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| 16Bit: |
| A 16Bit component or application is only compatible with operating systems that support 16Bit microprocessors or 16Bit mode, such as Windows 9x, Windows 3.x, Windows for Workgroups, and MS-DOS. |
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| 32Bit: |
| A 32Bit component or application is only compatible with operating systems that support the 32Bit architecture of the 80386 (and up) microprocessors, such as Windows 95/98, Windows NT 3.51, Windows NT 4.0, and Windows 2000. |
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| 64Bit: |
| A 64Bit component or application is only compatible with operating systems that support 64Bit microprocessors such as the Intel Itanium™ and Sun UltraSPARC™. These operating systems include Sun Solaris (Unix), Trillian Linux, and 64Bit Windows 2000. |
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| Accessibility (JFC): |
| The Accessibility API of the JFC classes provides interaction with assistive technologies such as speech recognition, Braille displays, and screen magnification. It contains interfaces for user interface components that allow the developer to access information in accessibility-enabled components. |
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| ActiveX (OCX): |
ActiveX is a Microsoft technology used on the Internet. ActiveX controls can be downloaded from the Internet. These controls are "activated" by the web browser and perform a variety of different functions. There are Active X controls that allow you to view Microsoft word documents via the web browser, play animated graphical effects, display interactive maps. As the name suggests they make the web page "active". ActiveX controls provide similar functionality to Java Applets
An ActiveX component can be visual or non-visual. Depending on the visual interface, OCXs are compatible with any environment that supports ActiveX which includes all Microsoft languages, Borland Delphi, and Borland C++ Builder. |
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| ActiveX Designer: |
| This is a design-time tool that is used to create and modify classes for use in applications. Components created from these classes are private and cannot be placed on a form if they are visual components, they always appear in their own window. |
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| Add-In: |
| Any tool that extends the Integrated Development Environment (IDE). An Add-in provides functionality to the IDE. Used only at design-time. |
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| Apache: |
| In early 1995, a group of webmasters decided to get together and expand on the original NCSA HTTP daemon (web server software) and Apache was born. Today, Apache is the most used web server on the Internet. Apache is open source freeware, and is available for Linux, Windows NT, and many versions of UNIX. |
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| Apache JServ: |
| A 100% pure Java server application that acts as an independent servlet-request server. |
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| Apache JServ Protocol: |
| A protocol used to communicate between the web server and the servlet engine over a TCP/IP connection. |
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| Apartment Model Threading: |
| Apartment-Model Threading is a multi-threading model that provides thread safety by treating each thread as an apartment. Just as people who live in different apartments are separate even though they live in the same building, any components created (instantiated) in the thread are unaware of components created in any other threads, but can directly call components in the same thread (apartment). |
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| API: |
| Application Programming Interface (API) - APIs allow you to program to a pre-constructed interface (the API) instead of programming a device or piece of software directly. This allows for faster development, since programming to a device's API is designed to be easier than programming to a device directly. APIs allow you to program without having intimate knowledge of the device or software that you are sending commands to. For example, the OpenGL API allows you to create 3D effects without actually knowing the innards of your video card. |
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| Applet: |
An applet is a self contained Java program designed for web applications. Applet is downloaded and run on the client to provide specific functionality.
An applet is a Java program that can be "embedded" into a web page. The difference between a standard Java application and a Java applet is that applets can't access system resources on the local computer. This means files and serial devices (modems, printers, scanners, etc.) cannot be called or used by the applet. Applets have helped make the web more dynamic and functional as well as giving an enormous boost to the Java programming language. |
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| Application Server (EJB): |
| Enterprise JavaBeans are designed to run inside EJB application servers. Application servers are the EJB server-side equivalent of containers for client-side components. If an EJB is compatible with a particular application server, then it is, by extension, compatible with any platform that the app server is compatible with. Application server compatibility is the primary consideration when determining if an EJB will work in your environment. |
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| Application Server (Win32): |
| An application server is a network server that hosts and runs applications or components. This can be in the form of simple executables, or in the case of MTS application servers, COM+ components. MTS application servers allow applications to be distributed and scalable, by placing the components on one or more servers. |
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| Application: |
| Any stand-alone program that accomplishes a pre-determined task, such as converting Microsoft Word documents to Adobe PDF files. Not generally used in development, but rather used to support development. |
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| ASP (1): |
| An Active Server Page is an application designed to run on Microsoft Internet Information Server with Active Server Pages installed. ASP allows developers to create dynamic web-based applications. |
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| ASP (2): |
| Application Service Provider (ASP) - This is a company that provides remote access to applications, typically over the Internet. ASPs are used when an organization finds it more cost effective to have someone else host their applications than to do it themselves. The applications served up can be as simple as access to a remote fileserver, or as complex as running a word processor through your browser. The ASP provides the servers, network access, and applications to be used usually for a monthly or yearly subscription fee. |
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| ATL: |
| COM Components built with the ActiveX Template Library are smaller and faster than components built with MFC, and they only require the ATL runtime. They are better suited to components – which, by definition are designed for very specific operations -as they don’t offer all the built-in functionality that the MFC classes provide, whereas MFC is better suited to applications. |
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| AVI: |
| Audio Video Interleave (AVI) - This is a Microsoft specified format for saving audio and/or video clips, referred to by Windows as "Video for Windows." You can play the files through the Media Player in Windows or through many popular browser plug-in multimedia players. Files of this type have a .avi extension. |
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| AWT (JFC): |
| The Abstract Window Toolkit is a JFC API for providing Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) to Java applications. It includes user interface components and graphics and imaging tools. |
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| Bandwidth: |
| Bandwidth is the amount of information your connection to the Internet can carry. On average, typical telephone lines can carry 1K of information per second. |
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| BBS: |
