We have included some terms that are commonly used in the online world.
Telephone number dialed to access an online service or Internet provider.
A worded formed from the initial letters of each of the successive parts or major parts of a compound term. Examples: BTW (by the way), FYI (for your information), IMHO (in my humble opinion).
The string of characters that you must give an electronic mail program to direct a message to a particular person.
The term "Internet address" often refers to an assigned number, which identifies a host on this network.
Abbreviation for Anonymous FTP. See Appendix 6.
See Anonymous FTP in Appendix 6.
(1) ANSI is an organization that sets standards.
(2) 'ANSI graphics' (ref. the term ANSI-BBS) is a set of cursor control codes that originated on the VT100 terminal. Many online services use them to enhance their transmission of characters to communication programs. The escape character, followed by other characters, are used to move the cursor on the screen, change color, and more.
The American Standard Code for Information Interchange. A standard seven- bit code created to achieve compatibility between various types of data processing equipment. ASCII, pronounced "ask-key," is the common code for microcomputer equipment.
The Standard ASCII Character Set consists of 128 decimal numbers ranging from zero through 127 assigned to letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and the most common special characters. Each code can be represented by a 7 digit binary number: 0000000 through 1111111.
The Extended ASCII Character Set also consists of 128 decimal numbers and ranges from 128 through 255 representing additional special, mathematical, graphic, and foreign characters.
Retrieval of plain ASCII text (without special codes). Normally, it takes place without automatic error correction, but it is typically managed by XON/XOFF flow control.
Serial communication between two computers. When signals are sent to a computer at irregular intervals, they are described as asynchronous. Data is sent at irregular intervals by preceding each character with a start bit and following it with a stop bit.
Asynchronous transmission allows a character to be sent at random after the preceding character has been sent, without regard to any timing device. So, in case of line noise, the modem can find out right away where the next byte should start.
When a modem dials a telephone number automatically. Autodial may be started by the user entering the number manually, or the number may be sent automatically by the communications program (for example after having been selected from a phone register).
How much you can send through a connection. Usually measured in bits-per- second.
A unit of measurement that shows the number of discrete signal elements, such as bits that can be sent per second.
Bits per second (bps) is the number of binary digits sent in one second. There is a difference between bps and baud rate, and the two are often confused. For example, a device such as a modem said to send at 2400 baud is not correct. It actually sends 2400 bits per second.
Both baud rate and bps refer to the rate at which the bits within a single frame are sent. The gaps between the frames can be of variable length. Accordingly, neither baud rate nor bps refer accurately to the rate at which information is actually being transferred.
Bulletin Board or Bulletin Board System. See Bulletin Board.
Standard frequencies used in older modems made in the United States. The standard for 300 bps is called Bell 103. The standard for 1200 bps full duplex is called Bell 212A. Modems using these standards are normally unable to communicate with ITU-TSS standard modems at these speeds.
Coding scheme developed in Taiwan for using Chinese on computers. There are varieties of Big5 codes, the most common being ET Big5 (the code used by the Taiwanese program ETen, pronounced Yi3tian1) and HKU Big5 (the code used for programs developed at Hong Kong University).
ET Big5 files must be read with the ETen operating system. Check out the Archie server at telnet://archie.TWNIC.NET (login: archie) to locate software and get more information.
The base 2 number system in which only the digits 1 and 0 are used is called the binary system. The binary system lets us express any number, if we have enough bits, as a combination of 1's and 0's. Also used to express conditions like on/off, true/false, yes/no.
Macintosh software and documents (other than text files) are often "encoded" into text files for transmission over the network. A common standard for such encoding is referred to as BinHex. You can usually tell that a file contains a BinHex encoded Mac file as the file name ends in ".hqx".
BinHex5.0 format is a MacBinary format, while BinHex 4.0 files are Macintosh ASCII format.
To keep transmission times short, the BinHexed files are often "compressed" using a utility like StuffIt. To reconstitute the Mac application or document you may need to "un-StuffIt." The freeware program, StuffIt Expander, will BinHex and unstuff most Mac files.
Uncompression programs are available from archives on the Internet. Examples: xbin23.zip (DOS), mcvert (Unix), and binhex (VM/CMS).
