Glossary of Internet Terms /text/shared/00/00000002.xhp Sun Microsystems, Inc. converted from old format - fpe
Internet terms;glossaries common terms;Internet glossary glossaries;Internet terms terminology;Internet glossary Glossary of Internet Terms If you are a newcomer to the Internet, you will be confronted with unfamiliar terms: browser, bookmark, e-mail, homepage, search engine, and many others. To make your first steps easier, this glossary explains some of the more important terminology you may find in the Internet, intranet, mail and news.
applets; definition Applet An Applet refers to a special object contained on an HTML page. It contains a program written in the Java programming language, the most widespread Internet language. This program is executed separately by your Web browser. Applets are used for animations, animated text, interactive user input, games and much more. In $[officename], you can insert self-programmed or downloaded Applets into your pages by choosing Insert - Object - Applet. These can be viewed by anyone using a web browser supporting Applets. All other browsers simply ignore the Applets. Visit http://www.gamelan.com for some examples.
bookmarks; definition Bookmark A bookmark is a reference for internal pages or files, just like a bookmark in a book. In $[officename] you can set a bookmark on the current help page in the help window.
browsers; definition Browser A browser is a software program used in the World Wide Web to search for specific information. A web browser can display formatted pages that are encoded in HTML document format.
E-mail E-mail stands for electronic mail, and is the exchange of computer-stored messages by telecommunication. E-mails can contain information in the form of text, images, sounds and other attachments. In $[officename] you can send the current document as an e-mail attachment by choosing File - Send. This starts your default e-mail program.
Frames Frames are useful for designing the layout ofHTML pages. $[officename] uses floating frames into which you can place objects such as graphics, movie files and sound. The context menu of a frame shows the options for restoring or editing frame contents. Some of these commands are also listed in Edit - Object when the frame is selected.
FTP FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol and is the standard transfer protocol for files in the Internet. An FTP server is a program on a computer connected to the Internet which stores files to be transmitted with the aid of FTP. While FTP is responsible for transmitting and downloading Internet files, HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) provides the connection setup and data transfer between WWW servers and clients.
HTML; definition HTML HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is a document code language, which is used as the file format for WWW documents. It is derived from SGML and integrates text, graphics, videos and sound. HTML (detailed explanation). HTML (detailed description) If you want to type HTML commands directly, for example when doing exercises from one of the many available HTML books, remember that HTML pages are pure text files in 7-bit ASCII code. Save your document under the document type Text DOS and give it the file name extension .HTM. Be sure there are no umlauts or other special characters of the extended character set. If you want to re-open this file in $[officename] and edit the HTML code, you must load it with the file type Text DOS and not with the file type Web pages. There are several references in the Internet providing an introduction to the HTML language.
HTTP The Hypertext Transfer Protocol is a record of transmission of WWW documents between WWW servers (hosts) and browsers (clients).
ImageMap; definition ImageMap An ImageMap is a reference-sensitive graphic or text frame. You can click on defined areas of the graphic or text frame to go to a target (URL), which is linked with the area. The reference areas, along with the linked URLs and corresponding text displayed when resting the mouse pointer on these areas, are defined in the ImageMap Editor. There are two different types of ImageMaps. A Client Side ImageMap is evaluated on the client computer, which loaded the graphic from the Internet, while a Server Side ImageMap is evaluated on the server computer which provides the HTML page on the Internet. In server evaluation, clicking an ImageMap sends the relative coordinates of the cursor within the image to the server, and a dedicated program on the server responds. In the client evaluation, clicking a defined hotspot of the ImageMap activates the URL, as if it were a normal text link. The URL appears below the mouse pointer when passing across the ImageMap. As ImageMaps can be used in different ways, they can be stored in different formats. ImageMap Formats ImageMaps are basically divided between those that are analyzed on the server (i. e. your Internet provider) and those analyzed on the web browser of the reader's computer.
Server Side ImageMap Server Side ImageMaps Server Side ImageMaps appear for the reader as a picture or frame on the page. Click on the ImageMap with the mouse, and the coordinates of the relative position are sent to the server. Aided by an extra program, the server then determines the next step to take. There are several incompatible methods to define this process, the two most common being: W3C (CERN) HTTP Server (Format type: MAP - CERN) NCSA HTTP Server (Format type: MAP - NCSA) $[officename] creates ImageMaps for both methods. Select the format from the Save as type list in the Save As dialog in the ImageMap Editor. Separate Map Files are created which you must upload to the server. You will need to ask your provider or network administrator which type of ImageMaps are supported by the server and how to access the evaluation program.
