Algorithm : When used by computer folks, an algorithm is simply a list of instructions that accomplish a task.

ASCII: American Standard Code for Information Interchange (acronym pronounced "ask-ee"). Refers to plain text consisting of alpha-numeric characters without special formatting.

Baud: Named after J.M.E. Baudot (1845-1903), the French engineer who constructed the first successful teleprinter, baud refers to the rate at which signals can be sent over telephone lines.

Boolean: (pronounced boo-lee-un) Named for G. Boole (1815-64), an English mathematician. A system using algebraic rules and symbols to analyze symbolic logic, now widely used by computers since Boolean true-false results are compatible with binary code. It uses a defined set of operators such as AND, OR, and NOT. As used by search engines on the Internet, it means that any documents that meet the criteria of the Boolean operators would be "true" and all others "false". Thus, only "true" documents would be displayed.

BPS: Bits Per Second. Related to baud, yet, due to new compression schemes, many bits can be compressed into one baud. When people speak of modem speeds such as 14.4 or 28.8, they are referring to the bps.

Bookmarks: Placeholders for saving web addresses, or URLs. The phrase was coined by the designers of Netscape Navigator. Microsoft Internet Explorer uses the somewhat more quaint term "favorites."

Browser: Software used to search the WWW (Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator). In the analogy of the information superhighway, the browser is your car, the browser window your windshield. It is the medium with which you interface with the internet.

Client: Term for the computer one uses to access the internet. The client computer requests documents from the server computer, the latter sends a copy of the requested document, such as a web page. The client requests documents via the browser. The term is also used to refer to specific software running on the computer, as in "Eudora is a very good e-mail client."

COW: Conference on the Web, a tool developed by Eric Klavins, Professor Gerald Eisman and colleagues in the Computer Science Department. This web-based conferencing tool, which replaces SFSU's Bulletin Board Service (BBS), can be used to supplement class work, lead and participate in university-wide discussions, conduct committee business, departmental or programmatic business. Lists can be public, open to any interested members of the university community, or private, open only to members of a class, committee or program.

Directory: An organized catalog of files and subdirectories (smaller directories containing more files). Analogous to a file cabinet and its contents.

Download: The process of transferring a copy of a file from a server to a client computer over the internet. One can download a document or a complete computer program. The protocol used for downloading programs is FTP, for web pages, HTTP.

E-mail: Electronic mail. Yet another protocol that facilitates the exchange of electronic notes and letters. E-mail clients for the UNIX operating system include PINE and ELM. Other popular e-mail clients for Mac and Windows include Eudora, Pegasus, Claris E-mailer, and Netscape Navigator's built-in e-mail client. If you are a member of the faculty or student body at SFSU, you are entitled to a free internet account which can be set up online. Take a look at the Accounts FAQ for more information.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions. A FAQ is a document that usually accompanies a computer program or web page and is always worth a look.

Freeware: Software that is distributed free of charge over the internet or as a part of a larger software package.

FTP: File Transfer Protocol. A standard protocol that allows for the exchange of files from one computer to another, usually from a server to a client.

GIF: Graphics Interchange Format. This is a file format developed by Compuserve for the storage of graphics in a computer file. GIF files contain pictures or graphics and their filenames always end in ".gif" as opposed to ".html" for web pages. GIF and JPEG are the dominant graphical file formats on the web.

GUI: Graphical User Interface (pronounced "gooey"). Interface means the way in which you interact with the computer. DOS and UNIX utilize a "command line" interface, in which you write in lines of commands across the bottom of a scrolling screen. Macintosh and Windows provide a graphical user interface, originally developed at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center in the '70s, which incorporates the use of a mouse, icons, pop-up menus and windows, as well as a far more user-friendly computing experience. See also interface.

Hardware: The components of a computer (such as the monitor, keyboard, printer, mouse, modem) that are tangible and can be touched. Cf. software.

Hits: As used by search sites, it refers to the number of documents that a given search request turns up. As used by Web sites it can refer to the number of visitors to a given site.

Home Page: A website's first page or an individual's unique, personal page. Most pages in a website have a link back to the home page.

HTML: Hypertext Markup Language, the language used to write web pages.

HTML Editor: A program that allows you to create web pages. Most HTML editors try to be WYSIWYG, thus masking the actual HTML code and providing more of a word processing-type interface. Examples include Adobe PageMill and Softquad's HoTMetaL. Non-WYSIWYG editors include Bare Bones Software's BBEdit (which was used to create this page).

HTTP: HyperText Transfer Protocol. This is the protocol used by computers to transfer web pages to one another. This is why "http" is at the beginning of every URL.

Hypertext: Non-linear text, containing plain text and links. You are currently reading a hypertext document.

Hypermedia: A combination of hypertext, graphics, audio, video, and interactivity culminating in a complete, non-linear computer-based experience.