Bit is an abbreviation for Binary digIT. Computer words and data are made- up of bits, the smallest unit of information.
A bit can be either zero or one, represented in a circuit by an off or on state, respectively. The bits are set on or off to store data, or to form a code that in turn sends instructions to the computer's central processing unit.
Bits per second (bps) is the number of binary digits sent in one second. It refers to the rate at which the bits within a single frame are sent ('frame' is another term for 'packet'). The gaps between frames can be of variable length. Accordingly, bps does not refer to the rate at which information is actually being transferred.
We usually estimate the number of characters transferred per second (cps) by dividing the number of bps by 10. Example: 2400 bps transfers around 240 characters per second.
A Boolean search is a search that allows logical relations between parts. This means that you power your request with the ability to find all relevant documents that fulfill one condition AND (OR) another one. Other common operators include NOT and NEAR. The search algorithm is built on the algebraic theories of the English mathematician George Booles.
The return of a piece of mail because of an error in its delivery.
Abbreviation for bits per second. See above.
To view and possibly edit a file of data on screen similar to handling text in a word processing document.
(By The Way) -- A shorthand appended to a comment written in an online forum.
A computer, often a microcomputer, set up to receive calls and work as an online service. The BBSes let users communicate with each other through message bases, and exchange files. They may also offer other services (like news, database searches, and online shopping).
Carrier is the tone modems send over a phone line before any data is sent on it. This tone has a fixed frequency and a fixed amplitude. It is then changed to show data.
Here used about a letter, a number or another typographical symbol or code.
The Consultative Committee for International Telephony and Telegraphy. Was an international consultative committee, organized by the United Nations. Now replaced by ITU-TSS. See ITU (below).
A COM port (or communication port) is a communications channel or pathway over which data is transferred between remote computing devices.
MS-DOS computers may have as many as four COM ports, COM1, COM2, COM3, and COM4. These are serial ports most often used with a modem to set up a communications channel over telephone lines. They can also be used to send data to a serial printer, or to connect a serial mouse.
(1) To compact data to save space.
(2) Common compression function on the Internet. Depending on the distribution of data in a file, compression may reduce its size by 25% to 70%.
COMPRESS files are often, but not always, noted with the file extension .Z. Data archive and compression processes can be combined to form files like filename.tar.z (see TAR below).
If you download a file with a file type showing that it is compressed, you will need a program to expand it before you can use it. Check out the http://www.simtel.net/simtel.net/msdos/compress-pre.html library. Look for files starting with 'comp' (as in COMP430D.EXE) to find programs that can expand .Z-files.
See http://www.simtel.net/simtel.net/msdos/00_start-pre.html for more about ARC, ARJ, LZH, NUSQ, TAR, SQueeze, ZIP, ZOO, LBR-compressed and archived files.
See decompression.
Also called SIG (Special Interest Group), Forum, RoundTable, Echo. A conference is an area on a bulletin board or online service set up as a mini board. Most conferences have separate message bases and often also file libraries and bulletins. Conferences are focused on topics, like politics, games, multimedia and product support.
A term used for the hours, minutes, and seconds that a user is connected to an online service. On several commercial services, users have to pay for connect time.
Characters per second. See Bits per second.
Coding for privacy.
There are several different coding systems for Cyrillic characters (Russian). Most important are the KOI-8 Unix standard, and CP-1225, primarily used for Microsoft Windows.
Cyrillic fonts and keyboard maps are available from several sources. Links for information:
http://www.micronixusa.com/greg/cyrillic.html
http://www.free.net/Docs/cyrillic/notes.en.html
Information of any kind, including binary, decimal or hexadecimal numbers, integer numbers, text strings, etc.
A database is a highly structured file (or set of files) that tries to provide all the information assigned to a particular subject and to allow programs to access only items they need.
Online services offer databases that users can search to find full-text or bibliographic references to desired topics.
Data Communications Equipment/Data Terminal Equipment. Equipment connected to an RS232 connector must be either a DCE (like a modem or a printer) or a DTE (computer or terminal). The term defines the types of equipment that will "talk" and "listen."
