INTERNET GLOSSARY

Confused by all that Internet jargon? Here's a glossary of Internet terms which we hope will help.

• .asp file extension for an active server page (a web page dynamically created with information from a database)
  
• browser a program (such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator) used to view web pages
  
• .cfm file extension for a ColdFusion web page (a web page dynamically created with information from a database)
  
• CFML (ColdFusion Markup Language) the programming language used to build dynamic web pages that automatically draw their content from a database
  
• .co or .com commercial
  
• directory a web site that you can use to try to find web sites about a particular topic
  
• domain name a unique name that identifies a web site
  
• file extension the part of a file name that indicates the type of file
  
• FTP (File Transfer Protocol) the system by which files are transferred between a PC connected to the Internet and an http server
  
• .gif file extension for an image file using the GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) format which is used for simple, non-photographic images
  
• hit every file a browser opens in order to display a web page counts as a hit and, as each web page usually contains a number of images (each is an image file) as well as the text, the number of hits generated by one user viewing a single web page can vary widely
• hosting your web site or web page(s) are hosted, or stored, on a computer (an http server) that is permanently connected to the Internet so that it can be seen by anyone connected to the Internet at any time
• home page the first page of a web site, the one you see when you enter into the address bar of your browser only the domain name of a web site (like http://www.kudosweb.com)
  
• search engine a web site that you can use to try to find web pages that include certain words
• .htm or .html file extension for an HTML file (a web page)
  
• HTML (HyperText Markup Language) the simple programming language used to build web pages
  
• http (hypertext transfer protocol) the system by which HTML pages (web pages) are transferred between an http server and a browser
  
• http server a computer permanently connected to the Internet on which web sites are stored and accessed
• Internet the entire network of the world's interconnected computers including those used for purposes other than the www
• ISP Internet Service Provider - a company (like IHUG or XTRA) that can provide you with access to the Internet and an email address
  
• .jpg or .jpeg file extension for an image file using the JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format which is used for photographic images
  
• name server a computer permanently connected to the Internet that lists domain names and the locations of their respective web sites
  
• .nz the New Zealand domain
  
• URL (Uniform Resource Locator) what you type into your browser in order to display a web page - the URL of this page is http://www.kudosweb.com/internet-glossary.cfm
• www (World Wide Web) the network of computers (and computer networks) used to host web sites, domain names, and various other Internet resources