Glossary of Common IT Terms

[A-B]  [C-D]  [E-F]  [G-L]  [M-N]  [O-Q]  [S-Z]

A3
Paper size 297x420mm
A4
Paper size 210x297mm
ADSL
Assymetric Digital Subscription Line. Broadband Internet technology where the upload speed is slower than the download
Adobe
Software company producing Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, Premiere, After Effects
Adware
Virus-like software acquired from the Internet for aggressive advertising
Apple
Computer company producing the Macintosh, iPod and OS X
Application
Computer program
ASCII
American Standard Code for Information Interchange. A series of binary codes which describe text
BBS
Bulletin Board System. An online discussion/announcement area
Binary
Code consisting of only ones and zeros, e.g. 1001 = 9
Binhex
Non-text data which has been converted to ASCII
Bit
One piece of binary digital information i.e. 1 or 0
Bitmap
1. In Photoshop e.g., an image format consisting of two colours only, often black and white and sometimes referred to as line art
2. In windows an image format containing pixels (BMP)
Blog
weB LOG. An online journal
BMP
A windows file format for pixel images
bps
bits per second (referring to data transfer rates)
Boot
Start up a computer
Broadband
High speed Internet connection with no definable limits but much quicker than a 56K modem or ISDN
Browser
Software used to access Internet resources, e.g. Internet Explorer used to access web pages
Bug
Imperfections in software leading to reduction of functionality, crashing, incompatibilities etc.
Byte
8 bits

Glossary of Common IT Terms

[A-B]  [C-D]  [E-F]  [G-L]  [M-N]  [O-Q]  [S-Z]

CGI
Common Gateway Interface. A program or set of rules that describe how a Web Server communicates with another piece of software e.g. often used for form submissions on web sites
Clipboard
Part of the computers memory (RAM) used for copying and pasting items
Clock Speed
The speed at which a computers processor is running
Cookie
Information sent to a web browser from a web server that is saved and sent back to the web server when more information is requested, e.g. on the next visit. Cookies can be used to spy on browsing habits
Copy & Paste
When items are highlighted, copied to the clipboard of the computer and inserted elsewhere. Accessed from the Edit menu
Crash
The computer freezes and has to be resarted
CSS
Cascading Style Sheets. A standard for controlling the appearance of text and other elements. Usually used in conjunction with HTML in web pages
Cursor
Flashing vertical bar indicating point of data entry
Cut & Paste
When items are highlighted, removed to the clipboard of the computer and inserted elsewhere
CD ROM
Compact Disc containing data in the form of files and folders with a capacity of 650-700Mb
DHCP
Dynamic Host Control Protocol. A means by which IP addresses are assigned automatically to computers by a server
DHTML
Dynamic Hypertext Markup Language. A combination of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS used to create dynamic content on web pages, e.g. animated menus
DNS
Domain Name System. A system that translates Internet domain names into IP addresses
Domain Name
A unique name that identifies a site on the Internet. Always has at least 2 parts separated by a dot, e.g. jonescc.com
Download
Transfer data to your computer from another computer, the opposite of upload
Dreamweaver
Program for the creation of websites
Driver
Functional software required by peripheral devices
DPI
Dots per inch
DTP
Desktop publishing
DVD
Digital versatile disc. The same size as a CD but containing a maximum capacity of 4.7GB

Glossary of Common IT Terms

[A-B]  [C-D]  [E-F]  [G-L]  [M-N]  [O-Q]  [S-Z]

Email
Electronic mail sent from one computer to another or to a group of other computers
EPS
Encapsulated PostScript. A type of file usually containing text and graphics
Ethernet
The most common method of connecting computers together on a LAN via a particular kind of cable and connector
Extranet
A private network not physically connected to the Intranet
File
A computer/digital document
Firewall
A computer or software that separates parts of a network for security, often used to protect a private network or computer from the Internet
Firewire
A high speed connection to the computer commonly used for transfer of video and audio data
Flash
Software for creating and editing pixel vector web content
Flash Memory
Memory used by digital cameras and USB Pen Drives
Floppy Disk
Small disc for transferring data between computers with a capacity of 1.4MB
Floppy Drive
The drive slot where a floppy disk is inserted
Folder
Place on the Hard Drive where files are stored. Folders help to keep the Hard Drive organised logically
Font
A typeface e.g. Times, Helvetica, Arial etc.
Format
1. Wipe all data from a given disk or drive.
2. Apply certain attributes to text e.g. left aligned, bold, italic etc.
3. Type of file e.g. AIF, TIF, EPS, DOC, TXT, RTF, WAV
FTP
File Transfer Protocol. A common method of moving files to and from the Internet and from site to site.