| A Bulletin Board System is a computerized meeting and announcement system that allows people to carry on discussions, upload and download files, and make announcements without the people being connected to the computer at the same time. There are many thousands (millions?) of BBSs around the world, most are very small, running on a single IBM clone PC with 1 or 2 phone lines. Some are very large and the line between a BBS and a system like CompuServe gets crossed at some point, but it is not clearly drawn. |
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| Black Box: |
| A black box component is a compiled component that a developer can only access through exposed interfaces. Black box components are inherently more secure than white box components because there is no risk that a developer could alter the source code and change the behavior of the component. |
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| Business Component: |
| A business component encapsulates specific business logic in a component that does not necessarily include a visual element. One example is encryption, where the component is sent a string of text or a file and it encrypts it. No visual interface was necessary. By comparison A user interface component must have a visual element, a business component may have a visual element. |
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| C: |
| C is a programming language developed in the late '70s. It became hugely popular due to the development of UNIX, which was written almost entirely in C. C was written by programmers for programmers and it lets you write code in sloppy ways that other, more structured languages do not. When you think of programming in C, think of driving a Delorean. It goes really fast, but it's a mess inside. |
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| C++: |
| C++ is an extension of the C programming language that adds object-oriented concepts. |
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| Cable Modem: |
| Cable companies are working to provide Internet access over coaxial cable. That's right, the cable that you plug into your VCR or TV. A cable modem accepts this coaxial cable and can get data from the Internet at up to and above 1.5 Mbps. However, it's only available from certain cable companies in certain communities. |
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| CBD: |
| Component-based development extends object oriented programming by allowing developers to build applications from smaller, specialized components. These components can be used and reused over and over in any application that requires the functionality that they provide. |
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| CGI: |
A Common Gateway Interface is a set of rules that describe how a Web Server communicates with another piece of software on the same machine, and how the other piece of software (the CGI program) talks to the web server. Any piece of software can be a CGI program if it handles input and output according to the CGI standard. Usually a CGI program is a small program that takes data from a web server and does something with it, like putting the content of a form into an e-mail message, or turning the data into a database query. You can often see that a CGI program is being used by seeing cgi-bin in a URL, but not always.
This interface allows scripts or programs to run on a Web server. All Web servers support CGI scripting. You can make a CGI script do pretty much anything a computer program can. Most commonly, they are implemented to control user interaction with the Web server on a Web site. You can use them to password-protect certain parts of your site, or save a user survey to a file on the server. |
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| Client-side Component: |
| A client-side component is designed to run on the same machine as the application that uses it. Client-side components can be either visual or non-visual. Client-side components must be packaged and deployed with the application and installed on every machine where the application is installed. |
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| ColdFusion: |
| ColdFusion is a server side extension developed by Allaire that allows documents similar to HTML, usually with the .cfm extension, to be parsed and run on a webserver. ColdFusion allows web designers to embed database calls into HTML-like documents and gives easier access to database servers than by using standard CGI calls. |
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| COM: |
| COM is Microsoft's Component Object Model, a technology for building applications from binary software components. It is a reference model for how components are built, and it specifies how components “speak” to each other and how they are referenced within an application. |
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| COM Add-In for Office 2000: |
| These are add-ins that use COM to extend the functionality of Office 2000 applications. They use a specific interface (IDTExtensibility2) in order to work properly within Office applications such as Word, Excel, Access, etc. |
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| COM Object/ActiveX DLL/In-Process Server: |
| ActiveX DLLs are a special type of DLL. They are ActiveX components that run within the address space of the calling application or component and provide functions for the application to use. They are compatible with any COM-enabled environment. |
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| COM Object/ActiveX EXE/Out-of-Process Server: |
| These are ActiveX components that run in their own address space when called. When an application or component references the functions provided by this object, execution is independent of the calling application or component so the application is free to perform other functions. They are compatible with any COM-enabled client environment. |
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| COM+: |
| Revised COM specification that essentially joins COM and DCOM, although the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In everyday conversation, COM, DCOM, and COM+ components are generally referred to as “COM”. |
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| Compaq (DEC) Alpha: |
| A Compaq Alpha component or application is only compatible with operating systems running on the Alpha processor manufactured by Compaq. These operating systems include Windows NT 3.51, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and several implementations of Unix. |
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| Component Categories: |
| A component category is a registry entry that specifies whether or not the specified component supports the interfaces required by its category. The Component Category Manager implements interfaces that create the categories, place the components in specified categories, and retrieve information about the categories. |
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| Component: |
| Self-contained object with pre-determined functionality and accessed via exposed interfaces. Examples include ActiveX components, JavaBeans, Enterprise JavaBeans, and VCLs. |
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| Compression: |
| Compression takes something large and makes it smaller. Compression generally comes in two forms, lossy and lossless. Lossy compression is best used on graphics files and sound files. It crunches down the data at a much higher ratio, at the expense of having an image or a sound that isn't quite the same as before it was compressed. In the best scenario the data takes up less space, but the person viewing the graphic or listening to the sound file will not be able to tell. Lossless compression squeezes data down so that at some later date it can be uncompressed and returned to its exact structure. Lossless compression is best used on data files and programs. |
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| Cookie: |
| In computer terminology, a cookie is data sent to your computer by a web server that records your actions on a specific web site. It's a lot like a preference file for a program on your computer. Whenever you visit the site after being sent the cookie, the site will load according to the information stored in the cookie. For example, some sites can remember information like your user name and password, so you don't have to re-enter it each time you visit the site. Cookies are what allow you to have personalized web sites like "My Excite" or "My Yahoo" in which you can customize what is displayed on the page. Why the name, "cookie" is used, I have no idea. |
