Web Glossary

Click on any letter below to search for a word starting with that letter in our Web Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 0-9

Questions? Suggestions? Click here to submit your issue

Search engine
Web site that allows users to search for keywords on Web pages. Every search engine has its own strategy for collecting data, so one search can produce totally different results on different search engines.

[Back To Top]

Secure Server
A server that transmits data in an encoded form that is intended to prevent unauthorized access to the data.

[Back To Top]

Server
A computer system that manages and delivers information for client computers. A server often has a permanent connection to the Internet. Note: in an X-11 environment, the meanings of client and server are reversed.
Web sites are stored on a Web server.

[Back To Top]

SGML
The abbreviation for Standard Generalized Markup Language, SGML is an international standard for the publication and delivery of electronic information. SGML is a "heavy" mark-up language and HTML (and DHTML), which is the common mark-up language used on the web, has been derived from it. See also XML.

[Back To Top]

Shareware
This term refers to software that is available on public networks and BBSs. Users are asked to remit a small amount to the software developer, but it's on the honour system.

[Back To Top]

Shell account
An account that gives access to a UNIX based host computer. The user can enter UNIX commands to operate this computer.

[Back To Top]

Shouting
Typing in all capital letters.

[Back To Top]

Sig - signature file
A small ASCII text file (four or five lines only), automatically attached to the end of an email message that includes additional information about the author.

[Back To Top]

Site - Web site
A place on the Web. Refers to a home page or to a collection of Web pages.

[Back To Top]

Slashdotted - SlashDot Effect
When a Web server gets too many hits in a short time, the Web server can go down. This is called the SlashDot effect ("SlashDot" refers to www.slashdot.org, the "news for nerds" discussion site).

[Back To Top]

SLIP - Serial Line Internet Protocol
Standard to connect your machine to the Internet using a regular telephone line. SLIP is being replaced by PPP.

[Back To Top]

Smiley
See emoticon.

[Back To Top]

SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
Main protocol to send and receive email between servers on the Internet.

[Back To Top]

Snail mail
Regular postal mail. Refers to its slowness in relation to electronic mail.

[Back To Top]

Socket
One end of a two-way connection. A socket is composed of the IP address of the server and a port number. The server "listens" for requests on this given port number. When a client-request arrives, the server binds this socket to communicate with the client.

[Back To Top]

Spam
Junk email. Spam is considered a serious breach of netiquette.

[Back To Top]

Spider
Small piece of software (also known as a (ro)bot), used by some search engines to index Web sites. Spiders search the Web to find URLs that match to the given query string.

[Back To Top]

SQL - Structured Query Language
Method to access a database.

[Back To Top]

SSL - Secure Sockets Layer
Protocol that allows to send encrypted messages across the Internet. SSL uses public key encryption to pass data between your browser and a given server (for example to submit credit card information). A URL that begins with "https" indicates that an SSL connection will be used.

[Back To Top]

Streaming audio/video
Technology that allows to play audio or video while it is still downloading.

[Back To Top]

Surfing
Browsing the Web, just looking around.

[Back To Top]

Synchronous Connection
An analog to analog or digital to digital connection that is able to perform two or more processes at the same time by means of a mutual timing signal or clock.

[Back To Top]

Sysadmin
System administrator of a UNIX machine (someone who maintains a UNIX machine). See also root.

[Back To Top]

Sysop
System operator. The person who performs physical operations on a computer system.

[Back To Top]