Interface: Besides the definition given above in the GUI section, interface also means the communication link between the hardware and the software of a computer. It can also mean 'to communicate'.

Internet: A network of interconnected computers regardless of operating system, program language or any other protocol. It is a global network without any one organization governing it. It can mean any group of inter- and intra-connected computers but "the" Internet is the largest, global expression of this phenomena. See WWW, LAN.

ISP: Internet Service Provider. ISPs are companies with one or more servers that offer monthly internet access to individuals as well as web hosting for people or groups that want to put up a website.

JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group. This is a file format for the storage of graphics in a computer file. JPEG files contain pictures or graphics and their filenames always end in ".jpeg" or ".jpg" as opposed to ".html" for web pages. JPEG and GIF are the dominant graphical file formats on the web.

LAN: Local Area Network, a group of computers connected--often but not always--in the same room or building; a miniature internet.

Link: Any text or graphic on a web page that, when clicked upon with the mouse, sends the user's browser to another part of that page or to a new web page. Text links are normally blue and underlined, but in any case tend to be a different color from the regular text. Text links tend to change color after being clicked. Graphical links sometimes have a blue border around them, but usually don't. One sure way to tell if you have a link is if the cursor changes to a pointing hand icon when passed over it.

Lists: Discussion groups on virtually everything. A user can join a list and post messages to it. The messages are gathered up and e-mailed to every other member of the list.

Listserv: The address used to correspond with the list "owner" about signing on and off and related administrative matters. People often mix up "lists," discussion groups, and "listservs," the means by which people join and leave such groups.

Mirror site: A site, or directory, that contains the same information as another site. Mirror sites were developed after heavy traffic slowed access to popular locations on the WWW.

Modem: An electronic device that allows your computer to exchange information with other computers over phone lines. Modems are commonly differentiated by their bps, as in "I just got a 33.6 and it's much faster than my old 14.4!"

MOO: Multi-Object Orientation. An environment which allows more than one person to talk at one time, often also allowing display of emotions and object manipulation in a given environment.

MUD: Multi-User Dungeon (or Dimension), similar to MOO environments.

Newsgroup: A virtual bulletin board on the internet, where users can read and post messages. There are thousands of newsgroups, all topic-specific, for every interest. Newsgroups are accessible via a web browser or newsgroup client such as NewsWatcher.

Offline: Term for when a user is not connected to the internet, as in "I know dinner is ready; I'll go offline in just a second."

Online: Term for when a user is connected to the internet, as in "Leave me alone, I'm online!"

Protocol: A mode of communication between computers. Different types of protocols allow for different types of information exchange.

Search Engine: A keyword searching algorithm or a software package that includes a searching algorithm. It has now come to mean a program that allows you to do a keyword search on the Internet.

Server: A large, powerful computer that literally "serves" documents, such as web pages, to any client that requests them. The interconnectedness of clients and servers is what makes up the internet. The term is also used to refer to specific software running on the computer, as in "We switched from NCSA to Netscape Secure Server for our commerce account."

Shareware: Software that is developed outside the corporate environment, usually by programers in their spare time, and distributed freely. The user of shareware is honor-bound to send a small payment to the author if he/she likes and uses the software. The clearinghouse for shareware on the web is Shareware.com.

Software: A set of instructions for a computer. There are two kinds of software: system software and application software. System software is usually stored on a computer's hard drive until needed by the computer. Application software ('apps' for short) are more commonly known as programs. You may have called common system software by their more well-known names such as Mac OS8 or Windows '95. You know application software by more common names such as Word, Lotus 1-2-3, Norton Utilities, or with any program that you may have had some contact. Cf. hardware.

Telnet: A protocol which allows for a direct UNIX interface over the internet to a remote server. NCSA Telnet is a telnet client.

Upload: Sending a file from a client to a server. Usually, this refers to updating web pages.

URL: Uniform Resource Locator, the "address" of a website. The components of a URL are the protocol, the domain, and the path. So in the example

http://www.sfsu.edu/~humanity/helpsite/glossary.html (the URL for this page)

"http://" is the protocol, "www.sfsu.edu/" is the domain, and "~humanity/helpsite/glossary.html" is the path. The "domain" is the registered name of the website. The "path" is literally the path the server has to follow to find and retrieve the requested document, in this case "glossary.html"

Usenet: An area of the internet separate from the World Wide Web, consisting of over 20,000 newsgroups.

WAN: Wide Area Network. Computers connected so that they can communicate regardless of location. The internet is a WAN.

WWW: World Wide Web. The fastest-growing part of the internet, the web supports pictures and text in an easily navigated environment (a click on a "link," for example, takes the user to another site).

WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get (pronounced "whizzy-wig"). This term refers to GUI programs that allow you to see results of your work as you go. One example of WYSIWYG is an HTML editor that allows you to write web pages and see how they will appear in a browser as you work.