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| CORBA (Component): |
| Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) components are distributed, server-side components that are designed to run on CORBA ORBs (Object Request Brokers). ORBs are the CORBA equivalent of EJB Application Servers. As long as a CORBA component is compliant with the version of CORBA on the ORB, the component will run. |
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| CORBA (Platform): |
| CORBA is the Common Object Request Broker Architecture, which is a specification created by the Object Management Group (OMG) for distributed, scalable components. This architecture is a collection of objects and libraries that allow the creation of applications containing objects that make and receive requests and responses in a distributed environment. It defines how CORBA objects communicate with each other via CORBA-compliant ORBs. |
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| CWM: |
| The Common Warehouse Metamodel is a specification published by the Object Management Group (OMG) that supports distributed metadata analysis. The CWM provides a solution for extensive metadata analysis by building on the standards of UML (Unified Modeling Language), XML (eXtensible Markup Language), and XMI (XML Metadata Interchange). |
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| DCOM: |
| Microsoft’s Distributed COM. It is a reference model for building components that can communicate with other components and applications on different computers, usually in a client/server relationship. |
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| DHTML: |
| Dynamic HTML (DHTML) is independently defined by Microsoft and Netscape and implemented in version 4 of their browsers to allow for more dynamic and user-interactive web pages, and better positioning of web elements. Both the Netscape and Microsoft versions of dynamic HTML include some support for Cascading Style Sheets, which is a real standard defined by the World Wide Web Consortium. |
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| Digital Signature: |
| A digital signature provides the user with detailed information about the component author. Before the component will be loaded into a web page, the user can view this information and determine whether or not to install the component. A component developer signs his components by acquiring a digital certificate from a reputable Certificate Authority (CA) such as VeriSign. |
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| DLL: |
| Dynamic Link Library - a Windows library that can be shared by multiple applications. DLLs are “callable” dynamically-linked libraries that can be used in any environment with call capability. A DLL can contain one or more functions that can be used by other applications or components. Not to be confused with ActiveX DLLs. |
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| DNS: |
| A Domain Name Service (DNS) is a service that maps TCP/IP numbers such as 123.12.4.245 to a more easily remembered name, such as www.ugeek.com. Thus, when you type www.ugeek.com into your browser, it goes out to the DNS server you specified when you installed dial-up networking (or TCP/IP services if you've got a nice connection) and asks for a matching TCP/IP address. If it finds a DNS entry for the name you typed in, you see our site. If not, it lets you know. Every domain name on the Web has a corresponding TCP/IP address that maps to the actual Web site. When you set up a site, you have your ISP add a DNS entry to their DNS servers. This entry gets replicated across the Internet in a matter of hours, and, once fully replicated, you can reach your Web site from any Internet connection in the world. |
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| DOM: |
The Document Object Model (DOM) is a platform- and language-neutral interface that allows programs and scripts to dynamically access and update the content, structure and style of documents.
The DOM As An API
An API describes the handles that are used to reference objects and their methods. DOM is an API for HTML and XML documents. It provides a standard set of objects for representing HTML and XML documents, a standard model of how these objects can be combined, and a standard interface for accessing and manipulating them. It defines the logical structure of documents and the way a document is accessed and manipulated.
The DOM As An Object Model
The object model in the DOM is a programming object model that comes from object-oriented design (OOD). It refers to the fact that the interfaces are defined in terms of objects. The name "Document Object Model" was chosen because it is an "object model" in the traditional OOD sense: documents are modeled using objects, and the model encompasses the structure as well as the behaviour of a document and the objects of which it is composed. As an object model, the DOM identifies:
- the interfaces and objects used to represent and manipulate a document.
- the semantics of these interfaces and objects, including both behaviour and attributes.
- the relationships and collaborations among these interfaces and objects.
Source: Pankaj Kamthan, "A Gift of 'Life': The Document Object Model" (http://tech.irt.org/articles/js143, January 15, 1999).
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| Domain: |
| A domain describes the Internet's addressing scheme, and also a security construct in Windows NT. For the Internet, domains are represented by domain names such as Geek.com or UGeek.org. These domains are mapped to TCP/IP addresses by DNS servers so that browsers can find websites. Under Windows NT, domains are groups of server and client machines that exist in the same security structure. You can also define security relationships based on how domains interact with each other. Domains include a primary domain controller and optionally one or more backup domain controllers to manage security. |
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| Domain Name: |
| A Domain Name is the unique name that identifies an Internet site. Domain Names always have 2 or more parts, separated by dots. The part on the left is the most specific, and the part on the right is the most general. A given machine may have more than one Domain Name but a given Domain Name points to only one machine. For example, the domain names: matisse.net mail.matisse.net workshop.matisse.net can all refer to the same machine, but each domain name can refer to no more than one machine. Usually, all of the machines on a given Network will have the same thing as the right-hand portion of their Domain Names (matisse.net in the examples above). It is also possible for a Domain Name to exist but not be connected to an actual machine. This is often done so that a group or business can have an Internet e-mail address without having to establish a real Internet site. In these cases, some real Internet machine must handle the mail on behalf of the listed Domain Name. |
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| DPI: |
| DPI stands for dots per inch. DPI specifies the resolution of an output device, such as a computer screen or a printer, or an input device, such as a scanner. Web page resolution ranges from 72-86 dots per inch. Print resolution usually runs from 300-600 dots per inch on a Laser Printer and 125-200 dots per inch for photographic images on a print brochure. |
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| DSL: |
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology uses existing copper telephone wiring to deliver high-speed data services to businesses and homes. In its various forms (including ADSL, HDSL, IDSL, R-ADSL, SDSL, and VDSL) DSL offers users a choice of speeds ranging from 32 Kbps to more than 50 Mbps, in laboratory settings. These digital services will ultimately be used to deliver bandwidth-intensive applications like video on demand and distance learning. More immediately, today DSL is for the first time putting high-speed Internet access within the reach of small and medium-size businesses.
DSL takes existing voice cables that connect customer premises to the phone company's central office (CO) and turns them into a high-speed digital link. Over any given link, the maximum DSL speed is determined by the distance between the customer site and the CO.
