which are web sites, or FTP sites that maintain copies of material originated at another location, usually in order to provide more widespread access to the resource. For example, one site might create a library of software, and 5 other sites might maintain mirrors of that library.

Modem
Electronic hardware and software that translates what is being done on your computer into a signal that can be sent down a telephone line and recreated and understood by a modem at the other end of the telephone connection.

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myinternet
Schoolsnet's web portal for schools providing a range of tools and resources for personal, teaching or school community use. The former is provided by desktop properties which can be added, moved, minimized or deleted from the desktop. School may also create their own desktop properties from four types: simple text templates, vote for, noticeboards or miniforums.

Netiquette

The etiquette or acceptable behaviour on the Internet. Whilst there is broad consensus in some areas, the rules are constantly changing. See also: webmail Netiquette.

Netscape

Netscape Navigator, Netscape Communicator.

Versions of web browsers developed by the company Netscape. These act as an interface to allow the Internet user to view the Internet with graphics, colour, sound, etc., rather than in a digital format. Versions of Netscape can be downloaded for free from http://www.netscape.com

Network

Basically a number of computers connected by wire or cable. These can be wired together at one physical location (see LAN) or connected via telephone or satellite. Also see WAN.

Network Address

The network portion of an IP Address. For example, 10.23.50 for a Class C address which has 256 IP addresses after the three digits. For a Class A address the network address is the first digits of the IP address. For a Class B network, the network address is the first two digits (separated by dots) of the IP address. In each case, the remainder is the host (or computer) address. In the Internet, assigned network addresses are globally unique. See also: Internet, IP Address.

Newsgroups

Much like a listserv except that discussions are held over the World Wide Web and each response or message is able to be viewed by all who have subscribed to the newsgroup. There are many different newsgroups and topics to which users are able to subscribe or unsubscribe.

Page Uploader
The tool provided by the SINA product from Web Manager which acts as an FTP tool to allow you to upload html and images to your WWW site. See also: FTP, upload, SINA.

Password
A code used to gain access to a locked system or network. Usually also associated with a login.

Ping
A program that searches to see whether an Internet site is still active.

Plug-in
Software that adds features to a larger piece of software or application. The plug-in is loaded into memory by the larger program adding a new feature to the larger program. Plug-ins are usually created by developers other than the developers of the larger program the plug-in works with. Examples of plug-ins are: Macromedia's Shockwave, Real-Time Audio, Quick Time, Real Player, etc.

POP

Point of Presence or Post Office Protocol.

Point of Presence usually means a physical location that a network can become connected to, usually via a local call dial over a telephone. The other meaning, Post Office Protocol refers to the way in which email is retrieved from a mail server. Whenever a person has an email account, it is referred to a POP account (POP Mail), where email software is told to retrieve email.

Port
This has three general meanings. The first (and most general) is the socket or point where information goes into or out of the computer (e.g. ports on the computer will allow for printer and modem connections). On the Internet, port also refers to that part of the URL sometimes appearing after the colon (:) at the end of a domain name. Each service on an Internet server 'listens' on a particular port on that server. Most services have standard port numbers (e.g web servers normally listen on port 80). Finally, port can also refer to translating (or migrating) a piece of software from one computer operating system to another (e.g. moving a Windows program so that it operates on a Macintosh).

PPP

Point to Point Protocol

A protocol used to establish TCP/IP connections using serial lines such as dial-up telephone lines. Similar to SLIP (see further on) PPP is a later standard that includes features such as demand dial-up, compression, better flow control, etc. See also: TCP/IP, SLIP.

Protocol
A formal description of message formats and the rules two computers must follow to exchange those messages. Protocols can describe low-level details of machine-to-machine interfaces (e.g. the order in which bits and bytes are sent across a wire) or high-level exchanges between allocation programs (e.g. the way in which two programs transfer a file across the Internet).

Proxy
A proxy server is basically a cache of common files that client machines in a computer lab access. Rather than the client machines going out to the Internet directly to obtain the information (WWW pages) they require, they request the proxy to do it for them (on their behalf). If the proxy already has the WWW pages, then those pages will be sent to the person who made the request, from the proxy. If the proxy does not have the WWW pages requested by the user, then it will travel out to the Internet to find the WWW pages and sends them back to the user. In this case, the proxy will then save the WWW pages for a period of time. Proxies save money and time in using the Internet.

Quick Send

Quick Send is another feature of SINA's webmail. Using the pulldown menu at the top of the 'Compose' window, you are able to choose from a predetermined list of email addresses.

Route

The path that network traffic takes from its source to its destination. Also, a possible path from a given host to another host or destination.

Router

A computer which forwards traffic between networks. The forwarding decision is based on network layer information and routing tables, often constructed by routing protocols.

Search Engine
A program which collects data about sites from all over the Internet and then collates and stores it. Users access search engines to seek a certain site. Examples of search engines are: Alta Vista, LookSmart Australia, InfoSeek and Yahoo! One recent search engine which operates slightly differently, in that it keeps a copy of the pages it locates and hence is very quick, is the Google search engine.

