Glossary

A

• ACCOUNT

  Identifier, associated to a User ID and password, that permits you the visualization of data to receive, read and administer your mail.

• ALIAS

  Term employed for email addresses and Internet IP addresses. In the first case, an alias is an alternative name towards which you can redirect email. Through aliases, it is possible to have a second email address which still arrives in the same email mailbox.

• APPLET

  Java applications inserted in Web pages to administer textual animations and graphics.

• ASP

  Active Server Pages, server-side technology developed by Microsoft that allows the interaction with databases and the creation of dynamic pages. It needs IIS Web server on Windows 2003. The equivalent on Linux servers is the PHP technology.

B

• BACKBONE

  High-speed networks that carry Internet traffic. These communications networks are provided by large telecommunications companies and consist of high-speed links in the T1, T3, OC1 and OC3 ranges. The backbones carry Internet traffic around the world and meet at Network Access Points (NAPs). Internet Service Providers (ISPs) connect either directly to a backbone, or they connect to a larger ISP with a connection to a backbone.

• BACK DOOR

  Privileged access by authorized system analysts or by the authors of such a privilege into a security system on the Web. Clearly, breaking the code that allows entrance into the back door is always a goal hackers pursue.

• BANDWIDTH

  A channel's capacity to transmit data, generally such capacity is expressed in bytes per second. The larger the bandwidth, the larger the number of users which can use the line and the faster the speed at which data transmitted by such users can be sent and received.

C

• CGI

  Common Gateway Interface: a series of commands that allow a Web server to execute a program, it represents a standard procedure for completing a visitor's request for an application and for receiving the data to resend to an elaborate visitor (ex. Form mail). A CGI application can be written with diverse programming languages, the most popular one being C and Perl.

D

• DATABASE

  A database is a collection of information relative to a particular subject and inserted into a record which are then collected into tables. Some examples are Microsoft's Access, SQL Server, and MySQL.

• DIRECTORY

  Section of a fixed hard drive, also called a folder, which contains files and documents.

• DNS

  Domain Name Server: the server transforms a numerical IP address into an alphanumeric address (URL or domain).

• DSN

  Data Source Name: the name and the path of a file.

E

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F

• FOLDER Represents the element which contains documents and files within a computer or server. It is also called a "directory".

• FIREWALL

  A computer and/or program which controls access into a local network, allowing such access only to certain computers and users with particular designated characteristics.

• FTP

  File Transfer Protocol: the standard protocol for the transmission of files between two Internet systems. Sometimes it also allows the download of files by persons who do not have access to the system (anonymous FTP).

G

• GB

  Abbreviation for Gigabyte, measurement of units of memory space. One (1) GB corresponds to 1,024 MB (1,073,741,824 bytes).

H

• HOSTING

  A host is a computer connected to the Internet. This computer then "hosts" data for its clients, and offers resources and services for hosting the client's website.

• HOUSING

  The presence of a Web server within a Server farm of an Internet Service Provider (ISP). It is then possible to administer a computer with any operating system and with all the server-side scripts one needs. An obligatory option, even if costly, for websites with heavy traffic or with particular needs.

• HTML

  Hyper Text Markup Language: it is a standard meta-language for the creation of Web pages. It is made up of tags (markers) closed between the signs < and >. Each tag has specific properties (character type, color, position, etc).

• HTTP

  Hyper Text Transfer Protocol: the protocol used by Web servers and browsers to exchange data.

I

• IMAP

  Internet Message Access Protocol: the protocol used to administer electronic messages on the computer where the mailbox resides, rather than downloading them to your computer (which does occur with the other protocol, the POP3).

• IP ADDRESS

  The IP address indicates a 12 number identifier assigned to each computer connected to the Internet. The number is of this type, for example, 194.244.86.2, and identifies each PC with a unique address (there are no two equal IP addresses on the Internet) in order to allow the correct addressing and arrival of data.

• IPS

  Internet Protocol Suite: the standard for URLs, alphabetical form of domain names. For an example, go to: http://www.risorse.net.

J

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L

• LINUX

  Linux is a free Unix-type operating system originally created by Linus Torvalds with the assistance of developers around the world. Born from a bet, it is today one of the most loved operating systems by international programmers. Several distribution systems exist, the more well-known are: Redhat, Corel, Mandrake, Caldera, Slackware, Debian and Suse. Its peculiarity is that it allows anyone to collaborate in the development of the operating system: its source code is in fact freely available to everyone (the "open-source" philosophy).

• LIST SERVER

  Application directly installed on a server to administer mailing lists and newsletters.

• LOG

  Log files are archives created automatically by the server in which all accesses are registered.

• LOGIN

  The page from which you can access certain protected areas. In general, it is necessary to have a UserID and password (your login codes) to access these areas.

M

• MB

  Abbreviation for Megabyte, made up of 1,024 KB (and more precisely, of 1,048,576 bytes). It is the standard for the measurement of file sizes.