At the customer premises, a DSL modem connects the phone line to either a standalone computer or a local-area network (LAN). This DSL equipment differs from other Internet access devices in two key respects: it requires no end-user configuration, and it is not a dial-up solution. Once installed, the DSL modem provides the customer site with continuous connection to the Internet.
ADSL (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line)
ADSL provides simultaneous Internet and voice/fax capabilities over a single telephone line. It also provides high-speed Internet access with "instant on" capability. ADSL is a cost-effective solution for businesses and it is a more secure method of transferring data than technologies such as cable modems.
HDSL (High Bit-Rate Digital Subscriber Line)
HDSL is the most established of the DSL technologies. It is symmetric, with a maximum 1.5 megabits per second traveling both ways over two copper phone lines, or 2 megabits per second over three phone lines. It is often utilized as an alternative to T1 connections. (A T1 connection is a highspeed, dedicated telephone line offering 1.54 megabits per second of data transfer.) HDSL is limited to a distance of 12,000-15,000 feet. This range can be extended with the use of signal repeaters.
HDSL II (High Bit-Rate Digital Subscriber Line II)
HDSL II offers the same performance as HDSL, but over a single phone line.
IDSL (ISDN Digital Subscriber Line)
IDSL is a hybrid of DSL and ISDN technologies. It uses the same data encoding technique of ISDN devices and delivers up to 144 kilobits per second bandwidth. The difference between the two is that IDSL bypasses the congested phone network and uses the data network instead. Also, it avoids the call setup delay typical of ISDN connections.
SDSL (Symmetric Digital Subscriber Lines)
SDSL offers a symmetric transmission of data at the same speed as HDSL, with two important differences: it can be done using only one phone line and the user's location may be 18,000 feet or more from the phone company's central office. SDSL, the DSL technology preferred by businesses, is the forerunner to HDSL II and the flavor of DSL offered by Broadslate.
VDSL (Very High Bit-Rate Digital Subscriber Line)
Currently in its experimental phase, VDSL is the fastest DSL technology, with rates from 13 to 52 megabits per second downstream and 1.5 to 2.3 megabits per second upstream. The tradeoff for this speed is that the maximum distance from the central office to the user must be between 1,000 and 4,500 feet.
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| EJB 1.0: |
| Enterprise JavaBeans are components written in Java that can be used to add functionality to Java applications. They can be used in any environment that runs Java and are designed to run in server-side applications. |
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| EJB 1.1: |
| Enterprise JavaBeans are components written in Java that can be used to add functionality to Java applications. They can be used in any environment that runs Java and are designed to run in server-side applications. In the EJB V1.1 update, one of the most significant changes is that the “deployment descriptor” – which defines how EJB classes are built and deployed - is rendered as an XML document. In the previous version it was rendered as a group of Java objects. |
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| EJB 2.0: |
| Enterprise JavaBeans are components written in Java that can be used to add functionality to Java applications. They can be used in any environment that runs Java and are designed to run in server-side applications. EJB V2.0 components offer integration with the Java Message Service and support Container-Managed Persistence. |
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| Enterprise JavaBean: |
| Enterprise JavaBeans are components written in Java that can be used to add functionality to Java applications. They can be used in any environment that runs Java and are designed to run in server-side applications. |
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| Executable: |
| An executable is essentially a program. It can be run independently of a host application. The only requirements for an executable are a compatible operating system and any associated runtime library. |
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| Firewall: |
| A firewall is a form of Internet security that stands between a private network and the Internet. It is like a wall in that it can prevent unwanted traffic from passing either way. Some firewalls have proxy functions built in. In fact, the distinction between a firewall and a proxy is often blurry. Add in the differences and similarities between a firewall and packet-filtering router and you've got one big ball of confusion. True firewalls generally support packet-filtering, proprietary application filtering, and some proxy functions. |
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| Free Threading: |
| Free Threading is a multi-threading model that supports more than one thread per apartment. Multiple calls to a component can occur on different threads. While free threading can be faster than apartment threading, care must be taken with free threaded components to insure that the threads are synchronized properly. |
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| FTP: |
| File Transmission Protocol - a standard for moving Files from one computer to another. Predominant use on the Internet. This master copy of this document resides on my (Steve Jenkins) home computer. When I make a change to it I use FTP to transfer the updated files to the computer of my Internet Service Provider. I can also use FTP on certain computers on the internet to transfer files to my home computer. A computer on the Internet that specifically stores files for users to FTP to their own computers is called an FTP Site. If the FTP site does not require the user to have your own specific User ID & password is called an Anonymous FTP Site. |
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| Gateway: |
| A gateway is either hardware or software that acts as a bridge between two applications or networks so that data can be transferred among a number of computers. When e-mail gets sent between two servers or when you log in to a web site, the gateway helps the connection take place. Gateway is also the name of a popular direct-order PC manufacter. |
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| GIF: |
| The letters, "GIF", actually stand for "Graphics Interchange Format," but you don't need to know that. GIFs are compressed graphics files and use a compression formula originally developed by CompuServe (which is why you see the term CompuServe GIF all the time with Phototshop, for those of you that care...) GIFs you see on the Web use indexed color, or a palette of a certain number of colors, which greatly helps reduce their file size. These compressed files can be quickly transmitted over a network or the Internet. |
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| Hot Java: |
| Hot Java is a Web Browser that can display "executable content" written in the Java Programming Language. |
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| HTML: |
HTML stands for "Hyper-Text Markup Language." The Hypertext Markup Language is a "tagged" language for transferring data using HTTP. It allows you to format text, include pictures, and insert hyperlinks to other data. The web browser reads the "tags" and displays the data accordingly.