Digital Equipment Corporation network. A networking protocol for DEC computers and network devices.
Files available from online archives are often compressed to save space, and reduce retrieval time.
A FAQ about how to decompress 'anything' is regularly posted to the comp.compression newsgroup.
When a value, parameter, attribute, or option is assigned by a communications program, modem, or online system unless something else is specified, it is called the default.
For example, communication programs often have prespecified values for baud rate, bit size and parity that are used unless alternative values are given. These prespecified values are called the defaults.
Some services give users a choice between two or more options. If a selection is not made by the user, then a selection is automatically assigned, by default.
An indirect connection to the Internet or an online service through a modem or a digital phone network adapter.
A service offered by many bulletin boards to allow the user to leave the (remote) main software system to use one or several independent programs, like games and databases.
The transfer of data from an online service and "down" to your computers' disk.
Data Terminal Ready is a circuit which, when ON, tells the modem that your computer is ready to communicate. Most modems are unable to tell your computer that a connection has been set up with a remote computer before this circuit has been switched off. If your computer turns this signal OFF, while it is in a dialog with a remote computer, the modem will normally disconnect.
Describes how you see text entered by the keyboard. When the setting is HALF DUPLEX, all characters entered on your computer for transfer to an online service (or your modem) will be displayed. In addition, you will normally receive an echo from the online service (or modem). The result will often 'bbee lliikkee tthhiiss'.
When using the setting FULL DUPLEX, typed characters will not be shown. What you see, are characters echoed back to you from the online service and/or your modem.
(1) When data is being sent, the receiving device often resends the information back so the sending device can be sure it was received correctly.
(2) Term used on FidoNet for this network's system of exchanging conferences (parallel conferencing).
Abbreviation for Electronic Mail.
A very common method of networking computers in a LAN. Ethernet will handle about 10,000,000 bits-per-second and can be used with almost any kind of computer.
A file server is a device "serving" files to everyone on a network. It allows everyone on the network to get files in a single place, on one computer. Typically, it is a combination computer, data management software, and large capacity hard disk drive.
The copying of a file from one computer to another over a computer network.
A "flame" is a conference message sent by someone who disagrees so violently that they are willing to sink to personal attacks. Flames can be extremely annoying, and can get the writer banished from several conference networks.
A mathematical algorithm from which an image can be created. A fractal formula generates a fractal picture composed of an image based on a basic pattern. An outgrowth of chaos mathematics, it is being used for compressing and decompressing high quality images. Usually, a fractally compressed image has an extremely small file size.
A program, text, or file in which the author still holds the copyright but allows the item to be used and distributed free of charge.
The term full-duplex means the transmission of data in two directions simultaneously as from a terminal to a computer or from the computer to the terminal. Full-duplex is simultaneous two-way communication.
A database containing the full text of an article, a chapter in a book, or a book. The contents are not limited to abstracted information (indexes, bibliographic information).
Here, we use the term gateway about an interconnection between two (or more) online services, set up to let a user of one service use the other service's offerings through the first service's user interface.
The term also has other meanings:
A gateway provides an interconnection between two networks with different communications protocols. Gateways operate at the 4th through 7th layer of the OSI model. For example, a PAD (a packet assembler/disassembler) is a device used to interface non-X.25 devices to an X.25 network. The PAD serves as a gateway. Protocol converters are gateways between networks.
The gateway, provided by an adapter card in a workstation, enables the network to perform as if it were a mainframe terminal connected directly to the mainframe.
Graphical User Interface. Front end software based on the use of pictures (icons) to represent commands and files.
"Gnu's Not UNIX." A UNIX-compatible operating system developed by the Free Software Foundation.
Coding scheme for using Chinese on computers developed in mainland China. More information at http://www.math.uio.no/faq/chinese-text/faq.html
The term half-duplex means the transmission of data in either direction but only one direction at a time.
Amateur radio.
An alias used on a bulletin board or online service instead of your real name. Often used in chats.
(1) In an email message, the part that precedes the body of a message and contains, among other things, the message originator, date and time.
(2) On a packet switched network, the portion of a package, preceding the actual data, containing source and destination addresses, and error checking and other fields.
