Opportunity Wales eCommerce Glossary
[Q - Z]
Q
QuickTime
A video and animation format which allows the streaming of video, developed by Apple.
R
Real (Audio, Video)
A multimedia format which allows the streaming of video (Real Video) and/or audio (RealAudio) across the Internet.
RSS
Rich Site Summary. A format allowing for the exchange of Web content – typically Weblogs – between sites or through a RSS aggregator, allowing users to read a number of news and information ‘feeds’ through one piece of software.
S
Safari
A Web browser specifically designed to run on Apple’s MacOS operating system.
Search Engine
A facility, available across the WWW, to search for Web sites which contain particular words or phrases.
Search Directory
Subject indexes on the Web that allow users to search for information by entering a keyword into a query on their site. The directory searches through keyword matches in their database only.
Signature Files
Signature files which can be automatically added to the end of email messages. Typically, these give the name and other information about the sender.
SMB
Small and Medium-sized Business, the American term for a small business.
SME
Small and Medium-sized Enterprise, the official UK name for a small business.
Spam
eMails received which have not been requested. These would often take the form of selling products and services, and are now illegal across Europe, where consent is required on the part of the recipient before marketing-based eMails can be sent to users.
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
A protocol which enables secure transmission of data across the Internet.
Streaming
Playing sound or video in real time as it is downloaded over the Internet as opposed to storing it on a PC.
Stickiness
General term used to describe the characteristics of a Web site to attract and keep users in the area. Also a measurement of how many users return, to the site for more information or products.
Surfing
A slang term for the process of moving around the Web.
T
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)
TCP/IP specifies how data is sent across the Internet. It is also used by many private networks.
Terminal Adapter
Allows data to be transmitted over an ISDN line, much like a modem allows data to be sent over a ‘phone line.
Trojan Horse
A program that pretends to be a something it is not. Trojan programs are used to steal user information from a PC and can even be used to take control of the PC remotely.
U
URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
The 'official' name of the format used for Web addresses. Each page on the World Wide Web has a different URL and all start with the acronym HTTP. USB
Universal Serial Bus, a type of connectivity that allows a peripheral to be connected to a computer. Two versions of USB are available, called USB 1.0 and USB 2.0, allowing differing rates of data transmission.
UUencoding
A method of encoding which allows binary files (such as graphics or programs) to be converted to ASCII so that they can be sent by eMail. Pronounced you-you-encoding and originally used for transferring files through the Unix operating system.
Unix
A widely-used operating system that dates back to the late 1960s and is still in development. For many years, the majority of users on the Internet used Unix to access and serve data; the increase in people using the Internet with Microsoft Windows has lessened its use. However, Unix is still used widely in Web servers and has spawned its own set of terms such as UUencoding above.
V
VAN
Companies using EDI (electronic data interchange) usually exchange transactions through a third party VAN (value added network).
Virus
A computer program or script that replicates itself. A virus could install some software, create or delete files. Computer viruses are spread via eMail and exploit vulnerable systems mostly Microsoft products.
VPN (Virtual Private Network)
Allows PC’s to connect to a network remotely using the Internet. However, the transmitted information is encrypted for security.
W
W3C
The World Wide Web Consortium, an international body for the development of Web languages and standards. ( www.w3.org) Weblogs
A Web site or page containing chronological entries concerning one theme or by one author. This term is often shortened to ‘Blogs’, and the term used to write to a Weblog is called ‘Blogging’.
Web Site
A set of pages on the World Wide Web, for an individual or company.
Wireless LAN or Wi-Fi
The ability to connect to a network using wireless access. This often takes place using the 802 series of protocols, and can allow the user to connect to a single network, the Internet, or indeed anywhere where facilities are in place.
World Wide Web (WWW)
The World Wide Web is a set of linked electronic pages, mainly of text and graphics, available over the Internet.
Worm
A worm is a form of computer virus that does not infect other computer programs. It copies itself and connects to other computers thus infecting them. A worm can cause damage to files, software and computers if designed to do so.
X
XML (eXtensible Mark-up Language)
A widely used system for defining data formats.
Y
Yahoo
Z
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