Glossary of Common IT Terms

[A-B]  [C-D]  [E-F]  [G-L]  [M-N]  [O-Q]  [S-Z]

GIF
Graphics Interchange Format. A file format commonly used for graphics on the web
Gigabit (Gb)
1024 Mb (often referring to data transfer rates)
Gigabyte (GB)
1024 MB
Gigahertz (GHz)
1024 MHz - related to the speed of a processor
Hard Drive
The disk or group of disks within a computer
HTML
Hypertext Markup Language. The language used by web pages
HTTP
Hypertext transfer protocol. The prefix for all URLs
HTTPS
Hypertext transfer protocol using SSL encryption. The prefix for secure URLs
Home Directory
A personal folder on a remote server which you can access via your username and password
Hyperlink
Text or an image that connects to another location using hypertext
Hypertext
Text in a browser like in a web page with links to other content or pages
Icon
A small image on the desktop or in a program that is often clickable
Illustrator
Program for graphics using vectors, used to produce scaleable artwork
IMAP
Internet Message Access Protocol. One form of email
Internet
A worldwide collection of computer networks with a wide range of resources including the world wide web
Internet Explorer
Web browser software from Microsoft
Interpolation
Programs like Photoshop use interpolation to enlarge or reduce images. Interpolation calculates the movement and resizing of the pixels and can result in loss of definition
Intranet
A private network, series of networks and/or web pages
IP
Internet Protocol. A networking protocol
IP address
An identifying address giving the location of a machine on a network. In the form of 4 groups of numbers between 0 and 255 separated by a dot e.g. 192.168.0.255
iPod
An audio player made by Apple which can play files in the mp3 format.
IRC
Internet Relay Chat. This protocol allows users to log into a chat room and have conversations in real time
ISDN
Integrated Services Digital Network. A telephone network system for carrying digital information, commonly faster than a 56Kb modem at either 64 or 128 Kbps.
ISP
Internet Service Provider. A company which provides a service giving access to the Internet.
Jaguar
Mac OS X 10.2
Java
A programming language
Javascript
A web programming language
JPEG
Joint Photographics Experts Group. An image format which applies lossy compression to an image resulting in drastically reduced file sizes. JPEGs are used most often for photography on the web
Kilobit (Kb)
1024 bits (often referring to data transfer rates)
Kilobyte (KB)
1024 bytes
LAN
Local Area Network
Log In
Enter a username and password to gain access to a computer network or protected area
Lossy Compression
File compression for images that may result in a permanent loss of quality

Glossary of Common IT Terms

[A-B]  [C-D]  [E-F]  [G-L]  [M-N]  [O-Q]  [S-Z]

Macintosh
A type of computer manufactured by Apple
Megabit (Mb)
1024 Kb (often referring to data transfer rates)
Megabyte (MB)
1024 KB
Megahertz (MHz)
1024 Hz. The frequency by which the speed of processors is measured
Memory
This usually refers to RAM
Meta Tag
Parts of HTML and XML code which hold information relating to an item like a web page or a digital photograph
Microsoft
The largest software corporation worldwide producing the Windows operating system
Microsoft Office
A suite of programs word processing, spreadsheets etc. Includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint
Microsoft PowerPoint
Slide presentation software
Microsoft Word
Word processing software
MIME
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. The Internet standard for email. Most email is transmitted via SMTP in the MIME format
Mirror
An identical hard drive or data store for backup purposes or for sharing out heavy usage
Modem
Modulator demodulator. Converts digital information into analogue for data transfer and vice versa for receiving data
Monitor
The screen attached to the computer
Mouse
The input device with 1-3 buttons you use to navigate around the screen
mp3
A file format for compressed audio commonly used for music
Netiquette
Customs of acceptable behaviour in cyberspace
Netscape
Web browser software
Network
A group of computers that are able to connect to each other
Newsgroup
Discussion groups on the Usenet

Glossary of Common IT Terms

[A-B]  [C-D]  [E-F]  [G-L]  [M-N]  [O-Q]  [S-Z]