A term for host computer, remote computer or online service. Here, we use it about a timesharing computer, a BBS system, or a central computer that controls a network and delivers online services.
is a medium with pointers to other media (a superset of hypertext). Often used in connection with the World Wide Web on Internet. Here, the term means that browsers might not display a text file, but might display images or sound or animations.
A term often used about online services (not unlike the term power utility).
An internal (corporate) network using Internet technology. Usually it involves the use of the TCP/IP protocols.
Pointers for more information:
http://www.intrack.com/intranet/ http://www.innergy.com/ix/index.html
A technology being offered by many telephone carriers of the world. ISDN combines voice and digital network services in a single medium, making it possible to offer customers digital data services as well as voice connections through a single "wire." The standards that define ISDN are specified by ITU-TSS. For more information, link to this Web page: http://www.itu.int/home/Search/, and input "isdn" as a search term.
The International Organization for Standardization. A voluntary, nontreaty organization responsible for creating international standards in many areas, including computers and communications. Its members are the national standards organizations of the 89 member countries, including ANSI for the U.S.
ISO is coordinator of the main Internet networking standards that are in use today. Information: http://www.iso.ch/welcome.html.
The International Telecommunication Union, a United Nations treaty organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. Membership includes Telephone, governmental Post, and Telegraph Authorities, scientific and trade associations, and private companies.
ITU consists of three "sectors:" the Radiocommunication Sector, the Telecommunication Standardization Sector (TSS), and the Development Sector. (The CCITT Plenary Assembly is now the World Telecommunication Standardization Conference.)
ITU-TSS sets international communications recommendations. These are often adopted as standards. It also develops interface, modem, and data network recommendations.
The X.25 protocol for access to packet-switched networks was originally a recommendation of CCITT. The CCITT recommendations are now formally known with an ITU designator; for example, CCITT Rec. Q.931 will now be ITU-T- Q.931.
A wide range of ITU documents is available from their information server at http://www.itu.ch/, including:
* ITU publications, speeches, press releases, news. * ITU Databases (ITU Global Directory, ITU-T/ITU-R Catalogues, etc.) * ITU-T Recommendations (fee based). * ITU-T TSB Patent Statements Database. * Catalogue of Software for Radio Spectrum Management.
The Standards Sector of The International Telecommunication Union (see ITU above).
A Japanese industry standard code for presenting the Japanese character set Kanji on computers. JIS defines special ranges of user-defined characters. Only the most popular ones are included.
The newer Shift JIS standard sets aside certain character codes to signal the start of a two-character sequence. Together, these define a single Kanji metacharacter.
There are many oddities to be found in handling Kanji over the network. Sending JIS-encoded messages through the Internet is done using a 7-bit code, called "OLD JIS" (standardized on JUNET). Unfortunately, it incorporates the ESC character, which some systems will filter out. This problem can be overcome by using UUENCODing.
Some services, like APICNET in Tokyo, converts outgoing Kanji messages automatically to 7-bit format.
KIDLINK, the global project for children through 15 years of age, operates two Japanese language mailing lists: KIDLEADER-JAPANESE is for teachers and coordinators, and KIDCAFE-JAPANESE for children only. For a copy of their "How to send and receive Kanji text" help file, send a message to listserv@listserv.nodak.edu with the following command in the body of the mail: GET KIDLINK.KANJI
See http://www.sla.purdue.edu/academic/fll/JapanProj/Je-mail/ for information about sending and receiving electronic mail in Japanese.
Standardized compression method for full-color and gray-scale images that often reduces the size of bitmapped images by a factor of 10 or more with little or no discernible image degradation. Designed to handle "real-world" scenes, for example scanned photographs. Cartoons, line drawings, and other non-realistic images are not JPEG's strong suit. On that sort of material you may get poor image quality and/or little compression.
Archive server for FidoNet modelled after Archie for the Internet. It maintains file lists from FidoNet systems throughout its area and will do searches on these file lists based on netmail requests made to it by remote systems.
JVArcServ lets you search through file listings for the program you are looking for. It will send you an email message back telling you the BBS name, phone number, and file section of all the systems in the network that match the given criteria.