Client Side ImageMap Client Side ImageMap Modern Client Side ImageMaps do not present as much difficulty on the server side. The area of the picture or frame in which the reader can click on is indicated by the appearance of the linked URL when the mouse passes over the area. The ImageMap is stored in a layer below the picture and contains information about the referenced regions. The only disadvantage of Client Side ImageMaps is that older Web browsers cannot read them; a disadvantage that will, however, resolve itself in time. When saving the ImageMap, select the file type SIP - StarView ImageMap. This saves the ImageMap directly in a format which can be applied to every active picture or frame in your document. However, if you just want to use the ImageMap on the current picture or text frame, you do not have to save it in any special format. After defining the regions, simply click Apply. Nothing more is necessary. Client Side ImageMaps saved in HTML format are inserted directly into the page in HTML code.
Intranet Intranet refers to local networks in companies, which use TCP/IP for communication purposes and HTTP as its transmission record. An Intranet has an advantage over normal networks in that transmissions through the Internet are unproblematic and the required software is not too expensive.
IP address; definition IP Address This is a 32-bit address in the Internet, written with four numbers between 0 and 255. The four numbers are separated by dots, for example 123.234.56.78. Every user has an Internet protocol (IP) address. The IP address is normally only assigned dynamically for the duration of the connection. Since this type of address is difficult to remember, you usually address Internet servers by name. The "name server" sees that the name is matched to the correct IP address.
Java; definition Java The Java programming language is a platform independent programming language developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. (http://www.sun.com) that is especially suited for use in the Internet. Web pages and applications programmed with Java class files can be used on all modern operating systems. Programs using Java programming language are usually developed in a Java development environment and then compiled to a "byte code". A .class file is created, which can then be inserted as a "Java Applet" into HTML pages. Several .class files can be combined to a single .jar or .zip file. A Web browser that supports the Java class files can compile the Java programming language code immediately after receipt without the user having to unpack the archive. The basic concept of the Java technology consists of sending a more advanced level of instruction (for example, "draw a line") to the Web browser which then knows how to execute the instruction on the client computer. Thus a program written in the Java programming language can run on any computer which has an interpreter or compiler for the Java programming language, independent of processor type and operating system. Do not confuse "JavaScript" and "Java Applets". JavaScript is a simple, limited script language for Web browsers used, for example, to display animated text. JavaScript describes objects in a language that looks a bit like the Java programming language and lets users optically enhance their HTML pages. "Java Applets", on the other hand, are programs written in the Java programming language and compiled into byte code, as described in the preceding paragraphs.
plug-ins; definition Plug-In Extensions providing additional functionality in Web Browsers are referred to as Plug-Ins. More about Plug-Ins. Plug-Ins (detailed explanation) A Plug-In is a term used in various contexts: Plug-Ins in $[officename] You will notice in $[officename] that the Object Bar and the contents of the format menus change after certain operations. For example, if you insert a diagram into your text document,you see icons and commands for editing the diagram, in fact the same ones you see in diagram documents. In this sense, we refer to the diagram document as a Plug-In within the text document. This mechanism is even clearer if you insert a presentation document in a text document using Insert - Object - Plug-In. In the document window of your presentation document you'll see a text document and different toolbars. Using Plug-Ins to extend your programs Plug-Ins, generally speaking, are software additions to particular applications which provide enhanced functionality. Often import and export filters for various file formats are stored as Plug-Ins in a Plug-In directory. Netscape web browser extensions produced by Netscape Communication Corporation are also called Plug-Ins. These are external programs mainly taken from the multimedia field and which communicate with the browser through standardized interfaces. These Plug-Ins can be linked to $[officename] documents. $[officename] supports 32-bit Plug-Ins that can run under Netscape. Any Netscape plug-ins (32 bit) installed on your system are automatically recognized by $[officename]. Otherwise, most Plug-In setup programs allow you to specify the install directory, for example, $[officename]. Make sure to enter the new installation path (for example,$[officepath]/share/plugin) in Tools - Options - $[officename] - Paths. Note: Some Plug-Ins still require Netscape to be installed before the setup program can be run.