Today's software programs are created mostly in C/C++; today's web pages are created in HTML. Also known as hypertext documents, web pages must conform to the rules of the the HTML language in order to be displayed correctly in a web browser. The HTML syntax is based on a list of tags that describe the format and what is displayed on web pages. Fortunately, the HTML language is quite easy to learn. Even more fortunately, most web page development programs allow you to create web pages via a graphical interface without having to actually write the HTML code. |
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| HTTP: |
| HyperText Transmission Protocol is a Protocol that Computers on the Internet use to communicate with each other. |
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| HTTPS: |
| Secure HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTPS) - This is a secure means of transferring data over using the HTTP protocol. Typically, HTTP data is sent over TCP/IP port 80, but HTTPS data is sent over port 443. This standard was developed by Netscape for secure transactions, and uses 40-bit encryption. If you are at a secure site, you will notice that there is a closed lock icon on the bottom area of your browser for Navigator or IE. The HTTPS standard supports certificates. A web server operator must get a digital certificate from third party certificate provider that ensures that the web server in question is valid. This certificate gets installed on the web server, and verifies for a period of a year that that server is a proper secure server. |
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| IDE: |
| An Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is a tool used to develop applications and components in the specified development language. For example, a developer can write a Visual Basic application in any text editor. The VB IDE simplifies development by integrating all aspects of the development process including modules, forms, components, syntax checking, the VB compiler, and the package and deployment wizard. |
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| IDL: |
An Interface Definition Language (IDL) is used to define the interfaces for accessing and operating upon objects. An example of an IDL is the Object Management Group's IDL.
An Interface Definition Language file is a file that contains definitions of interfaces to components, consisting of an interface header and interface body. The header contains attributes that apply to the interface as a whole. The body contains individual interface definitions such as data types used in remote procedure calls and prototypes for the remote procedures. While not required, an IDL makes it easier for a developer to define and query information about a component's interfaces. |
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| IE 3: |
| Microsoft Internet Explorer V3.0 is an Internet web browser used to display information downloaded from web sites. It is also a component container capable of using ActiveX components. This gives IE the ability to display dynamic content that is impossible to display with only HTML. |
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| IIS: |
| Internet Information Server is Microsoft's web server software for making content available on the Internet. It consists of a WWW service for providing web pages and web applications on the World Wide Web, an FTP service to allow files to be uploaded/downloaded, an SMTP service for sending email, and an NNTP service for hosting newsgroup forums. IIS V3.0 and higher also provide Active Server Page functionality. |
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| Instance: |
| An instance is a memory object that was created on the model of a class. |
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| Internet Enhanced: |
| A component marked as Internet Enhanced is designed to be dynamically loaded onto web pages. This is accomplished by using the CODEBASE property which tells the browser where to download the component if it doesn’t already exist on the system or if the version has changed. |
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| IRC: |
| Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is the first of the chat rooms, or networks of computers that host this chatting protocol. There are several networks of these computers--the most popular is Efnet. There are thousands of channels (or rooms) and hundreds of thousands of people within. There is a channel for any interest you could have--it is simply a matter of finding the name. You need to use an IRC client to get to them, but as long as you have an Internet connection, you can get hooked in. |
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| ISP: |
| ISP stands for "Internet Service Provider." It's how just about all homes are connected to the Internet. Most ISPs are made up of a network of servers, including Web, e-mail, and news servers). When your modem dials your ISP, a point-to-point protocol (PPP) connection is established with another modem on the ISP's end. From there, you are connected to routers which route you to the Internet "backbone". From there, you can access public material from anywhere around the world. |
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| Java (language): |
Java is a computer programming language developed by Sun Microsystems. The syntax it uses is much like that of C/C++, but it's structured around classes instead of functions. It is often used for programming applets -- small programs that can be embedded in web sites. Java is becoming increasingly more popular among both web and software developers. It is a very efficient and easy-to-use language. But, like the Reading Rainbow guy says, you don't have to take my word for it. Our friends at Sun Micorsystems describe Java as a "simple, object-oriented, distributed, interpreted, robust, secure, architecture-neutral, portable, high-performance, multithreaded, dynamic, buzzword-compliant, general-purpose programming language."
Java is a development language used to build components and applications. It is a compiled language, which means that the computer that runs the application is not required to have a Java interpreter installed. |
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| Java (virtual machine): |
| A Java VM is required on any computer where you intend to run a Java application. Sun Microsystems, who owns Java, has licensed the specifications for the virtual machine so that manufacturers of operating systems can build Java VMs for their environment. As a result, the Java language is compatible with a wide range of platforms. |
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| JavaBean: |
| JavaBeans are components written in Java that can be used to add functionality to Java applications. They can be used in any environment that runs Java and are designed to run in client-side applications. |
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| JavaScript: |
| JavaScript is a programming language that is mostly used in web pages, usually to add features that make the web page more interactive. When JavaScript is included in an HTML file it relies upon the browser to interpret the JavaScript. When JavaScript is combined with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and later versions of HTML (4.0 and later) the result is often called DHTML. JavaScript was invented by Netscape and was going to be called "LiveScript", but the name was changed to JavaScript to cash in on the popularity of Java. JavaScript and Java are two different programming languages. |
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| JDAP: |
| Java Directory Access Protocol (JDAP) is the Java answer to LDAP. It really means Java implementation of the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. |
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| JFC: |
| The Java Foundation Classes are a set of five APIs that allow developers to build feature-rich Java applications. The JFC classes are Swing, AWT, Java 2D, Accessibility, and Drag and Drop. They provide support for forms, handicapped accessibility, and other user interface enhancements. |
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| JPEG: |