Kilobyte. A unit of data storage size that represents 1024 characters of information.
1,000 bits.
Protocol designed for transferring files between microcomputers and mainframe computers developed by Catchings at Columbia University.
There are both public domain, and copyrighted Kermit programs. Some of these programs are complete programs in themselves offering the communication functions needed for the particular machine on which they are running.
The complete Kermit protocol manual and the source code for various versions are available from:
Kermit Distribution, (212) 854-3703
Columbia University Center for Computing Activities
612 West 115 Street, New York, NY 10025
Local Area Network. A data network intended to serve an area of only a few square kilometers or less.
Link Access Procedure for Modems is an ITU-TSS standard for modem modulation and error control. It is the primary basis for the ITU-TSS V.42 protocol.
The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. Email address directory. See the LDAP home page at http://www.umich.edu/~dirsvcs/ldap/. The LDAP protocol is described in RFC-1777 (http://info.internet.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc/files/rfc1777.txt), and is an open standard for directory services on the Internet.
Refers to a phone line that is rented for exclusive 24-hour, 7-days-a-week use from your location to another location.
is used on online services about a collection of related databases (that you may search in) or files (that may be retrieved).
File-viewing program for MS-DOS computers (see Chapter 14). Registration to Buerg Software at http://www.buerg.com/. You may get a copy of a recent version at http://www.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/txtutl/.
Noun: The account name used to gain access to a computer system. Not a secret (contrast with Password).
Verb: The act of entering into a computer system, for example, "Login to the WELL and then go to the GBN conference."
Fast and flexible shareware program for boolean searches in text files. Registration: US$15 plus postage to David L. Trafton, 6309 Stoneham Rd., Bethesda, Md. 20817, U.S.A.
No active participation by a subscriber to a mailing list, a conference, or Usenet newsgroup. A person who is lurking is just listening to the discussion.
A machine that connects to two or more electronic mail systems (including dissimilar mail systems) and transfers messages among them.
A series of machine names used to direct electronic mail from one user to the other.
A software program that distributes files or information in response to requests sent by email.
2^2 bits of information. Usually used to express a data transfer rate, as in, 1 megabit/second (= 1Mbps).
(1) Message handling Service. Electronic mail software from Action Technologies licensed by Novell for its Netware operating systems. Provides message routing and store and forward capabilities. MHS has gateways into PROFS, and X.400 message systems. It also has a directory naming service and binary attachments.
(2) Message Handling System. The standard defined by ITU-TSS as X.400 and by ISO as Message-Oriented Text Interchange Standard (MOTIS). MHS is the X.400 family of services and protocols that provides the functions for global email transfer among local mail systems.
Musical Instrument Digital Interface. A specification that standardizes the interface between computers and digital devices that simulate musical instruments. Rather than transmit bulky digitized sound samples, a computer generates music on a MIDI synthesizer by sending commands just a few bytes in length characterizing the pitch and duration of sounds (and the instruments that produce them). Each channel of a MIDI synthesizer corresponds to a different instrument, or "voice," and you can program several channels simultaneously to produce symphonic sound.
Microcom Networking Protocol. A proprietary standard of error control and data compression.
An acronym for MOdulator-DEModulator. It is a device that converts digital data from a computer or terminal into analog data that can be sent over telephone lines. On the receiving end, it converts the analog data back to digital data.
Most modern modems can handle the dialing and answering of a telephone call and generate the speed of the data transmission, measured in bits per second, or baud rates. The telephone industry sometimes refers to a modem as a dataset.
A person, or a small group of people, who manage moderated mailing lists and newsgroups. Moderators are responsible for deciding which email submissions are passed on to list.
Motion Picture Experts Group. A multimedia video playback standard that allows digital video to be compressed using a combination of JPEG image compression and differencing (encoding a video sequence by recording differences between frames rather than entire images of each frame).
There are two MPEG standards: MPEG-1, which supports a playback quality roughly equal to that of a VCR, and MPEG-2, which supports high-quality digital video.
MP3 stands MPEG-1 layer 3, a method of storing high quality music files on a disk in such a way that the file size is relatively small. Background information at http://www.mp3.com/dummies.html.
