| Apache | Apache
is a freely available Web server that is
distributed under an "open source" license.
Version 2.0 runs on most Unix-based operating systems
(such as Linux, Solaris, Digital UNIX, and AIX),
on other UNIX/POSIX-derived systems (such as
Rhapsody, BeOS, and BS2000/OSD), on
AmigaOS, and on Windows 2000. |
| Apple/Apple Computer | Apple
Computer, Inc. is a prominent hardware and
software company best known for its Macintosh series
of personal computers. Introduced in 1984, the Macintosh
was the first widely sold personal
computer with a graphical user interface
(GUI). That feature and others -- such as
an improved floppy drive design and a
low-cost hard drive that made data retrieval
faster and more reliable -- helped Apple cultivate
a reputation for innovation, which the company still
enjoys today. |
| Application | A
software piece or module designed to fill the
specific needs of a user; for example, software
for project management, issue tracking, file sharing,
etc. This contrasts with system software, e.g.
operating systems like MS Windows or
UNIX. |
| Backup | A
copy of database and associated files set aside
for security purposes. In case of data loss, backup
is used to recover the working database or files. |
| Back end | Administrative
mode of a shopping cart protected by
administrator's login and password and
not accessible for customers. |
| Bandwidth | In
computer networks, bandwidth is often used
as a synonym for data transfer rate - the amount
of data that can be carried from one point to another
in a given time period (usually a second). This
kind of bandwidth is usually expressed in
bits (of data) per second (bps).
Occasionally, it's expressed as bytes per
second (Bps). A modem that works at
57,600 bps has twice the bandwidth of a modem that
works at 28,800 bps. |
| BSD | BSD
(originally: Berkeley Software Distribution)
refers to the particular version of the Unix operating
system that was developed at and distributed from
the University of California at Berkeley.
"BSD" is customarily preceded by a number
indicating the particular distribution
level of the BSD system (for example,
"4.3 BSD"). BSD UNIX has been popular and
many commercial implementations of UNIX
systems are based on or include some BSD
code. |
| CD-ROM | CD-ROM
(Compact Disc, read-only-memory) is an
adaptation of the CD that is designed to store computer
data in the form of text and graphics, as well as
hi-fi stereo sound. The original data format
standard was defined by Philips and Sony
in the 1983 Yellow Book. |
| Cookie | A
cookie is information that a website puts on
your hard disk so that it can remember something
about you at a later time. (More technically, it
is information for future use that is stored by
the server on the client side of a
client/server communication.) Typically, a
cookie records your preferences when
using a particular site. Using the Web's
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), each
request for a Web page is independent of all other
requests. For this reason, the Web page server has
no memory of what pages it has sent to a user
previously or anything about your
previous visits. A cookie is a mechanism
that allows the server to store its own
information about a user on the user's own computer.
You can view the cookies that have been stored on
your hard disk (although the content stored in each
cookie may not make much sense to you).
The location of the cookies depends on
the browser. Internet Explorer stores
each cookie as a separate file under a
Windows subdirectory. Netscape stores all cookies
in a single cookies.txt fle. |
| C++ | C++
is an object-oriented programming (OOP) language
that is viewed by many as the best language for
creating large-scale applications. C++ is a superset
of the C language. A related programming
language, Java, is based on C++ but
optimized for the distribution of program
objects in a network such as the Internet.
Java is somewhat simpler and easier to learn than
C++ and has characteristics that give it other advantages
over C++. However, both languages require a
considerable amount of study. |
| Document | When
used in reference to the WebAsyst applications,
a document is any file containing text, media or
hyperlinks that can be transferred from/to a server. |
| DOM | Document
Object Model (DOM), is a programming
interface specification being developed by the World
Wide Web Consortium (W3C). It lets a programmer
create and modify HTML pages and XML documents as
full-fledged program objects. |
| Download | A process of transferring to your computer a copy of a file that resides on another computer. |
| Ecommerce (electronic commerce) |
The conducting of business communication and
transactions over networks and through computers.
