Glossary

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 SDSL

Another variation of DSL to be widely used is SDSL or Symmetric DSL (digital subscriber line). The main characteristic of SDSL is that it is symmetrical, meaning an equal amount of bandwidth is available in both directions. In other words, downloading has the exact same data capacity as uploading. A typical use of SDSL would be a company running a web server at their office (web servers require upstream bandwidth so you would need the upstream capacity as much as the downstream capacity). SDSL can carry about as much data on a single wire of twisted-pair as can be carried on a T1 line.

 SMTP

An acronym for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, SMTP is the protocol used for routing e-mail across the Internet.

 SSL

An acronym for Secure Socket Layer, SSL is a protocol developed by Netscape Communications Corporation for securing data transmission in commercial transactions on the Internet. Using public-key cryptography, SSL provides server authentication, data encryption, and data integrity for client/server communications.

 Script

A script is a type of program that consists of a set of instructions for another application or utility to use.

 Search Engine

A search engine is a type of software that creates indexes of databases or Internet sites based on the titles of files, keywords, or the full text of files. The search engine has an interface that allows you to type what you're looking for into a blank field. It then gives you a list of the results of the search. When you use a search engine on the Web, the results are presented to you in hypertext, which means you can click on any item in the list to get the actual file. Common search engines are Google, Yahoo, and AskJeeves.

 Search String

A search string usually refers to a string of words or a phrase that is used to search and locate or retrieve a specific piece of information contained in a database or a set of documents

 Server

A server is a computer that handles requests for data, e-mail, file transfers, and other network services from other computers (i.e., clients).

 Shockwave

Shockwave is a set of programs that allow Macromedia Director animation files to be played over the Internet with a web browser. Possible uses for this type of animation on the Web include online advertising, games, training, and animated logos.

 Signature

A signature is text automatically included at the bottom of an e-mail message or newsgroup posting to personalize it. This can be anything from a clever quote to some additional information about the sender, such as a title, company name and additional e-mail addresses.

 Spam

Originally just a canned sandwich filler product, spam now also refers to the practice of blindly posting commercial messages or advertisements to a large number of unrelated and uninterested newsgroups, and bulk e-mailing unsolicited commercial messages.

 Streaming Media

Streaming data refers to multimedia files, such as video clips and audio, that begin playing seconds after it is received by your computer from the World Wide Web. The media is delivered in a "stream" from the server so that you don't have to wait several minutes or longer to download multimedia files.

 String

A string refers to a sequence of characters, words, or other elements that are connected to each other in some way.

 Syntax Error

Syntax is the order in which words and phrases are put together, such as a URL (web address) which consists of several phrases that are strung together to define a location or service on the Internet. A syntax error occurs when a user (or programmer) has put words in an order that a program does not understand. A syntax error while surfing the Web may be caused by a mistyped or inadvertently rearranged URL, making it incomprehensible to a web browser.