| The term JPEG actually stands for "Joint Photographic Experts Group," because it was the committee that developed the format. But don't remember this becuase even computer nerds will think you're weird if you ever mention what JPEG stands for. Instead, remember that a JPEG is a compressed graphic file format. JPEG compression is more efficient in compressing graphics of photographic color depth than GIF compression is. So, with high-color images JPEG files take up less space and have better color accuracy. Like GIFs, JPEGs are cross-platform, meaning the same file can be viewed equally on both a Mac and PC. |
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| JVM: |
| A Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is a program that runs under an operating system and interprets Java programs. The Java Virtual Machine ideally will not allow any harm to come to the computer because it has no control of the operating system, and acts as if it is a separate computer. Thus, if a malicious Java program were to crash the Java Virtual Machine, the operating system would remain stable. Another advantage of this mechanism is that different OS's can have their own Java Virtual Machines that should act identically. Thus, Java should be able to be run across different platforms easily with no code changes. |
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| License Agreement: |
| A binding legal agreement between the component or software author and the end user. In the case of a component, “End User” refers to the developer who purchased the component, not end users of that developer’s application built with the component. License agreements specify terms of use for the software. |
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| Linux: |
| This is an open source, UNIX-like operating system originally developed by Linus Torvalds. Linux is freeware by default, but may be sold for the cost of packaging, bundling, and technical support. Companies such as SuSe, RedHat, Slackware, Caldera, and TurboLinux sell Linux packages. However, they also allow you to download them for free. Linux was first developed for x86 computers, but now runs on a wide variety of platforms, including Sun Solaris, COMPAQ Alpha, and more. |
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| MAC: |
| MAC refers to the Macintosh platform which consists of Apple Macintosh hardware and the MAC-OS operating system. |
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| Metadata: |
| Metadata refers to an organization's entire accumulated data. In addition to traditional warehouse data such as personnel, products, prices, services, etc., metadata also refers to documented processes, formats, even intellectual property. |
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| MFC V4.0: |
| COM Components built with the Microsoft Foundation Class Library V4.0 use the MFC V4.0 DLL to provide the necessary libraries. MFC V4.0 must be installed on the machine that this component/application is run on. |
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| MFC V4.2/5.0/6.0: |
| COM Components built with the Microsoft Foundation Class Library V4.2/5.0/6.0 use the MFC V4.2 DLL to provide the necessary libraries. This DLL must be installed on the machine that this application/component is run on. |
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| MPEG: |
| MPEG stands for "Moving Picture Experts Group." The MPEG organization, which works with the International Oganization for Standardization (ISO), develops standards for digital audio and video compression. The group constantly works to develop more efficient ways to digitally compress and store audio and video files. The term also refers to an actual type of multimedia file. MPEG files, which typically end with ".mpg," are compressed movies that can contain both audio and video. Though they are compressed (using the compression algorithms created by the Moving Picture Experts Group), they still maintain a high amount of quality from the original, uncompressed movie. This is why so many videos on the web use MPEG format. |
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| MP3: |
| MP3 stands for "MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3." It's the latest standard and format for compressing audio files. On average, an MP3 is about one-twelfth the size of the original file. However, the amazing part about MP3s is that the sound is nearly CD-quality. Because of their small size and exceptional sound, MP3s have become enormously popular. In fact, there are many web sites, like MP3.com and RioPort.com, containing huge archives of MP3 audio files. To listen to MP3s, you'll need a program like WinAmp (PC) or MacAmp (Mac). To create an MP3 file from a CD, you'll need an encoder program to convert the audio track to an MP3 file. "Is this against the law?", you ask. Well, not really, but the record label companies are getting worried. To get all your MP3 questions answered, check out CNET's MP3 Resource Center. |
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| MTS Compatible: |
| These are COM components that execute in the Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) runtime environment. They are inherently scalable for distributed, enterprise-wide computing because a component on a client machine(s) can communicate with a component on a server(s). MTS components must be DLLs. EXEs and OCXs are not supported. |
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| OCX96 Compatible: |
| Not all ActiveX components are visual. A component marked as OCX96 Compatible supports being loaded into OCX96 containers that allow transparent components or non-rectangular windows. |
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| ODBC: |
| Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is a standard API for communicating with database servers. There are different ODBC drivers supporting most of the major database servers, such as Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server. If you program to ODBC, you get the advantage of being able to easily use your application on different databases without reprogramming. |
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| OMG: |
| The Object Management Group is a not-for-profit corporation founded by eleven companies including 3Com, American Airline, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, and Unisys. It supports a component-based software marketplace through industry standards. Some of the standards the OMG has been intrumental in creating are the CORBA specification and its related IIOP (Internet Inter-ORB Protocol). |
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| OOP: |
| Object Oriented Programming is the process of building applications by encapsulating functionality into individual objects. These objects feature polymorphism and inheritance. OOP is the foundation of component-based development (CBD) |
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| ORB: |
| Object Request Broker (CORBA). ORBs are the middle-tier servers that house CORBA components. ORBs are defined as being built upon a particular version of the CORBA specification, such as 2.0 or 2.3. It is this version number to determines if a CORBA component can be run on a given ORB. ORBs can be compared to EJB Application Servers. In fact, many EJB App Servers also contain CORBA ORB software, enabling them to run both EJB and CORBA components. |
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| PDF: |
| PDF stands for Portable Document Format. Created by Adobe Systems in its software program Adobe Acrobat as a universal browser. Files can be downloaded via the web and viewed page by page, provided the user's computer has installed the necessary plug-in, which can be downloaded from Adobe's own website. |
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| Perl: |
| Practical Extraction and Report Language originally developed by Larry Wall for his personal use. It is now one of the most popular Internet tools. Perl is most often met in the context of the World Wide Web where its basic function is in the manipulating of Files, text and producing Reports. The basic concepts of Hypertext Markup Language are greatly extended by being able to run ancillary programs achieved using the Common Gateway Interface (CGI). This allows programs to be called in response to actions by the Web Client user i.e. something done by use on your PC on a particular Web Page. Almost any Programming Language can be used with Perl being the Most popular. The Perl program sits in between the Web Server and other software such as Databases. |
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| PHP: |
| Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) was created in 1994 to be a versatile embedded scripting language that can be placed into HTML documents, and as long as the Web server supports it, it can be used to generate HTML pages by contacting accessing a database. PHP code is executed on the server and offers an alternative to CGI or SSI calls or the use of Allaire's ColdFusion embedded server-side scripting language. |
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| PING: |
| Packet InterNet Gopher (PING) is part of the standard TCP/IP suite of protocols that allows you to check your connectivity with other devices, or to check whether your own TCP/IP stack is working properly. Normally, you type in something like "ping 206.119.148.38," and you either get a response from that IP address or not. PING is extremely useful for debugging network problems. |
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| Polymorphism: |
| Polymorphism allows you to have related classes with methods of the same name. At runtime the correct procedure is determined based on the class of the object. For example, if you pass an object as an argument to a procedure, the procedure can invoke methods of the object without knowing what type of object it is. |
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| POP: |
| Point of Presence, also Post Office Protocol, are the two commonly used meanings. A Point of Presence usually means a city or location where a network can be connected to, often with dial up phone lines. So if an Internet company says they will soon have a POP in Belgrade, it means that they will soon have a local phone number in Belgrade and/or a place where leased lines can connect to their network. A second meaning, Post Office Protocol refers to the way e-mail software such as Eudora gets mail from a mail server. When you obtain a SLIP, PPP, or shell account you almost always get a POP account with it, and it is this POP account that you tell your e-mail software to use to get your mail. |
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| POP3: |
| Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) is a standard for client/server transmission of e-mail. An e-mail server holds the e-mail, and you use a POP3 client to fetch the mail from a server. IMAP is a newer e-mail client/server protocol with more options. |
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| Portal: |
| A portal is a web site that acts as a starting point for many other sites. Some of the largest portals include Excite, Lycos, Yahoo, Netscape, Snap, MSN, and AOL.com. There are, however, many smaller portals, known as "niche portals" for specific interests. These are sites like C|net (for computers and technology), Fool.com (for investors), and Garden.com (for gardeners). Most large portals have millions of sites indexed for visitors to search though. They also typically have a large directory of sites, which are catagorized. Though the primary purpose of pretty powerful portals is to find other sites for you, many are including more and more information within their own sites. |
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| Proxy: |
| A proxy is the use of one computer or device to make requests in place of another over a network. Proxies are often used for Internet security or control of connections. You can use a proxy or proxy server to pass data between your internal network and the Internet. A machine on your network sends a request to the proxy. The proxy sends the request to a server on the Internet. Thus, it stands in for the computer on your network. The server on the Internet never knows that the request is coming from anywhere but the proxy. Thus 100 machines on your network could all access an Internet server and it would look like the proxy was making all of the requests. Some proxies have caching and site filtering built in. |
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| Query: |
| A query is a search request submitted to a database (such as the search engine and directory databases) to find a particular piece of information or all records that meet the search criteria. |
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| Quick Time Video: |
| Quick Time Video is the Apple technology that allows video, digitized sound and music, 3D, and virtual reality to be viewed on your website. It's available for Macintosh and Windows-based computers. |
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| RDBMS: |
| Remote Database Management System. Refers to the back-end database system that houses an organization's data. There are several types of RDBMS including SQL, Oracle, dBase, Paradox, and more. |
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| Repository: |
| A repository is a database containing software rather than data. This software can be in the form of executables, components, libraries, UML models, and more. Most repositories include an application that is used to manage its own database. |
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| Reusable Component: |
| Reusable component is a generic term for any self-contained block of code that encapsulates specific business logic or user interface functionality. It can exist as either a "white box" component (source code) or as a "black box" component (binary code, accessed via exposed interfaces). |
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| Robot: |
| A robot refers to a computer program that scans web pages and links. Like a spider program, robots are used to scan web pages and index them. You can insert a file called robots.txt to the main directory of your website to tell the robots which directories not to index. |
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| ROPE: |
| The Remote Object Proxy Engine is an object model that developers can use to implement and use SOAP web services. It actually consists of two parts The Proxy Object, and the SOAPPackager Object. The Proxy object allows a client to access a web service as if it were a local COM object., thus allowing any COM-enabled language access to the web service. The SOAPPackager object provides a lower-level model for handling SOAP messages and is typically used on the server-side. |
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| Runtime License: |
| A runtime license is a restriction that is placed on a component or application which specifies how it can be used by the end-user. Some runtime licenses consist simply of a legal agreement entered into by the manufacturer and the end user. Other runtime licenses are actually enforced by the software and can limit its functionality based upon a license key. As it pertains to components, a runtime license specifies how the developer can deploy a component within their application. |
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| Safe for Initialization: |
| When an ActiveX component is marked as Safe for Initialization, the developer is certifying – via his digital signature – that the component can be loaded into a web page and “instantiated” or created. In Active Server Pages this is done by assigning the component to a variable SET objMyVar=Server.CreateObject(“MyObject.MyClass”) |
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| Safe for Scripting: |
| When a component is marked as Safe for Scripting, the developer has used his digital signature to certify that the component is safe to code against strMyString=objMyVar.GetMyString |
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| Server-side Component: |
| A server-side component is any component that is optimized to run in the middle tier of a multi-tier environment. This includes web servers and application servers. These components are generally non-visual except for those that are specially designed to send user interface data to the client, such as server-side graphing and charting components and the forthcoming .NET server-side user interface components. |
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| Servlet: |
| A Servlet is a self contained Java program designed for web applications. Servlets are run on the web server and data is sent to the client via HTML or XML. Any Java class that implements the javax.servlet.Servlet interface is a servlet and is, therefore, executable by any compliant servlet engine. |
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| Servlet Repository: |
