Glossary of Web Terms
- AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML)
- A web development technique used for creating interactive web applications. The intent is to make web pages feel more responsive by exchanging small amounts of data with the server behind the scenes, so that the entire web page does not have to be reloaded each time the user requests a change. This is intended to increase the web page's interactivity, speed, functionality, and usability.
- Alpha Testing
- The first phase in the testing of a website or application. This is the phase in which basic functions are tested by developers to determine if the application functions work as anticipated. Alpha testing is typically limited to a very small user pool. For more on software testing visit Wikipedia.
- AS (ActionScript)
- A scripting language based on ECMAScript, used primarily for the development of websites and software using the Adobe Flash Player platform (in the form of SWF files embedded into Web pages).
- ASP (Application Server Pages)
- Microsoft standard for interactive web page development.
- AntiSpam
- Any means used to reduce or prevent spam in your email inbox.
- ASP (Application Service Provider)
- Similar to an Internet Service Provider, but provides web applications to the customer, instead of internet connectivity.
- Beta Testing
- The secondary testing phase in the testing of a website or application. This is the phase in which problems are found and corrected, and final tweaking is performed prior to public release. This phase of testing usually is conducted by a group of volunteers consisting of people who will actually use the web site or application. For more on software testing visit Wikipedia.
- Breadcrumbs
- Breadcrumbs typically appear horizontally across the top of a webpage, usually below any title bars or headers. They provide links back to each previous page that the user navigated through in order to get to the current page, for hierarchical structures usually the parent pages of the current one. Breadcrumbs provide a trail for the user to follow back to the starting/entry point of a website.
- Browser
- A Web browser is a software application that enables a user to display and interact with text, images, and other information typically located on a Web page at a website on the World Wide Web or a local area network. More about web browser market share.
- CFML (ColdFusion Markup Language)
- An extention of HTML with special tags that are recognized by ColdFusion to perform specific actions. For more you can visit CFFAQ.com
- CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
- A simple mechanism for adding style (e.g. fonts, colors, spacing) to Web documents and keeping it consistent throughout the website.
- Clustering
- Using multiple computer systems as one to protect against single server failure.
- ColdFusion
- A specialized web server that enables complex interaction with users and data. For more you can visit CFFAQ.com
- Color Scheme
- A color scheme is the choice of colors used in design for a range of media. For example, the use of a white background with black text is an example of a basic and commonly default color scheme in web design.
- Content
- Any item that is included in a displayed web page.
- Content Management System (CMS)
- System that enables simplified editing of website content and advanced management features such as scheduled rotation of web pages.
- DDS (Detail Design Specification)
- A comprehensive definition of how a product will look, function and interact with the user. Properly written, it can be handed to any designer/programmer so that a final product can be put together.
- DNS (Domain Name System)
- Similar to a phonebook, used to convert names, such as www.google.com, to a Internet Protocol (IP) number.
- Database
- A collection of records, similar to a file cabinet, that can be searched or sorted by any number of various criteria.
- Data Center
- A secure location for housing web servers.
- Database Server
- A high-end computer system that runs database software such as Oracle or Microsoft SQL.
- Domain
- A unique name used to identify a particular website.
- Domain Registration
- The process of reserving a certain name for a website.
- dotNET
- The newest version of Microsoft's proprietary language for interactive web applications.
- Email Client
- Software that runs on end-users computer to download email.
- Firefox
- An alternative web browser to Internet Explorer that more correctly renders webpages according to the Internet Design Standards.
- FLV (Flash Video)
- A proprietary file format used to deliver video over the Internet using Adobe Flash Player. Notable users of the Flash Video format include YouTube, Google Video, Reuters.com, Yahoo! Video and MySpace.
- FTP
- File Transfer Protocol. An ancient (in internet terms) way to transfer files to and from remote servers. This protocol transmits all data in clear text. It is readily viewed and not a secure way of transferring files.
- Flash
- Among the earliest of interactive web programming languages. It enables the creation of animated and highly interactive websites.
- Font Family
- A font family is a group of fonts,designed to be used in combination and exhibiting typography design. Font families are used in CSS to help design the typography of a website. For more on font families visit wikipedia.
- Footer
- The text and images at the bottom of a web document that provide information on author/institutional sponsor, revision date, copyright, comments form, and navigational links. Sometimes these links are buttons. The footer is often set off from the rest of the text on the page by a horizontal rule. Footers are not the opposite of headers in web documents.
- Fusebox
- A web application framework for ColdFusion and PHP. Originally released in 1997, it is currently in its fifth major incarnation. Development of Fusebox 6 is underway. Fusebox is intended to be easy to learn and provides benefits by helping developers structure their code through a set of simple conventions. Fusebox also allows advanced developers to build large applications, leveraging design patterns and object-oriented programming techniques if they wish.
- HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language)
- Standard Internet programming language used for webpage design so that all browsers can render them the same.
- Header
- The top part of a Web document. You can usually find the title of the page and the meta-data here.
- Header (web design element)
- The top part of a web page or web site. Normally this is where the name of the company, slogan, and or logo would appear on the site. Studies have show that our eyes are first drawn to the top left corner of a website.
- IMAP
- An alternative Internet mail protocol to POP3 intended for use with server-based mail folders. This is the protocol of choice for mobile devices such as Treos.
- ISP (Internet Service Provider)
- Provides connectivity to the internet for end-users or other businesses.
- JS (JavaScript)
- JavaScript is a dynamic, weakly typed, prototype-based language with first-class functions. JavaScript was influenced by many languages and was designed to have a similar look to Java, but be easier for non-programmers to work with. The language is best known for its use in websites (as client-side JavaScript), but is also used to enable scripting access to objects embedded in other applications. Despite the name, JavaScript is unrelated to the Java programming language; though both have a common debt to C syntax. The language was renamed from LiveScript in a co-marketing deal between Netscape and Sun in exchange for Netscape bundling Sun's Java runtime with their browser, which was dominant at the time. JavaScript semantics is much more similar to the Self programming language. "JavaScript" is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. It was used under license for technology invented and implemented by Netscape Communications and current entities such as the Mozilla Foundation.
- JSP (Java Server Pages)
- A standards based language for interactive web design.
- Java
- An open standards language primarily used for interactive web applications.
- LDAP
- Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. Open standard that enables multiple types of systems to get login information from a central source. It is also used for address books and membership directories.
- Layout
- The way in which a something is laid out and put together in regards to positioning. In the web world this often will refer to the layout (positioning) of various elements on the web site and or web page. QuantumDelta generally designs sites with an overall web site layout. Occasionally, there will be a site design for the home page and a site design for sub pages of the web site.
- MySQL
- A public domain database engine with many features equal to or better than Oracle.
- MS SQL
- Microsoft's database software, similar to Oracle.
- Mpeg4
- Type of compression used in video streams. Highly efficient and often used for mobile devices such as iPods. Optimized for Internet connection speeds rather than local network environments.
- Navigation
- The links within a website that allow you to navigate from page to page.
- OS (Operating System)
- Program that utilizes your computer hardware to enable other programs to run. Windows, Linux, and MacOS are all operating systems.
- Oracle
- High-end database used primarily by large commercial entities.
- PHP
- A programming language designed for building interactive web applications.
- POP (Post Office Protocol)
- The original language used to download email from a server to a computer.
- Page Name
- The file name of a particular page on a website.
- Page Template
- A pre-designed generic page which may be used as a base to create new web pages.
- Page Title
- The name of a particular page on a website that shows up in the title bar on the web browser.
- Privacy Policy
- Policy that states how your personal information will be protected by a company.
- Prototype
- A mock-up or model representing a final product.
- Quicktime
- Apple's proprietary video format for streaming or recorded media.
- SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)
- Used for sending email on the internet.
- SQL (Server Query Language)
- A standardized programming language used to find and control databases.
- Site Map
- An outline of page titles for a particular website with links to each page.
- Site Search
- Mechanism to search for specific words or phrases within a single website.
- Sub-Navigation
- A set of navigational links that are normally nested under a top-level or main level set of navigational links to provide a site visitor with links to go deeper into a website. Example, if you were visiting a website shopping for a new vehicle. You might see top-level navigation for Cars, Truck, SUV's. After clicking on the link for Trucks, you might see sub-navigation for additional options like 2X4 and 4X4, these links are called sub-navigation.
- Template
- A set of pre-designed formats for text and graphics on which new pages and webs can be based.
- Thumbnail
- Reduced-size versions of pictures, used to make it easier to scan and recognize them.
- Thunderbird
- Email client from the same people who make Firefox. It is their equivalent of Microsoft's Outlook Express.
- Virtualization
- The technology that enables dynamic movement of operating systems between multiple computer systems and running multiple operating systems on a single computer system.
- Web Application
- An application that is accessed via web over a network such as the Internet or an intranet.
- Web Application Server
- A computer that serves web applications.
- Web Server
- A computer that converts content into pages viewable by browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.). Usually runs on Linux or Microsoft Windows Server.
- Webstats
- Statistical information gathered from the web server logs about visitors to the website.
- WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get)
- Type of editor where the content and formatting seen on the screen is the same as the final document, hence the name.