Cyberbubba Central - Internet Terminology

Internet Terminology

The Internet is full of new (and often inexplicable) terminology. Throughout your travels, you'll encounter a number of new and often confusing terms. We have provided this list of very commonly used words, their corresponding definitions and in some instance examples.

For an overview of the Internet, it's history and makeup click here

ARCHIE
A system for locating files that are stored on FTP servers.

BROWSER (WEB)
A piece of software (such as Netscape Navigator) used to browse the World Wide WEb. Currently, your browser is identifying itself to us as Mozilla/3.0b5aGold (Win95; I).
Click to download! Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer.

DNS (Domain Name System)
A scheme for translating numeric Internet addresses into strings of word segments denoting user names and locations.

FINGER
A software tool used to determine whether another user is logged on to the Internet. It can also be used to find out a user's e-mail address.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
A protocol that describes file transfer between a host (server) and remote (client) computer; also, programs based on this protocol. (e.g. Netscape and other browsers provide built in FTP capability.

GOPHER
A search tool that presents information in a hierarchical menu system somewhat like a table of contents.(e.g. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has a gopher site you can visit by clicking gopher://www.uiuc.edu/)

HTML-HyperText Markup Language
The 'language' (or, more appropriately, the 'text format') that all World Wide Web sites are written with. HTML's ease of authoring has much to do with the success and explosive growth of the World Wide Web.

IP (Internet Protocol)
A standard that describes how packets of data are transported across the Internet and recognized as an incoming message. Every machine that is accessing the Internet must speak Internet Protocol.

IP Address
A unique number that every Internet Device possesses. Currently, your IP address is 207.48.248.4 (And your hostname is 207.48.248.4.)

IRC (Internet Relay Chat)
A software tool that makes possible real-time keyboard conversations on-line. Click here for more info.

MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Exchange)
This protocol allows for the sending and receiving files via Internet e-mail.

NEWSGROUP
A newsgroup is a collection of articles (usually organized by topic) that you may read and contribute to. (e.g. Netscape will allow you to view these groups inline , or, without leaving Netscape.

NNTP (Network News Transport Protocol
An extension of the TCP/IP protocol; describes how newsgroup messages are transported between compatible servers.

PING (Packet Internet Groper)
A TCP/IP utility that sends packets of information to a computer on a network. It can be used to determine whether a computer is connected to the Internet.

PROTOCOL
A set of rules or standards that describes ways to operate and achieve compatibility.

SLIP/PPP (Serial Line IP/Point-to-Point Protocol
Two protocols that allow dial-up access to the Internet through a serial link. Most Internet access packages offer both, though only one may be used at a time.

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)
The protocol in a TCP/IP network that describes how e-mail moves between hosts and users.

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol
A protocol that describes how information is passed between reporting devices and data collection programs. It can be used to gather information about hosts on the Internet.

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
A compilation of network- and transport-level protocols that allow a PC to speak the same language as other PCs on the Internet or other networks.

TELNET
A terminal emulation protocol (or a program based on that protocol) that lets you log on to other computers on the Internet. For most users, this program is unused, as it typically requires a familiarity with the Unix operating system.

URL (UNIFORM RESOURCE LOCATOR)
World Wide Web browsers use URLs to find and access all forms of information on the Internet -- including text files, newsgroups, mail lists, gopher directories, HTML documents, program files, images, sounds, movies, etc. , e.g. The URL that brought you to THIS page was http://home.earthlink.net/~cyberbubba/termlgy.htm

USENET (User Network)
A public network made up of thousands of newsgroups and organized by topic. See newsgroups

VERONICA
(Very Easy Rodent-Oriented Network Index to Computerized Archives) A search tool, like Archie, that appears in Gopher menus.

WAIS (Wide Area Information Server/Search
Software that is used to index large text files in servers. On the client side, it finds and retrieves documents in databases, based on user-defined keywords.

WHOIS
A TCP/IP utility that lets you query compatible servers for detailed information about other Internet users. You can check our website to see if a Domain Name is available via our whois page.

WINSOCK (Windows Socket)
An application programming interface (API) designed to let Windows applications run over a TCP/IP network. Click here to FTP it!

WWW (World-Wide Web)
Term to describe the network of HTTP servers that uses hypertext links to find and access files.
Click to download! Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer.

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