Glossary

 

%Bytes
The percentage of all served data which data sent on behalf of this file represents. For instance, if the server sent 1,000,000 bytes, and it sent this 1,000 byte file 100 times (for a total of 100,00 bytes), then this number would be 10.00.
%Req
The percentage of all server requests which requests for this file represents. For instance, if the server had 1,000 requests, and 100 of them were for the named file, then this number would be 10.00 for that file because 100 is 10.00% of 1,000.

absolute link
A link inside of an HTML document that refers to another document by it's FULL name. (e.g. the link starts with "http://domain.com/...", or, if it is on the same host, it starts with a "/")
Exampes:
<A HREF="http://netmar.com/~joeuser/file.html">
<A HREF="/~joeuser/file.html">

applet
A small application or program, set up to run on a Web page. This word is most often associated with Java programs.

average view time
This is the average length of time that viewers looked at a single page. This number is calculated by recording the time at which the request for the file was made, and subtracting from the time at which the next request was made from the same machine. Obviously, this is not an exact science, but certain sanity checks do help keep this figures fairly accurate. For instance, any read times over 900 seconds (15 minutes) are discarded when calculating this average. This helps rule out instances where people will load a page, then get up from their computer and come back.

backbone
A primary line of any network. Ideally, a high-speed connection between other smaller networks.

bandwidth
The amount of data a network link can handle per second. More informally, the size of a connection, and its ability to carry files and information.

bytes
The number of bytes sent on behalf of a file. This number is not necessarily just the numer of valid requests multiplied by the size of the file, because often, when a request is made, the server tells the browser to use the previously downloaded copy of the file that is presently stored in the browser's cache. In that case, the server actually returns 0 bytes for a valid request.

client
A computer that makes a request for information to a host or server

client software
is software designed to run using information provided by a server. This commonly refers to software deisgned to run on a user's home computer and access the internet via a SLIP/PPP connection. These programs send out requests for various kinds of data to the various servers on the 'net and receive data in return. A web browser is a client program which sends requests for web pages to an http server on another machine. The server program then looks for the pages on its local machine and sends them to the browser, which displays them.

DNS
DNS stands for Domain Name System. This is the system used by computers on the Internet to translate domain names(such as netmar.com) into the actual IP addresses used to locate them(such as 205.139.138.5).

daemon
another name for a server program which waits for specific requests. For instance, there are daemons to handle Email, FTP, and HTTP (see also server)

directory
a collection of files, also known as a bin, which may also contain other directories. Files are always stored inside a directory. Other directories may also be stored inside a given directory, they are known as "child" directories of the "parent." Everything on a given disk is stored inside one basic directory, known as the "root" directory. There is no limit to the number of directories that may be stored inside one another, although more than six or seven levels is rare. (see also home directory, path)

Domain name
a Domain name identifies either a computer on a network, or a virtual server. Domain names observe a heirarchy, which descends from right to left.

For example, our domain name is netmar.com. 'com' is the top-level domain for all US commercial organizations. Below that is our network name, 'netmar'. Often, this gets confused with a hostname. yourcompany.comis a domainname, while www.yourcompany.comis a hostname.

FAQ
short for Frequently Asked Questions. A list of such questions and their answers. A great place to look to for answers to most basic questions.

FTP
a method of transferring files from one machine to another. FTP stands for file transfer protocol. You can use FTP software to login to another machine and exchange files as well as perform other file management tasks on the remote machine, such as creating or removing directories. FTP requires a a login name and a password, although many systems allow anonymous FTP using the login 'ftp' or 'anonymous' followed by the user's e-mail address.

home directory
the directory which belongs to a given user. Whenever a user logs in, he is placed in his home directory. For your Netmar account, this directory is in the /www/mhome directory and it has the same name as you username.(see also directory, path)

hostname
The name for any machine on a network with an IP address. hostnames can also be part of a domain name.
For example, login.netmar.comis the machine on our network that accepts telnet and ftp connections.

HTML
HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. Basically, a text file, but with areas of text that are enabled to link to images, audio files, movie clips, or other HTML documents.