| A Servlet Repository is a collection of compiled servlets. A repository may be a single directory or a single compressed archive (jar or zip). |
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| Servlet Zone: |
| A Servlet Zone is the servlet engine equivalent of a web server's virtual host, separating servlets into different contexts. |
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| Shell: |
| A shell most commonly refers to the various text-based user interface programs available for UNIX. The shell is the part of UNIX that interacts with the user and accepts typed commands. Different shells have different functionality, so it is important to have the proper shell loaded or you may find yourself lost as things are displayed differently and familiar commands are not supported. |
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| SMTP: |
| Simple Mail Transfer Protocol is an accepted standard used extensively on the Internet for transferring e-mail messages between computers. The standard defines exactly how the message will be sent, any controls, format of the message, etc. |
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| SOAP: |
| The Simple Object Access Protocol is an industry standard protocol for component interoperability over the Internet. It is built on the existing standards of XML and HTTP to allow components of all platforms to communicate via standard protocols. |
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| Source Code Escrow: |
| Source code escrow is a program which allows component authors to protect their intellectual property while simultaneously giving component purchasers the peace of mind they require before deploying components in mission-critical applications. It is essentially an insurance policy that - depending on the terms - allows the component purchaser to receive a component's source code in the event that the component author ever fails to live up to the terms of the escrow agreement. As long as the author supports the component, the developer will never see (nor have any need to see) the component's source code. |
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| Source Code: |
| Source code is a listing of the actual commands of a component or application and is written in a particular development language such as Visual Basic, Visual C++, or Java. Components that come with source code are referred to as “White box” components, since all of the underlying logic is exposed. Developers can modify source code to add functionality. |
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| SQL: |
| Structured Query Language is a specialized programming language for sending queries to databases. Most industrial-strength and many smaller database applications can be addressed using SQL. Each specific application will have its own version of SQL implementing features unique to that application, but all SQL-capable databases support a common subset of SQL. |
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| SSI: |
| Server Side Include (SSI) is a method of calling or "including" code into a web page. To utilize SSI, your web server must be set to check for and respond to these codes called in HTML pages. The SSI calls are embedded in HTML comments, so if they are called from a server that doesn't support SSI, or is not actively looking for them, they are ignored. You can use SSI to easily include a particluar bit of HTML code on a group of HTML pages. This can be used to create a single look and feel across multiple HTML pages. You can also use SSI to call CGI programs. |
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| SSL: |
| Secure Sockets Layer is a protocol designed by Netscape Communications to enable encrypted, authenticated communications across the Internet. SSL used mostly (but not exclusively) in communications between web browsers and web servers. URLÕs that begin with https indicate that an SSL connection will be used. SSL provides 3 important things: Privacy, Authentication, and Message Integrity. In an SSL connection each side of the connection must have a Security Certificate, which each sideÕs software sends to the other. Each side then encrypts what it sends using information from both its own and the other sideÕs Certificate, ensuring that only the intended recipient can de-crypt it, and that the other side can be sure the data came from the place it claims to have come from, and that the message has not been tampered with. |
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| Static Link Library: |
| Static Link Libraries are class libraries that can be linked into C++ applications. These are packaged as .LIB files. |
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| Swing (JFC): |
| The JFC Swing classes provide support for forms-based Java programming. It provides the ability to include trees, tabbed panes, splitter panes, and other user interface enhancements to Java applications, giving them the look-and-feel expected in today’s application marketplace. |
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| Telnet: |
| Telnet is a program that allows you log on to a Unix computer. If you have an account on a Telnet server, you can access its resources (such as a directory of your files, e-mail, ftp, etc.). The downside of Telnet is, to use it, you need to use Unix commands, which can be somewhat frustrating at times, especially to Mac users (inside joke). |
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| UML: |
The Unified Modeling Language is a modeling language for specifying, visualizing, constructing, and documenting the artifacts of a system-intensive process, such as a software system or a business model or other non-software system. The UML represents a collection of best engineering practices that have proven successful in the modeling of large and complex systems.
The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is designed to specify and document the structure of and interfaces to a software component or system. It is a graphical language for expressing program design in a standard way. A UML model is essentially a blueprint for the construction of that component or system.
It was originally conceived by Rational Software Corporation and three of the most prominent methodologists in the information systems and technology industry, Grady Booch, James Rumbaugh, and Ivar Jacobson (the Three Amigos). The language has gained significant industry support from various organizations via the UML Partners Consortium and has been submitted to and approved by the Object Management Group (OMG) as a standard (November 17, 1997).
The primary goals in the design of the UML were as follows:
- Provide users with a ready-to-use, expressive visual modeling language so they can develop and exchange meaningful models.
- Provide extensibility and specialization mechanisms to extend the core concepts.
- Be independent of particular programming languages and development processes.
- Provide a formal basis for understanding the modeling language.
- Encourage the growth of the OO tools market.
- Support higher-level development concepts such as collaborations, frameworks, patterns and components.
- Integrate best practices.
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| UNIX: |
| UNIX is a powerful command line operating system. There are GUI versions available, but they're really just add-ons for the command line inhibited. It was developed at Bell Labs in 1969 and is now being developed by many other corporations. Its main use is as a multi-user server environment, which is ironic since it's name is a play on the name "Multics." UNIX was a "simpler" OS. Since UNIX has been around for so long, people have created countless shortcuts and workarounds to mask any weakness that UNIX had. |
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| URL: |
| URL stands for "Uniform Resource Locator." It is the address of a certain file or directory on the Web. A URL can't have spaces and always uses forward slashes. Some examples of URLs are http://www.sharpened.net/glossary/index.html, http://www.wheaton.edu/, and ftp://info.apple.com/. As you can see, not all URLs begin with "http". They also consist of two main parts. The first part of a URL indicates what kind of resource it is addressing. |
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| VB Class Library: |
| These consist of either source code (.CLS) or compiled (.DLL) libraries that can be referenced from Visual Basic. |
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