Multiple User Dimension, Multiple User Dungeon, or Multiple User Dialogue. A computer program which users can log into and explore. Each user takes control of a computerized persona/avatar/incarnation/character. You can walk around, chat with other characters, explore dangerous monster-infested areas, solve puzzles, and even create your very own rooms, descriptions and items.
For information, retrieve the various MUD FAQs from these directories
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/games/mud-faq/
http://tecfa.unige.ch/pub/documentation/MUD/
The No>m Standard Code for Information Interchange (NSCII) is a 16-bit character encoding standard used in Vietnam. No>m has been the writing system, based on ideographic (Chinese) characters, in use since the tenth century for the spoken Vietnamese language.
North American Presentation-Level Protocol Syntax. A text and graphics data transmission format for sending large amounts of information between computers.
It was designed for the encoding of alphanumeric, alpha-mosaic, alpha- geometric and alpha-photographic constructs. The standard is resolution independent and device independent, and can easily accommodate international character sets, bit-mapped images in color, animation and sound.
NAPLPS was originally developed for videotext and teletext systems through the Canadian Standards Association (CSA-T500-1983). It was later enhanced by AT&T, and in 1983 became an ANSI standard (ANSI-X3.110-1983).
Some videotext systems, including Prodigy (U.S.A.), are based on NAPLPS. On CompuServe, NAPLPS has been replaced with a newer protocol called GIF, Graphics Interchange Format.
A pun on "etiquette" referring to proper behavior on a network.
A data communications system that interconnects computer systems at various sites.
Devices on a network that demand or supply services or where transmission paths are connected. Node is often used instead of workstation.
The National Research and Education Network. A proposed computer network to be built in the U.S.A.
Network User Address. The network address in a packet data network. The electronic number that is sent to the network to connect to an online service. Also, called X.121 address.
Network User Identification. The user name/password that you use to get access to (and use) a commercial packet switched network.
has the opposite meaning of "Online" (see below). It signifies that your computer is not in direct communication with a remote online service.
A computer program making the handling of mail and files from online services easier (and cheaper). Some also provides automatic mail and file transfers.
Typically, you first connect to an online service (often a BBS) to capture new mail in a compressed file (typically through a "QMail door program.") Many offline mail reader programs are idle while this goes on, while others can do communications as well.
When disconnected from the service, the offline reader works as a combination message database and message editor. It gives you the feeling of still being connected to the online service, while actually being completely disconnected.
When you have read and replied to all messages offline, the offline reader creates a compressed "packet" containing any replies entered. Some also let you prepare packets containing commands to join or leave conferences, subscribe to or signoff from special services, and download files.
Then, you dial back to the BBS to upload (send) the packet, either using the offline reader's communications module, or another communications program.
Readers are available for MS-DOS, MS-Windows, Macintosh, Amiga, Atari ST, Unix, and CP/M computers. The programs may be downloaded from many BBSes, and commercial services.
Being connected via modem or a digital phone adapter to a computer service.
A file of information that can be directly accessed by the user.
Open System Interconnection. A set of protocols designed to be an international standard method for connecting unlike computers and networks.
A FAQ, Introductory information about OSI, is posted each month to the comp.protocols.iso, comp.answers, and news.answers newsgroups.
Term used about a network that is not directly connected to the Internet, but can exchange email with networks directly linked to the Internet. Examples: CompuServe, Prodigy.
DOS-based program that automates access to CompuServe using an elaborate array of menus. Free for personal use. Contact: Ozarks West Software, 14150 Gleneagle Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80921, U.S.A.
(1) A group of bits sent by a modem that make up a byte of information.
(2) A group of bytes sent by a file transfer protocol.
Also called Packet Switching Networks (PDN). Value added networks offering long distance computer communications. They let users access a remote computer, by dialing a local node, or access point.
The packet data networks use high speed digital links, which can be land lines or satellite communications, to send data from one computer to another using packets of data. They use synchronous communications, usually with the X.25 protocol. The routes are continually optimized, and successive packets of the same message need not necessarily follow the same path.
is a method of communications by radio in which digital information prepared on a computer is converted to short, swift audio bursts ("packets") by a "terminal node controller" or "packet controller," and sent through a radio to another location where a similar station delivers it error-free to the receiving computer. It can send text as well as binary files.