Specifically, ecommerce is the buying and selling
of goods and services, and the transfer of funds,
through digital communications. |
| Front end |
Also referred to as 'storefront'. A part of online
store available for public use, where customers
can navigate through products catalog and place
orders. |
| Gigabyte | A
gigabyte (pronounced GIG-a-bite with hard G's)
is a measure of computer data storage capacity and
is "roughly" a billion bytes. A gigabyte
is two to the 30th power, or 1,073,741,824 in decimal
points. |
| Groupware | Collaboration
software, also known as groupware, is a
software tool that integrates the work of multiple
concurrent users located at separated workspaces.
Usually a groupware package consists of several
web based applications designed for the
automation of your collaborative
activities. |
| GUI interface | A
GUI (usually pronounced GOO-ee) is a graphical
(rather than purely textual) user interface to a
computer. As you read this, you are looking at the
GUI or graphical user interface of your
particular Web browser. The term came
into existence because the first
interactive user interfaces to computers
were not graphical; they were text-and-keyboard
oriented and usually consisted of commands you had
to remember and computer responses that were infamously
brief. |
| Hardware | In
information technology, hardware is the physical
aspect of computers, telecommunications, and other
devices. The term arose as a way to distinguish
the "box" and the electronic circuitry
and components of a computer from the program
you put in it to make it do things. The
program came to be known as the software. |
| HDD (Hard Disk Drive) | In
a personal computer, a hard disk drive (HDD)
is the mechanism that controls the positioning,
reading, and writing of the hard disk, which furnishes
the largest amount of data storage for the PC.
Although the hard disk drive (often
shortened to "hard drive") and the hard
disk are not the same thing, they are
packaged as a unit and so either term is
sometimes used to refer to the whole unit. |
| Hosting | A
way of using web based software. Does not require
installation of any software pieces on your desktop
computer. Instead, all your software applications,
database and files are located on a
computer in the Internet, which is
maintained by your host provider for a
certain monthly fee. |
| HTML | An
acronym for Hyper Text Markup Language. HTML
codes are interpreted by the web browser to format
documents in a particular way. |
| IIS | IIS
(Internet Information Server) is a group of
Internet servers (including a Web or Hypertext Transfer
Protocol server and a File Transfer Protocol server)
with additional capabilities for
Microsoft's Windows NT and Windows 2000
Server operating systems. |
| Internet Explorer | Internet
Explorer (IE) -- sometimes referred to
as Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE) -- is the
most widely used World Wide Web browser. It comes
with the Microsoft Windows operating system and
can also be downloaded from Microsoft's website.
The IE browser competes with an earlier
browser, Netscape, now owned by AOL. |
| Issue | A
bug or defect report, work order, problem description,
task or any request, which needs someone’s attention
and action to be fixed, implemented or
processed in some other way. Usually an
issue is added in a list and someone is
assigned to implement it. |
| JAVA (JAVA Script) | Java
is a programming language expressly designed
for use in the distributed environment of the Internet.
It was designed to have the "look and feel"
of the C++ language, but it is simpler to use
than C++ and enforces an object-oriented
programming model. Java can be used to
create complete applications that may run
on a single computer or be distributed
among servers and clients in a network. It can also
be used to build a small application module or applet
for use as part of a Web page. Applets make it
possible for a Web page user to interact
with the page. |
| Kernel | The
kernel is the essential center of a computer
operating system, the core that provides basic services
for all other parts of the operating system. A
synonym is nucleus. A kernel can be
contrasted with a shell, the outermost
part of an operating system that interacts
with user commands. Kernel and shell are terms used
more frequently in Unix operating systems than in
IBM mainframe or Microsoft Windows systems. |
| Linux | Linux
(often pronounced LIH-nuhks with a short
"i") is a Unix-like operating system that
was designed to provide personal computer users
a free or very low-cost operating system comparable
to traditional and usually more expensive Unix
systems. Linux has a reputation as a very
efficient and fast-performing system.