• MBONE

  Multicast Backbone: A virtual network on top of the Internet which supports routing of IP multicast packets, intended for multimedia transmission. The MBone is an experimental framework for developing and refining multicast protocols and applications on the Internet.

• MIME

  Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions: the standard used for transferring attachments through email messages.

• MS FRONTPAGE

  This is a software that allows creation and mangement of web pages. By working on an Windows program interface, it is posible to create a website even with no need to have any HTML knowledge. Our developer and business hosting solutions support Frontpage extensions.

• MONTHLY TRAFFIC

  Consists in the total of all the data entering and exiting a site. When a user enters your site, this transfers data -- the files of the page requested (.jpg, .gif, .cgi, .html). The limit allowed for a DADA hosting service is equal to 3 GB per month. Ninety-nine percent of sites do not reach this level of traffic.
  It is possible to estimate the traffic a site will generate, by multiplying the number of estimated visitors by the average "weight" of the home page by 30 days. Clearly, offering the possibility of downloading files (cellular phone ring tones, audio files, etc.) increases the possibility of reaching and exceeding this limit. It is possible to check the generated traffic in the statistical report found in the web and ftp traffic link found within the hosting management section of your control panel.
  It is possible to increase the monthly traffic by skipping to a superior solution.

N

• NAME SERVER

  Server which transforms Web names into numerical addresses.

O

• ODBC

  Open Database Connectivity: an interface that allows access into a database.

P

• PASSWORD

  Set of characters that allow access into a reserved area of a network or site, such as your control panel on Register.it. Generally, it is associated to a User ID and is case-sensitive, which means that it distinguishes between capital and small-case letters.

• PATH

  The complete specification of a file or directory's position in a hierarchical file system. The path is usually specified by listing the files or directories top-down, separating the directories by a "/".

• PERL

  Practical Extraction and Report Language: a programming language used to create CGI files. The latest version is Perl 5.
  Perl was originally developed in the Unix environment.

• PHP

  PHP is a language with allows the insertion of programming code within .html pages in order to produce dynamic output based on a user's request.
  The PHP code inserted into an .html page is executed by the server before the page is sent to the user who has requested it. To do this, the server needs to have the PHP interpreter package installed on it before it can proceed with the compilation of the code. From a functional point of view, there is no difference between it and ASP technology, which represents an alternative.
  PHP is freely available under the open-source license. The latest version is PHP 5.

• PING

  Service used to verify if a site is active or to view the precise numerical address of a site.

• POP

  This acronym has to two distinct meanings:
  - Point of Presence: indicates the area in which a provider is present.
  - Post Office Protocol: the technology used to administer electronic mail. The most recent version is POP3.

Q

• QUERY

  Questioning operation of data present within a database.

R

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S

• SCRIPT

  Part of a code written in a programming language (Javascript, Perl, Php, JScript) used within Web pages to create animations or other desired effects that are not possible with simple HTML.

• SERVER

  Computer which distributes information to other computers connected to it. For example, there are Web servers, mail servers and LAN servers.

• SERVER-SIDE

  Refers to all of the activities completed by a server before a Web page is sent to a client. CGI, PHP, and ASP are some examples of server-side programs.

• SMTP

  Simple Mail Transfer Protocol: protocol used for transferring email messages.

• SQL

  Structured Query Language: An industry-standard language for creating, updating and, querying relational database management systems.
• SSLSecure Sockets Layer: the protocol which assures safe transactions on the Internet.

• STREAMING

  Playing sound or video in real time as it is downloaded over the Internet as opposed to storing it in a local file first. A plug-in to a web browser decompresses and plays the data as it is transferred to your computer over the Internet. Streaming audio or video avoids the delay entailed in downloading an entire file and then playing it with a helper application.

• STATISTICS

  Our statistics allow easy and imemdiate reding of all log files and can be easily used for marketing surveys. If you have a Linux hosting, you can choose how you would like to receive your web site statistics. You can view them in graphic format at the address www.yourdomain.tld/stats/webalizer or you can save the log files automatically in a folder that you can access via FTP at www.yourdomain.tld/logs and if you wish, receive the logs via email.

T

• TCP/IP

  Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol: the standard protocol for connecting and transferring data on the Internet.

• TELNET

  Program which allows connections between terminals on the Web.

U

• UNIX

  Operating system created in 1969 by Ken Thompson. Presently, it is the most widely used system on the Internet. It is necessary for PHP developers and/or users searching for affordable and dependable solutions.

• UPLOAD

  Transfer of a one or more files from one computer to another computer on the Web using FTP. When you send a document, the term is "upload", when receiving a file, it is called "download".

• UPS

  Uninterruptible Power Supply: a device that sits between a power supply (e.g. a wall outlet) and a device (e.g. a computer) to continue the continuous supply of power and prevent dangerous surges in current from damaging the performance of the device. It is practically an indispensable piece of hardware for Web servers to guarantee their content is always online.

• URL

  Uniform Resource Locator: A standard way of specifying the location of an object, typically a web page, on the Internet. URLs are the form of address used on the World Wide Web.

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Z

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