HTTP
HTTP stands for HyperText Transport Protocol. This is the protocol used by different machines to communicate when sending and receiving documents via the WWW.

hypertext
The specific part of text in an HTML document that makes a link to another file.

Internet
A collection of various networks, linked together such that they are all interconnected.

InterNIC
InterNIC is short for Internet Network Information Center. InterNIC is in charge of the assignment of top - level domains, such as .com, .net, .org, etc.

IP
IP stands for Internet Protocol, which is the method by which computers communicate to each other over the Internet.

Java
Java is a programming language that is fast gaining popularity on the WWW. This is because Java is an interpreted language, and thus is platform independent, making it the perfect programming language for the Internet.

MIME Type
MIME stands for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension. It's a protocol used on the Internet to describe file formats.

newsgroup
An area for discussion via email on varying topics.

NFS
NFS stands for Network File System, a method of sharing files across a network.

NNTP
NNTP stands for Network News Transfer Protocol, a protocol used by machines on the Internet to share Usenet articles.

Operating System
An operating system, or OS, is the basic programming for a computer to access files and run programs. UNIX, DOS, and Windows are all examples of OS's.

parent directory
the directory immediate above the current directory within which the current directory resides. It is denoted by a ".." symbol. For example, if the current directory were /www/mhome/jdoe/www, typing "cd .."would make the current directory /www/mhome/jdoe.

parent directory marker
the symbol ".."; used to refer to the parent directory.

path
a path, or pathname, is simply a way of describing where a certain object is in the file system.

PERL
PERL stands for practical extraction and reporting language. It's one of many languages used for CGI scripting. PERL is very good at handling string data, and thus it works well with the WWW for parsing form data.

protocol
A method of communication between machines.

relative link
a link inside of an HTML document that refers to another file by the shortest possible reference. If the file is in the same directory, then only the file name is specified. If the file is one directory below, then it is specified in the form "directory/file.html". If it is one directory above, then the parent directory marker is used: "../file.html"

requests
The number of requests made for a particular file.
retention
the percentage of viewers who, after loading the named file, loaded another one from the server within a pre-defined timeout period. This is a measure of the percentage of people "retained" on the server by a particular page. A very low retention would indicate that a certain page does not seem to be interesting readers and that they are backing out and going to another site. A very high retention would indicate that a large percentage of readers are staying on the server after reading this page.
server
A computer which "serves" information to other computers per request. However, the actual serving of these requests is handled by the daemon for the specific request.
shell
A shell is an interface to the OS of a computer. For Windows, the default shell is the Program Manager. UNIX provides many shells, such as csh, tcsh, ksh, and the Bourne shell.
SLIP/PPP
a SLIP or PPP connection allows any user who is connecting to the internet via modem, to emulate a direct connection to the internet. Once this connection is established, the user is free to use a software package of their choice(Netscape, Mosaic, Telnet, etc.).
SMTP
SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. It's the standard protocol used by machines to send and receive email.
spam
A spam is an unsolicited email message, often promoting a useless product.
Note:Spamming from a Netmar account is prohibited.
telnet
A communications protocol for connecting to other computers as if you were sitting in front of them.
UNIX
An operating system widely used on the Web for its ability to mulitask, or handle various processes at the same time. UNIX can also handle many different users at the same time, and has networking protocols built in.
URL
URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. It is used to give the exact location and type for resources on the Internet. For example:

http://info.netmar.com/glossary.html - use the HyperText Transfer Protocol to connect to the server info.netmar.com and retrieve the file glossary.html

Usenet
Usenet is a network of systems that host over 10,000 newsgroups on a variety of topics.

UUCP
UNIX to UNIX Copy Program. A method for transfer of files, mail, and Usenet news between UNIX systems.

Web browser
a program capable of processing HTML documents into a viewable form.
WinSock
WinSock is short for Windows Sockets, which is an interface between Microsoft Windows application software and TCP/IP protocol software. Essentially, it allows the user to establish a network connection whereby windows applications(such as Netscape for windows) can run. WinSock has become an accepted standard for many Windows network applications.
World Wide Web
Also referred to as "the Web" or abbreviated as WWW. It is the collection of documents, images, etc. accessible via HTTP.