World Wide Webfx Internet Glossary of Computer Terms

Glossary of Computer Terms
from World Wide Webfx

Campus Wide Information System (CWIS): A CWIS makes interactive computing publicly available on a campus (or even a K-12 school) via kiosks, information stations named for the old circular bulletin boards that are perennially plastered with posters. Services routinely include directory information, calendars, bulletin boards, and databases.
CD-ROM: Compact Disk-Read Only Memory - a disk that stores information (commonly about 650MB) that can be read or copied from the disk Read only means you can not save information to the disk.
CERT: Computer Emergency Response Team
CGI: Common Gateway Interface
Cisco: company that makes modem hardware currently used by ITC's modem pool
classified advertising: A popular on-line ad format that groups products of like kind together
clickable: In a graphic user interface, such as a Web browser or a Gopher client, the fact that the user can use a mouse to point at portions of the image or text and click on that point. Once the user clicks on a point in the display, the client launches an action, either following a hypertext link or running another program.
client: a computer system or process that requests a service of another computer system or process (e.g., a computer requesting the contents of a file from a file server )In client-server computing, the "front-end" program that the user runs to connect with, and request information from, the server program. For most of the common Internet tools, many different client programs are designed to work in DOS, Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX environments. See also Archie, Wide Area Information Servers.
client-server computing: The model or scheme underlying practically all programs running on the Internet (as well asother network and database software). In this design, the work of an application (such as FTP orGopher) is divided up between two programs-the client (or "front end") and the server (or "back end"). The client program handles the work of connecting to the server and requesting files or information, and the server handles the work of finding and "serving up" the information (or of providing some other service, such as directing print jobs to a printer). See also Archie, client, File Transfer Protocol, Gopher server Domain Name System, Wide Area Information Servers.
clipboard: A temporary storing area for cut or copied information. The clipboard holds the information until you cut or copy another selection to it or you exit from Windows.
Common Gateway Interface (CGI): An Interface that allows a program,or application called a CGIscript usually written in a computer language such as "PERL" or "C++" to perform some useful task based on a users input. Typical CGI scripts do things like:read an Image Map, count the number hits to your page, or accept and filter data from a forms page.
compiler: a program that takes instructions written in a high level language (e.g., C, Fortran), and converts it into something the computer can understand.
computer: Electronic machine that accepts, processes, outputs and stores data.
computer architecture: usually refers to the type of computer or the kind of software that will run on it (Macintosh, IBM, NeXT, RS/6000, SGI, Sun, etc.) Sometimes reffered to as "platform".
Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT): The CERT was formed by DARPA in November 1988 in response to the needs exhibited during the Internet worm incident, where a program sent out on the Internet by a college student used security loopholes in networked computers to replicate itself, send itself on to other computers, and disable critical flinctions on the affected computers. The CERT charter is to work with the Internet community to facilitate its response to computer security events involving Internet hosts, to take proactive steps to raise the community's awareness of computer security issues, and to conduct research targeted at improving the security of existing systems. CERT products and services include 24-hour technical assistance for responding to computer security incidents, product vulnerability assistance, technical documents, and tutorials. In addition, the team maintains a number of mailing lists (including one for CERT Advisories), and provides an anonymous FTP server at cert.org where security-related documents and tools are archived. The CERT may be reached by e-mail at cert@cert.org and by telephone at (412)268-7090(24-hour hotline). See also worm.
congestion: What occurs when the load exceeds the capacity of a data communication path. You may be experiencing congestion when any of the following happens: you get a busy signal when you dial into a modem pool, the response from the server or host you are trying to reach is slow, or you get an error message telling you that no ports are available for the service or host you want to use.
CPU: Central Processing Unit or circuitry of the computer that controls storage and processing of data. CPU's have a clock speed measured in Megahertz (Mhz). Higher numbers usually mean faster computers.
cracker: An individual who attempts to access computer systems without authorization. These individuals are often malicious, as opposed to hackers (who see themselves as benevolent explorers), and have many means at their disposal for breaking into a system. See also Computer Emergency Response Tram, Trojan Horse, virus, worm.
crash: An unexpected interuption of the proper functioning of a computer; disk drive or software.
cursor: This is the symbol on your display screen which represents your logical position within NetCruiser. The cursor can be either an arrow, a hand, a vertical bar, an hourglass, or some other symbol. The arrow represents places where you can click your mouse. The hand points to a colored link where you can click to jump to new information. The vertical bar represents a place where you provide input from the keyboard. If material may be inserted or replaced, it will be inserted or replaced from this point. If you may select material, the selection win start from this point.The hourglass is shown when NetCruiser is working on the flinction that you have selected. It tells you that, even though the screen may not have changed, your request has been recognized and is being processed.
cyberspace: Cyber comes from the '50s term cybernetics, which is used to describe the science of computers. Space harkens to the '60s terms "inner space," "head space," and so on. "Cyberspace" is a term coined by either computer hackers or science fiction writers (both claim credit) to describe the place you are when you are traversing the virtual geography of the Internet. The term first appeared in print in William Gibson's novel Neuromancer (Ace, 1984) to describe the world of computers and the society that gathers around them.