Linux's kernel (the central part of the
operating system) was developed by Linus Torvalds
at the University of Helsinki in Finland. |
| Megabyte (MB) | As
a measure of computer processor storage and
real and virtual memory, a megabyte (abbreviated
MB) is 2 to the 20th power bytes, or 1,048,576 bytes
in decimal notation. According to the IBM
Dictionary of Computing, when used to
describe disk storage capacity and
transmission rates, a megabyte is 1,000,000
bytes in decimal notation. |
| Memory | Memory
is the electronic holding place for instructions
and data that your computer's microprocessor can
reach quickly. When your computer is in normal
operation, its memory usually contains
the main parts of the operating system
and some or all of the application
programs and related data that are being used. Memory
is often used as a shorter synonym for random access
memory (RAM). This kind of memory is located on
one or more microchips that are
physically close to the microprocessor in
your computer. Most desktop and notebook
computers sold today include at least 16
megabytes of RAM, and are upgradeable to include
more. The more RAM you have, the less frequently
the computer has to access instructions and data
from the more slowly accessed hard disk form of
storage. |
| Merchant account | A
written, commercial bank account established
by contractual agreement between a merchant/business
and a bank and/or a payment gateway. The agreement
contains the respective rights, warranties,
and duties with respect to accepting
bankcards like Visa or MasterCard. You
must apply for this account directly from
your bank, or from the Payment Processor. |
| Mozilla | Mozilla
was Netscape Communication's nickname
for Navigator, its Web browser, and, more recently,
the name of an open source public collaboration
aimed at making improvements to Navigator. This
public collaboration was essentially launched
and is still substantially supported by
Netscape (now owned by AOL); however, the
Mozilla project is independent. Netscape
can use its code but so can anyone else. |
| MySQL | MySQL
(pronounced "my ess cue el") is an open
source relational database management system
(RDBMS) that uses Structured Query Language (SQL),
the most popular language for adding, accessing,
and processing data in a database. Because it is
open source, anyone can download MySQL and
tailor it to their needs in accordance
with the general public license. MySQL is
noted mainly for its speed, reliability,
and flexibility. Most agree, however,
that it works best when managing content and not
executing transactions. |
| Netscape | Netscape,
now part of America Online (AOL), is one
of the two most popular Web browsers. Currently,
almost all Internet users use either Microsoft's
Internet Explorer (MSIE) browser or Netscape, and
many users use both. Although Netscape was
initially the predominant product in
terms of usability and number of users,
Microsoft's browser is generally
considered superior by many users (although many
other users see them as roughly equivalent) and
has taken a significant lead in usage. Netscape's
browser,called "Navigator," was developed
in 1995. |
| Open Source | Open
source is a philosophy of software distribution
that allows anyone to read and modify the program's
source code. Because anyone can modify the source
code, bug fixes, improvements or
implementation of new specific features
occur rapidly. |
| Oracle | Oracle
(in ancient Greece, someone in touch with
the deities; from Latin, oraculum or divine announcement)
says it is the world's leading supplier of software
for information management but it is best
known for its sophisticated relational
database products (notably Oracle9i),
which are used in Fortune 1000
corporations and by many of the largest websites.
Oracle's relational database was the world's first
to support the Structured Query Language (SQL),
now an industry standard. |
| OS (Operating System) | An
operating system (sometimes abbreviated as
"OS") is the program that, after being
initially loaded into the computer by a boot program,
manages all the other programs in a computer. The
other programs are called applications or
application programs. The application
programs make use of the operating system
by making requests for services through a
defined application program interface
(API). In addition, users can interact directly
with the operating system through a user interface
such as a command language or a graphical user
interface (GUI). |
| Payment gateway | A
combination of software and hardware that provides
an interface to the bank card processing network.
Typically Payment gateway is a company that provides
the transaction-processing network that
receives encrypted transactions from a
merchant’s website and sends them to the
card issuing bank for approval. |
| PC (Personal Computer) | In
its more general usage, a PC (personal computer)
is a computer designed for use by one person at
a time. Prior to the PC, computers were designed
for (and only affordable by) companies who
attached terminals for multiple users to a
single large computer whose resources
were shared among all users. Beginning in
the late 1980s, technology advances made it feasible
to build a small computer that an individual could
own and use. The term "PC" is also commonly
used to describe an "IBM-compatible" personal
computer in contrast to an Apple
Macintosh computer. |
| Pentium | The
Pentium is a widely-used personal computer
microprocessor from the Intel Corporation. First
offered in 1993, the Pentium quickly replaced Intel's
486 microprocessor as the microchip-of-choice in
manufacturing a personal computer. The
original Pentium model includes two
processors on one chip that contains 3.1
million transistors. |
| Plug-in | Plug-in
applications are programs that can easily
be installed and used as part of your Web browser.