Sending data in packets through a network to some remote location. The data to be sent is subdivided into individual packets of data, each having a unique identification and carrying its destination address. This allows each packet to go by a different route. The packet ID lets the data be reassembled in proper sequence.
A code used to gain access to a locked system. Good passwords contain letters and non-letters and are not simple combinations such as "virtue7". A good password might be: Ho/t$1-6.
Personal computer.
See Packet data networks.
A million billion bits.
Three meanings. First, a place where information goes into or out of a computer, or both. For example, the "serial port" on a person computer is where a modem may be connected. (See COM Port above.)
On the Internet, "port" often refers to a number that is part of a URL, appearing after a colon (:) right after the domain name. Every service on an Internet server "listens" on a particular port number on that server. Most services have standard port numbers. For example, Web servers normally listen on port 80. Services can also listen on non-standard ports, in which case the port number must be specified in a URL when accessing the server, so you might see a URL of the form:
gopher://peg.cwis.uci.edu:7000/
This shows a gopher server running on a non-standard port (the standard gopher port is 70).
Finally, "port" also refers to translating a piece of software to bring it from one type of computer system to another, for example to translate a Windows program to make it run on a Macintosh.
Several times during interactive dialogs with online services, the flow of data stops while the host computer waits for commands from the user. At this point, the service often presents the user with a reminder, a cue, a prompt. These are some typical prompts:
?
!
WHAT NOW?
(Read) next letter -
ulrik 1>
System News - 5000>
Enter #, <H>elp, or <CR> to continue?
Action ==> (Inbox)
Command:
Enter command or <RETURN>
-->
A formal description of message formats and the rules two computers must follow to exchange messages. Protocols can describe low-level details of machine-to-machine interface (for example, the order in which bits and bytes are sent across the wire), or high-level exchanges between allocation programs (for example, the way in which two programs transfer a file across the Internet).
British Telecom's Packet Switch Stream, an X.25 packet data network.
Postal Telegraph and Telephone. A telephone service provider, often a monopoly, in a particular country.
Free from copyrights or patents, these programs, texts or files may be used by the public without any payments to the creators.
is an Arabic-Latin-Arabic transliteration system between Arabic script languages and the Latin script embodied in the ASCII character set. The Qalam system is designed to transliterate Arabic script languages for computer mediated communication by individuals literate in those languages.
See http://leb.net/pub/qalam/QALAM.html for more information, and a collection of Arabic-Script electronic texts.
Qwikmail. A common offline message file format for bulletin boards offering mail through a QMail Door. The .QWK door and file format has been used to develop entire BBS networks (example: ILINK.)
There are QWK-format mail readers for Apple, Amiga, Atari, C64/C128, CoCo/OS9, CP/M, Macintosh, MS-DOS, OS/2, Unix, Windows and Windows NT. For example, visit http://www.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/msdos/mailnews/ to retrieve QWK-related programs for MS-DOS.
Having the appearance of immediate action. For example, typing messages that appear on another's monitor almost instantly.
Remote Imaging Protocol. Also called RIPscrip. A graphics protocol for bulletin boards designed as an efficient way of delivering graphics to online services.
A special-purpose computer (or software package) that handles the connection between two or more networks. Routers spend all their time looking at the destination addresses of the packets passing through them, and deciding which route to send them on.
The process of delivering a message across a network or networks via the most proper path. While simple in principle, routing is a specialized, complex science, influenced by a plethora of factors. The more networks are interconnected, the more esoteric routing is set to become.
A set of commands that enable a communications program to execute a given set of tasks automatically (macro commands).
A search engine looks up the word(s) you input in an index to Web documents. Indexes vary in size. None will be completely comprehensive and up-to-date though most are updated regularly and some are huge. Some also cover Usenet news archives, and there are others for gopher servers.
A computer or a software package that provides a specific kind of service to client software running on other computers. The term can refer to a particular piece of software, such as a WWW server, or to the machine on which the software is running. (Example: mail server is down today, that's why email isn't getting out.")
