Glossary of Terms
Don't know the difference between HTTP and TCP/IP? Have no fear - our handy glossary of terms is here to shed light on even the most obscure of Web-related acronyms.
If there's something you'd like explained that you can't find in here then please let us know about it. The glossary is expanding all the time so we welcome suggestions.
V
- Vector Graphics
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Vector Graphics use geometric shapes, lines and curves to represent an image. As they are based on mathematical calculations, Vector Graphics can be scaled to any size without loss of quality.
A common Vector Graphics file format is EPS.
See also: Raster Graphics.
- Video Casting
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Also known as Vodcasts or Vlogs. A video file which can be subscribed to via an RSS feed. Although the technology to achieve this has been available for a while, only recently the bandwidth has been available to make this practical.
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Takes your message and powerfully and quickly spreads it across the Internet, just like the age-old concept of "word-of-mouth", but in an electronic context.
- Virus
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A computer Virus is a self-replicating computer program that spreads by inserting itself into other files and documents.
Some Viruses are intentionally destructive, capable of destroying data, while others are benign or merely annoying.
See also: Bomb, Trojan Horse, Worm.
W
- W3C (World Wide Web Consortium)
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The W3C is an international consortium that works to develop standards for the World Wide Web.
The W3C is the driving force behind Web Standards and WCAG.
- Web
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See WWW
- Web 2.0
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A phrase popularized by the first Web 2.0 conference in 2004, Web 2.0 refers to a perceived second generation of web-based communities and hosted services — such as social-networking sites and wikis — which facilitate collaboration and sharing between users.
It is the second phase of the web following on from the boom-and-bust of the Internet. Web 2.0 encourages the users to add and share content.
- Weblog
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See Blog
- Web Browser
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A Web Browser is a software application that typically displays Web pages and Web sites on the World Wide Web or other networks.
Popular Web Browsers include Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari.
- WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)
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WCAG are a set of guidelines published by the W3C on how to make Web sites more accessibile to disabled users.
Typically these users may be visually impaired and will use a Screen Reader to read the contents of a Web page out to them, or they may be unable to use traditional input devices, such as a Mouse.
WCAG also detail how to make Web sites more accessible to user agents other than a computer, such as a Mobile Phone.
See also: DDA, Web Standards.
- Web Hosting
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A Web Hosting service allows organisations and individuals to store files on a Web Server which are then accessible on the World Wide Web.
- Web Mail
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An Email service accessed on the World Wide Web using a Web Browser.
Popular examples of Web Mail services include Hotmail, Yahoo Mail and Gmail.
- Web Server
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A Web Server is a computer system connected to the Internet that hosts the files comprising a Web site.
A Web Server serves Web pages to a Client when requested, usually using the HTTP protocol.
- Web Standards
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Web Standards refers to a set of technical specifications that define best practices for building Web sites, and for Web design in general.
A Web site is said to meet Web Standards when it adheres to these specifications.
In general, a Web site built to Web Standards will benefit from improved Search Engine visibility and is more likely to display correctly across various platforms, including different Operating Systems, Web Browsers and Mobile Phones.
- Web Stats
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Web Stats, or Web Statistics, is software that records the behaviour of visitors on a Web site.
The kind of information that can be recorded includes which pages are visited, for how long, how visitors arrived at the Web site and where the visitor is located geographically.
See also: Analytics, Unique Visit, Page Views, Hit.
- World Wide Web
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The World Wide Web (or Web) is a set of resources, such as documents and images, that can be accessed through the Internet.
Note; the World Wide Web is not the Internet itself. It is one of numerous services available over the Internet - Email being another.
- Worm
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A Worm is a piece of software that uses computer networks and security flaws to create copies of itself. A copy of the Worm will scan the network for any other vunerable machine that it can copy itself to.
- WWW
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Abbreviation of World Wide Web.
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