Proxy A proxy is a computer in the network acting as a kind of clipboard for data transfer. Whenever you access the Internet from a company network and request a Web page that has already been read by a colleague, the proxy will be able to display the page much quicker, as long as it's still in the memory. All that has to be checked in this case is that the page stored in the proxy is the latest version. If this is the case, the page won't have to be downloaded from the much slower Internet but can be loaded directly from the proxy.
servers; definition Server A server is a computer in a network that provides other computers with services. Servers can exist as file servers in local networks, as Internet servers ,or as special FTP, mail and news servers. An application that provides data for other programs is called an application server. The $[officename] Application Server is a program that runs on a network server and supplies data to the $[officename] Remote Clients on workstations.
SGML; definition SGML SGML stands for "Standard Generalized Markup Language". SGML is based on the idea that documents have structural and other semantic elements that can be described without reference to how such elements should be displayed. The actual display of such a document may vary, depending on the output medium and style preferences. In structured texts, SGML not only defines structures (in the DTD = Document Type Definition) but also ensures they are consistently used. HTML is a specialized application of SGML. This means that most Web browsers support only a limited range of SGML standards and that almost all SGML-enabled systems can produce attractive HTML pages. The first line of an HTML document invariably contains an SGML instruction that defines all following lines as belonging to an HTML subset. <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
SMTP/POP3; definition SMTP/POP3 SMTP and POP3 are two widely-used protocols for transmitting e-mail. SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is the usual protocol used by a modem or ISDN connection to communicate with your Internet provider's mail server to send and receive e-mail. POP3 (Post Office Protocol, Version 3) is a protocol used by your computer to get e-mail from the Internet provider's mail server.
style sheets; definition Style Sheets (CSS1/CSS2) Style sheets are new features of HTML 3 formats for Web documents. You can find the latest on style sheets at http://www.w3.org/Style/Activity. Style sheets aid in transferring the original formatting in your $[officename] documents to HTML documents, and generally provide better results than the normal HTML format tags. Information is listed in the style sheets for effects such as fonts, font sizes, and line spacing. The list is in HTML code between the new tags <style> and </style> in the form of a long comment. The tags are ignored by Web browsers that cannot yet handle style sheets. More about Styles. Styles (extended explanation) In addition to embedded style sheets, you can use your own style sheet files, which are referenced by HTML documents. This allows you to make style changes to just one file that then affect all documents. The CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) are style sheets which build on one another. The style sheets, hierarchically arranged under a defined head style sheet, "inherit" all properties of the style sheet above them, and then include some additional attributes. Netscape Navigator 4 recognizes the CSS extension Dynamic HTML which makes it possible to layer objects on a page in three dimensions. Dynamic HTML offers relative and absolute positioning of page elements and visibility as a new property. A detailed description can be found under http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/TR/WD-positioning.
search engines; definition Search Engines A search engine is a service in the Internet based on a software program used to explore a vast amount of information using key words.
tags; definition Tags HTML pages written in 7-bit ASCII text contain certain structural and formatting instructions called tags. Tags are code words enclosed by brackets in the document description language HTML. Many tags contain text or hyperlink references between the opening and closing brackets. For example, titles are marked by the tags <h1> at the beginning and </h1> at the end of the title. Some tags only appear on their own such as <br> for a line break or <img ...> to link a graphic.
TCP/IP This abbreviation stands for Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol. TCP is responsible for making and breaking the connections between all computers in a network. It controls the data flow in the net and ensures data transfers are complete. IP is responsible for organizing and addressing data. Prior to transfer, the data is divided into packets which are then rejoined on the remote computer. This protocol is used both in local networks and in the Internet.
URL; definition URL The Uniform Resource Locator (URL) displays the address of a document or a server in the Internet. The general structure of a URL varies according to type and is generally in the form Service://Hostname:Port/Path/Page#Mark although not all elements are always required. An URL can be a FTP address, a WWW (HTTP) address, a file address or an e-mail address.
Web Server A Web server is a computer linked to the Internet with a program suitable for displaying WWW documents and preparing these for downloading.
XML; definition XML The "Extensible Markup Language" is a language standard for documents developed under the direction of Sun Microsystems. The development objectives for XML included unproblematic use of XML documents in the Internet, support for a broad range of applications and compatibility with SGML. A detailed description of XML can be found at http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml; you will find a FAQ list at http://www.ucc.ie/xml/.