Glossary RD Glossary
- Hyperlink
- A part of the web page that links to another web page. By clicking on a hyperlink user redirects the browser to another page. The word hyperlink is sometimes shortened to just "link".
- Internet Service Provider (ISP)
- A company or institution that provides access to the Internet in some form, usually for money. They will usually allow users to dial up through a modem, DSL, or cable connection to view the information on the Internet Access is via SLIP, PPP, or TCP/IP. Picking your ISP is an important decision but has more to do with how you access the Internet rather than which host you choose.
- IP
- (Internet Protocol) is tha main protocol used on the Internet.
- IP Address
- Internet Protocol Address. A unique number identifying all devices connected to the Internet. This number is usually shown in groups of numbers from 0 to 255, separated by periods.
- IP packet
- IP packet is the basic data chunk that can be sent over the Internet. All the data is partitioned into IP packets on the sending computer and reassembled on the receiving computer.
- Javascript
- A scripting language which enables web designers to add dynamic, interactive elements to a web site.
- LAN
- Local Area Network. A network of devices (computers, printers, hubs) occupying a small area. Usually LANs do not span more than one building. LANs are very fast compared to WANs.
- Linux
- A free UNIX-like operating system developed by Linus Torvalds. Linux and FreeBSD are very often used by hosting companies as their operating systems.
- Login
- An alias for an individual that is used for identification and authentication when accessing a computer system. Usually it is a sequence of characters and digits.
- MAC
- Media Access Control. A network protocol used to control the access to the network by different devices.
- Mailserver
- The Internet host (together with the appropriate software) that is used to send, receive and forward email messages.
- Microsoft SQL Server
- Microsoft's high-end SQL database running on Windows systems.
- MySQL
- Most popular open-source relational database. Many Unix-based plans allow MySQL databases.
- Network
- A group of electronic devices connected together that are able to communicate with each other.
- Operating system
- A software heart of the computer. It is a set of programs that manage the hardware resources of a computer, provide the environment for application programs to run and provide the user interface. Most known operating systems are: different flavors of Unix (SunOs, HP-UX, Irix, FreeBSD, Linux,...), MacOS and Windows.
- PHP
- PHP is an free, open-source server-side scripting language. PHP code can be embedded in HTML. PHP files usually have extensions like .php or .php3. PHP language style is similar to C and Java. Here is the PHP group web site. Other popular server-side scripting languages are ASP, Perl, ColdFusion, TCL, Python, and JSP.
- Port
- A socket on the computer or other network device used to connect it to the network.
- Protocol
- A set of rules by following which two parties can communicate. The TCP/IP protocol suite is the basis of todays Internet.
- Server
- A networked computer that handles client requests for Web pages.
- Service Provider
- A company that provides access to the Internet, usually for a fee.
- SQL
- Structured Query Language. Limited programming language used for updating and performing queries on relational databases. All databases share a common subset of SQL. Most popular SQL databases available with hosting plans are MySQL and MS SQL.
- Subdomain
- Sub domain is a way to divide your site into sections with short and easy to remember names. For example, a section of this site for new users could be at newbies.webhostingratings.com. Other use of subdomains might be to let somebody else use your account (but this may not be allowed by your host's terms of use). Large websites might make their subdomains point to another server to reduce load on the main www site.
- Support
- Telephone or e-mail technical support provided to a web hosting company's customers. When there's a problem with your site or your e-mail, you want to be able to get an answer promptly by e-mail or on the phone. Some hosting companies offer email only support, telephone support, or a combination of both. Some hosting companies provide 24hr 7 days a week support (24/7). This is important if your site is an e-commerce site with a lot of daily visitors.
- TCP/IP
- This is a set of communications protocols to connect hosts on the Internet.
- Traffic
- The term “traffic” describes the amount of data transferred and the number of visits made to a web site for a given period. The level of traffic generation determines the type of infrastructure you need for your personal or business web site, as well as the price that has to be paid to your Internet Service Provider for the traffic consumed over a specific period of time.