Server
A computer (or program) that provides services to client software running on other computers. It can be used to describe a particular piece of software (e.g WWW Server) or to the machine on which the software is running. A single server machine can run different server software packages, thereby providing many resources to client machines (e.g. file servers and name servers). See also: client, Domain Name System, DNS.

Shareware
Software that you can download and try out on your computer for a limited trial period usually. You don't have to pay for this software to try it, but if you keep it, you are honour-bound to pay the author or owner.

SINA

SINA

A software program developed by Schoolsnet Australia, to assist schools to manage their Internet connection quickly, easily and effectively.

SLIP

Serial Line Internet Protocol.

A protocol used to establish TCP/IP connections using serial lines such as dial-up telephone lines. Small computers, such as PCs and Macintoshes, can use SLIP to dial up to servers, which then allow the computer to act as a full Internet node. SLIP is generally used at sites with a few users as a cheaper alternative than a full Internet connection. SLIP is being replaced by PPP at many sites.

Spam
The unwarranted posting of commercial messages to many unsuspecting Internet users. · Unsolicited emails to a mass audience · Cross posting commercial email to multiple newsgroups or email list · Internet based telemarketing Sending unsolicited messages to chat and instant messaging services · Attempting to fool search engines through massive or fraudulent submissions

For further information see SINA Netiquette.

TCP/IP

Transfer Control Protocol/Internet Protocol

This is the language used by the Internet to send and retrieve messages. Having this functionality on computers allows them to be able to read and communicate with the Internet.

Telnet
Telnet is the Internet standard protocol for remote terminal connection service. The name "telnet" is also used to refer to programs that allow interactive access to remote computers, as well as the action of using said programs. For example, the phrase "Telnet to host xyzzy" means to interactively log into host "xyzzy" from some other host in the Internet.

Terabyte

1,000 gigabytes.

Terminal
A device allowing a user to send commands and operate programmes on a computer located elsewhere.

UNIX

A computer operating system. This was the first type of operating system that was used on the Internet. It remains a very popular operating system for Internet Access Providers and Internet Service Providers.

Upload
To copy data from a local computer to a remote computer. The opposite of download. SINA provides a tool to do this easily and quickly .. it's called "page-uploader" within the SINA tools.

URL

Uniform Resource Locator

The World Wide Web is made up of many millions of computer files on servers all around the world. To access a web page, your browser sends a message to a server requesting a specific file. To do this you specify the exact URL (Universal Resource Locator) of the file and type it into the Location bar. If you look at these URLs or web addresses closely, you will notice a standard format - hypertext transfer protocol followed by the server name and directory.

http://www.schools.net.au/education/resources/index.html

eg. http:// [protocol] www.schools.net.au [server] /education [directory] /resources [subdirectory]/ index.html [file]

Usenet
A collection of thousands of topically named newsgroups, the comuters which run the protocols and the people who read and submit Usenet news. Not all Internet hosts subscribe to Usenet and not all Usenet hosts are on the Internet. See also: Newsgroups.

VicOne
VicOne is the Wide Area Network (WAN) as managed by AAPT which connects Victorian government schools and Departmental sites to the EduNet service. See also: WAN, EduNet.

Virus
A program which replicates itself on computer systems by incorporating itself into other programs which are shared among computer systems. Common viruses occur through email attachments in executable programs, e.g. 'file.exe'. These programs must be executed or 'run' on your workstation for the virus to take effect. Simply receiving them as an attachment will not launch a virus on your workstation. Common viruses include: BackOrifice, Trojan. For more information regarding viruses, see the McAfee website for example.

WAN

Wide Area Network

An internet or network, usually constructed with serial lines, which covers a large geographic area. See also: LAN.

WWW

World Wide Web

A hypertext-based, distributed information system creted by researchers at CERN in Switzerland. Users may create, edit, or browse hypertext documents. The clients and servers are freely available. The WWW Servers are interconnected to allow a user to traverse the Web from any starting point.

Web Browser
A piece of software such as Netscape Navigator, Netscape Communicator or Internet Explorer, which acts as an interface allowing the user to view the Internet with graphics and colour, etc.

Webmail
Dingo webmail and Tiger webmail is a web-based email that has been created especially for Australian schools, their staff, teachers and students. Web-based email is email that can be accessed from anywhere, provided you have an Internet connection. You will also need an email account which has been created by your school's Internet Administrator within your school's SINA webmail account.

Web Manager
The part of the SINA product which incorporates the areas for you to manage your WWW pages, including Page Uploader, CGI scripts. See also: Page Uploader, CGI Scripts.

Worm
A computer program which replicates itself and is self- propagating. Worms, as opposed to viruses, are meant to spawn in network environments. Network worms were first defined by Shoch & Hupp of Xerox in ACM Communications (March 1982). The Internet worm of November 1988 is perhaps the most famous; it successfully propagated itself on over 6,000 systems across the Internet. See also: Trojan Horse or virus.