World Wide Webfx Internet Glossary of Computer Terms

Glossary of Computer Terms
from World Wide Webfx

gateway: The term "router" is now used in place of the original definition of "gateway." Currently, a gateway is a communications device/program that passes data between networks having similar functions but dissimilar implementations. This should not be confused with a protocol converter, which allows dissimilar protocols (for example, DEC, net and AppleTalk) to pass data between them. See also mail gateway, router.
GIF: Graphic Interchange Format, a highly compressed format for storing and transferring graphic images. The GIF format was created by CompuServe to speed the time required to download graphics, and has since become most widely used graphic format on the Internet and the Web.
gigabyte: Approximately one billion bytes or 1,000 MB (actual 1,073,741,824 bytes).
Gopher: A simple, menu-based system (named after the mascot of the University of Minnesota, where it was created) for searching and retrieving information from resources across the Internet. Gopher uses a simple protocol that allows a single Gopher client to access information from any accessible Gopher server, providing the user with a single menu of information. Menu topics may lead to hierarchically organized subtopics. Depending on the context, the term "Gopherspace" refers either to the whole collection of documents available from Gopher servers or to what's available based on the menu selections you've already made. Public domain versions of the client and server are available. The system can beaccessed by typing a Gopher URL in the Open URL dialog box.See also Archie, archive site, Wide Area Information Servers.
graphic: A binary file that is displayed as an image as opposed to text.See inline image
Graphical User Interface (GUI): A GUI is a software "front end" which lets the user use pictures and "point-and-click" technology to access the software application. It allows a computer user to interact with the computer by manipulating graphic representations (icons) witha mouse or other pointing device instead of typing text commands. Many modern Internet clients are based on GUI principles and technology. NetCruiser is a GUI. See also browse, World Wide Web, Gopher
GUI: Graphical User Interface.
hacker: Among programmers, a person who delights in having an intimate understanding of the internal workings of a computer system or network. The term is often misused in a pejorative context, where cracker would be the correct term. Hackers take joy in accomplishing difficult tasks ("hacking out" a working program, for example) and learning more and more about networking and computer systems.
handshaking: See negotiation.
hard copy: A printed copy of some data.
hard disk: A disk inside the computer which stores data and code, sometimes used incorrectly to refer to a 3.5" floppy disk, but differs from a floppy in that it can store more information, and is generally not removable.(You can take a floppy disk out of the floppy drive).
hard drive: a piece of computer hardware used to store files or information. They are currently getting cheaper and larger. The size varies by the model of computer.
hardware: Physical components of a computer such as monitor, mouse, printer, system unit, disk drive, modem, and keyboard.
header: The portion of a packet, preceding the actual data, containing source and destination addresses, and error checking and other fields. A header is also the part of an e-mail message that precedes the body of a message and contains, among other things, the message originator, date, and time.
Help Desk: the technical support department of an organization.
High-Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC): The term high-performance computing encompasses advanced computing, communications, and information technologies, including scientific workstations, supercomputer systems, high-speed networks, special purpose and experimental systems, the new generation of large scale parallel systems, and application and systems software with all components well integrated and linked over a high-speed network. The HPCC Acts legislation passed by the U.S. Congress in the early 1990s (also known as the "Dole Bills") established national networking objectives for the United States. See also National Research and Education Network.
home page: In the World Wide Web, a starting point for a set of information about a particular topic. For example, the NetCruiser Homeport page is the home page for NetCruiser users on the Web. In general terms, the home page is the default page which is presented when a user accesses a Web server. See also World Wide Web, browse,:
home Page: The starting point (first screen) in a Web Site.
hop: A term used in routing. A path to a destination on a network is a series of hops, through routers, away from the origin.
host: A computer that provides a physical link to the Internet and allows users to communicate with other host computers on a network. Individual users communicate by using application programs, such as electronic mail, Telnet, and FTP. In some contexts, and in some philosophies of the way the Internet should work, the host itself is less important than the servers which run on it. For example, Web and Gopher servers distribute data to users without the user having to know which host the server is located on. A host computer is identified via its system and domain names. The terms host. site, and server all essentially are the same. See also server.
host name: The domain name given to a computer. The following are all domain names: nic.ddn.mil, eff.org, and terminator.um.cc.umich.eau. The terms "host name" and "Fully Qualified Domain Name" are interchangeable in most contexts; host name is a more informal term. See also Fully Qualified Domain Name.
host number: See host address, IP address.
Host Presenter: an implementation of telnet for LAN Workplace (LWP).
hotlink: An word, phrase, graphic, or address that, when clicked on, loads other information about the linked phrase or loads a related Web page.
Hotlist: A list of frequently accessed Web sites, which you can create using the Mosaic Add to Current Hotlist function.(See bookmark; favorite)
hotspots: The places in a Web document that are the entry points linking a page to another page via URLs. Hotspots look different than other words or pictures on a Web page. They may be a different color, be followed by a bracketed number, or be underlined. Their appearance differs based on the client being used. You click on the hotspot or enter the number of the hotspot to invoke the link.
HTML: Hyper Text Markup Language, a subset of SGML which is a standardized method for defining formatting, links, and other special handling of text, images, and objects. The World Wide Web can be thought of as a single VERY large HTML document.
HTTP: Hyper Text Transfer Protocol: the protocol used to transfer World Wide Web pages throughout the Internet and is a bona fide resource type used to locate a Web server.
Hypercard: a hypertext Multimedia package popular on Macintosh computers in the late 80's.
hypermedia and hypertext: Hypertext is text which points to other text and allows you to jump around in the text without necessarily reading it in a specific order. Hypermedia is a superset of hypertext. It allows graphical and audio representations of links as well. If you select a link, hypertext and/or hypermedia will transfer you to the page represented by the link.
hypertext: See HTML.
Hyper Text Markup language: See HTML