Initially, the Netscape browser allowed you to download,
install, and define supplementary programs
that played sound or motion video or
performed other functions. These were
called helper applications. However,
these applications run as a separate application
and require that a second window be opened. A plug-in
application is recognized automatically by the
browser and its function is integrated
into the main HTML file that is being
presented. |
| Project | An
undertaking that encompasses a set of tasks
or activities having a definable starting point
and well defined objectives. Usually each task has
a planned completion data (due date) and assigned
resources. |
| PHP | The
PHP Hypertext Preprocessor is a programming
language that allows web developers to create dynamic
content that interacts with databases. PHP is basically
used for developing web based software
applications. |
| Server | 1)
In information technology, a server is a computer
program that provides services to other computer
programs (and their users) in the same or other
computers. 2)
The computer that a server program runs in
is also frequently referred to as a server (though
it may be used for other purposes as well).
3)
In the client/server programming model, a
server is a program that awaits and fulfills requests
from client programs in the same or other computers.
A given application in a computer may
function as a client with requests for
services from other programs and also
as a server of requests from other
programs.
Specific
to the Web, a Web server is the computer
program (housed in a computer) that serves requested
HTML pages or files. A Web client is the requesting
program associated with the user. The Web
browser in your computer is a client
that requests HTML files from Web
servers. |
| Shopping cart | Software
that operates on an online storefront.
The "shopping cart" keeps track of all
the items that a buyer wants to purchase, allowing
the shopper to pay for the whole order at once. |
| SOAP | Simple
Object Access Protocol. A protocol that
describes a model for packing XML enquiries and
responses. SOAP messaging is used to enable exchange
of a variety of XML information between server and
client computers. |
| SQL | SQL
(Structured Query Language) is a standard
interactive and programming language for getting
information from and updating a database. Although
SQL is both an ANSI and an ISO standard, many
database products support SQL with
proprietary extensions to the standard
language. Queries take the form of a
command language that lets you select, insert,
update, find out the location of data, and so forth.
There is also a programming interface. |
| Task | A
piece of work that is part of the total work
needed to accomplish a project. Also called an activity.
A task usually has an expected duration and cost.
A Project usually encompasses a number of
tasks being implemented sequentially
and/or simultaneously. |
| Trial | A
period of free usage of a product or services.
Usually provided by a vendor for evaluation purposes.
The Customer usually does not pay for trial and
makes the decision to purchase only if
satisfied with a service or product
during this trial period. |
| URL | This
is the abbreviation for Uniform Resource
Locator, The addressing system used in the World
Wide Web and other Internet resources. The URL contains
information about the method of access, the
server to be accessed and the path of any
file to be accessed, e.g.
http://www.servername.com/foldername/pagename.html |
| Visual Basic | Visual
Basic (VB) is a programming environment
from Microsoft in which a programmer uses a graphical
user interface to choose and modify preselected
sections of code written in the BASIC programming
language. Since Visual Basic is easy to
learn and fast to write code with, it's
sometimes used to prototype an
application that will later be written in
a more difficult but efficient language. Visual
Basic is also widely used to write working programs.
Microsoft says that there are at least 3 million
developers using Visual Basic. |
| Web Based Software | A
specific and relatively new class of software.
All software components usually reside on a web
server. Access to the web based software application
is through a web-browser, the web based
software only needs to be installed on
one web server machine. Users can gain
quick and timely access to a wider
variety of existing information, anytime, and from
anywhere in the world. |
| Web server | A
computer, including software package, that provides
a specific kind of service to client software running
on other computers. More specifically, a server
is a computer that manages and shares
web based applications accessible anytime
from any computer connected to the
Internet. |
| XML | Acronym
for Extensible Markup Language. An open
standard for exchanging structured documents and
data over the Internet that was introduced by the
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in November 1996. |