OCR
Optical Character Recognition. Scanning text (only in a common typeface) to a text file
OEM
Original Equipment Manufacturer. Components or products without retail packaging
Open
On the file menu in most programs. Use this to open an existing file
Operating system
The underlying software that makes the computer work e.g. Windows XP, Mac OS X, Linux etc.
OS
Operating system
Outlook
An office management program including email, calendar, tasks and address book. Part of Microsoft Office
Outlook Express
Slimmed down version of Outlook for simple email
Page Setup
On the file menu next to Print. Use this to set up your page correctly before you use the print command
Panther
Mac OS X 10.3
Password
A secret code (often used with a user name) to gain access to a computer or network service
PDF
Portable Document Format. A common file format often used for documentation
Pen Drive
USB flash memory for file storage
Perl
Practical Extraction and Report Language. Programming language often used for simple web site scripts
Peripherals
Items connected to the computer like a printer, scanner, mouse, keyboard etc
Photoshop
Image manipulation software from Adobe
PHP
Hypertext Pre-processor. A language for web programming
Ping
A simple command to test a connection between two computers on a network
Pixel
The smallest discrete component of an image or picture on a CRT screen (usually a colored dot)
Plug-in
An addition to existing software often developed by a third party
PNG
Portable Network Graphics. A file format for a graphical image
Podcast
Posting audio files to be downloaded and played back on audio players like the iPod
POP or POP3
Post Office Protocol. A protocol by which email can be collected from a mail server
Port
1. The socket on the back of a computer
2. An opening (one of thousands) on a computer for network traffic
Portal
Large web site intended to be the first place people see when using the Web, usually with catalogued information and a search engine
PPI
Pixels per inch. The greater the number of pixels per inch the greater the resolution
PPP
Point to point protocol. Used to connect computers to the Internet over phone lines with a modem
Program
An application or computer software
Proxy Server
An intermediate server between a client computer and a network server
Quark Xpress
DTP software
RAID
Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks. A series of hard drives that store information on seperate disks
RAM
Random Access Memory. Memory that is only available while the computer is switched on
Render
1. To preview or finalise a 3D piece of work
2. To see the effect of a filter in Adobe Premiere
Resolution
1. The number of pixels per inch in an image file
2. The number of pixels on the monitor
3. The number of dots or lines per inch when printing
Rollover
A link which changes appearance as a mouse moves over it
ROM
Read-only memory. E.g. data on a CD
Router
A computer or unit that handles the connections between 2 or more networks
RSS
Real Simple Syndication (Rich Site Summary). A protocol for syndication and sharing content, especially news items

Glossary of Common IT Terms

[A-B]  [C-D]  [E-F]  [G-L]  [M-N]  [O-Q]  [S-Z]

Save
On the file menu. Use this to save an altered document that already has a name and location
Save As
On the file menu. Use this the first time you save a document to give it a name and location
Scanner
An input device to capture a still image or text (see OCR)
Scratch Disk
Photoshop and some other programs use free Hard Disk space as virtual RAM
Search Engine
Software that makes it possible to look for and retrieve material from a network often found within a web page
Serial
A port on the back of some computers
Server
A computer that controls or carries out specific functions on a network
Spam
Junk email
Spyware
Virus-like software that can attach to a web browser like Internet Explorer to track surfing behaviour
SSL
Secure Socket Layer. The encryption method used for secure web pages
Start Up
When the computer is booting up
SMTP
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. Protocol by which email is transmitted
SWF
File format for the Flash program by Macromedia
TCP/IP
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. A suite of protocols for the transfer of packets of information on the Internet or other network
Terabyte
1024 GB
TIFF
Tagged Image File Format, a universal image format ideal for saving images for use in DTP programs
Tiger
Mac OS X 10.4
Trojan Horse
A malicious virus disguised as something benign
Typeface
A font e.g. Times, arial, helvetica etc.
Unix
An old but stable operating system which forms the basis of Linux and Mac OS X
Upload
Transfer data from your computer to another computer, the opposite of download
URI
Uniform Resource Indicator. (See URL)
URL
Uniform Resource Locator. A web address that will usually begin with http://.
URN
Uniform Resource Name. (See URL)
USB
Universal Serial Bus. A port in the back of PCs and Macs with many uses, especially communicating with peripherals
Usenet
A world-wide system of discussion groups.
Username
A unique name given to or chosen by you for identification with a password on a network
Vector Grahpics
Scaleable shapes and images using mathematical formulae rather than pixels
Virus
A self-replicating program that may cause damage to data
VoIP
Voice over Internet Protocol. Telephony made possible with computers and broadband-speed connections
VPN
Virtual Private Network. A private network that can be accessed via the Internet
WAN
Wide Area Network. Often a group of networks joined by an Internet connection
WAV
Wave. A file format for audio commonly used for music
Web site
Collection of web pages where one can navigate from one page to another using hyperlinks
Wi-Fi
Popular term for wireless ethernet networking
Windows
Microsoft's operating system; 3, 3.11, 95, 98, NT, 2000, ME, XP
Worm
A kind of virus which deletes information and spreads by accessing an address book
WWW
World Wide Web. A network of web servers hosting public web sites which forms part of the Internet
XML
Extensible Markup Language. A system which can define complex documents and data structures.
Zip Disk
A removable disk that may contain either 100MB, 250MB or 750MB
Zip Drive
An internal or external drive for Zip Disks

Glossary of Common IT Terms

[A-B]  [C-D]  [E-F]  [G-L]  [M-N]  [O-Q]  [S-Z]