A single server machine could have several different server software packages running on it, thus providing many different servers to clients on the network.
Copyrighted programs, texts, or other types of application files sold on a try-before-you-buy basis. If you continue using the item past a certain evaluation period, you must pay the author a given "registration fee." Also often referred to as "user-supported."
Special Interest Group.
System Network Architecture. An IBM product.
A pejorative term referring to the national postal service in different countries.
An inappropriate attempt to use a mailing list, a conference, or another networked communications facility as if it was a broadcast medium by sending the same message to many people who didn't ask for it.
The most popular compression/decompression program for Macintosh computers.
A method for searching a database. Works like the search function in a common word processor program.
On online services, your commands will often search the full document (including the title, subtitles, keywords, and the full text). Sometimes, string searches just return a line or a few lines around the hit. In other cases, they return the full screen or the full document.
Campus Wide Information Services.
Common name used on bulletin boards for System Operator. This is the person in charge of maintenance and helping users.
Generic name for a computer with connected equipment or for an online service or bulletin board.
Leased lines come in different grades of which T-1 and T-3 are examples. A T-1 link provides a communications link at up to 2.048 megabits per second.
A term for a digital carrier facility used to send a DS-3 formatted digital signal at 44.746 megabits per second.
.TAR or .tar is a file name extension used by a Unix utility for archiving files, often used with "compress." The resulting files can contain both files and directories, and may include the subdirectory structure needed to restore the files.
The way in which a "tarred" file is "untarred" depends on the operating system you are using. Utilities to extract on DOS machines may be retrieved at http://www.simtel.net/simtel.net/msdos/00_start-pre.html.
A program for automatic access to CompuServe. It lets callers read and respond to personal email and forum message threads offline, and download files. Contact: Support Group, Inc., Lake Technology Park, McHenry, MD 21541, U.S.A. Also: TAPCIS Forum. Email: 74020.10@compuserve.com. (On CompuServe: 74020,10). Registration: US$ 79.00.
A program that allows a computer to emulate a terminal. The workstation appears as a given type of terminal to the remote host.
Abbreviation for TELETYPE, a special type of writing terminal (electrical/mechanical). Also, known as 'dumb terminal'.
This is when a communications program emulates a TTY machine, which only involves printing characters and recognizing the linefeed, carriage return and backspace characters.
A 16 bit standard system for encoding characters of all the world's languages. The first 128 codes of Unicode are the same as in ASCII. The system uses two bytes for each character rather than one, and can handle 65,536 character combinations rather than ASCII's just 256.
Unicode can house the alphabets of most of the world's languages, including a complete complement of Chinese, Korean and Japanese specific characters. ISO defines a four-byte character set for world alphabets, but uses Unicode as a subset.
For information, see http://unicode.org.
An operating system that supports multi-user and multitasking operations.
The act of transferring data from your computer's disk (up) to an online service and storage there.
A computer virus is a small computer program created by a computer-literate vandal with the purpose of destroying data or even applications programs in other people's computers.
The Virtual Reality Markup Language aims at extending the World Wide Web into the domain of three-dimensional graphics. VRML "worlds" can depict realistic or otherworldly places, which can contain objects that link to other documents or VRML worlds on the Web. For information, see The Virtual Reality Entertainment Resource Guide http://www.vr-atlantis.com/.
Wide Area Network.
What You See is What You Get.
A ITU-TSS standard communications protocol used internationally in packet data networks. It provides error-checked communication between packet data networks and their users or other networks.
Rather than sending a stream of bits like a modem, an X.25 router sends packets of data. There are different packet sizes and types. Each packet contains data to be sent, information about the packet's origin, destination, size, and its place in the order of the packets sent. There are clear packets that perform the equivalent of hanging-up the phone. There are reset, restart, and diagnostic packets. On the receiving end, the packet assembler/ disassembler (PAD) in the router translates the packets back into a readable format.
The ITU-TSS and ISO standard for electronic mail.
The ITU-TSS and ISO standard for electronic directory services.
See Compress.
Irving Kind's Glossary of Computer Oriented Abbreviations and Acronyms is available at http://www.access.digex.net/~ikind/babel.html. Babel is updated three times a year.