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iNet//Web Solutions
2811 La Cuesta Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323)851-6400
Fax (323)851-4570
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With apologies to poets everywhere ... "The time has come, the Wizard said,We noticed a subtle change in the inquiries we received recently - potential clients, to a greater extent than we had ever noticed before, seemed "lost" in the world of buzzwords and acronyms that has coalesced around our business. I wrote an article for "TRS-80 Magazine" many, many years ago in which I referred to the mavens and hackers who were powering the personal computer revolution as "Merlins", and bemoaned the fact that they were creating their own language. It was a quixotic thrust, but our recent phone calls reminded me that the Merlins are still out there, 25 years later. So as a combination Penance (for my very small part in sustaining this new language) and Public Service (you can deny ever reading this Newsletter), here, in no particular order, is a partial dictionary of Buzzwords, Keywords, and Acronyms with which you should have at least a nodding acquaintance before writing your first check to an ISP ... ISP - Internet Service Provider - this was originally the company which provided your dial-up service, your actual connection to the Internet ... but "ISP" now refers also to the company which hosts your web site as well: it has come to refer to any company which provides a service having something to do with the Internet. Internet - the Internet is an amorphous, mainly uncontrolled system of connections between computers all around the world. It started as a set of full-time telephone connections between the Department of Defense and all the Universities who were doing research for the Government, and has grown into arguably the most powerful communication pipeline in the world. But bottom line, it's nothing more than high speed connections between computers, one of which is your ISP's computer. Dial-up Service - this is the way you access the Internet from your computer. The ISP gives you a local telephone number that you dial to connect to his computer, which is itself connected to the Internet full-time. Dial-up service should cost you about $20.00 a month for unlimited connection time to a local toll-free telephone number; e-mail, free installation and free software should be part of the deal, too. Cable and DSL are high-speed connection methods which are spreading in availability ... technically they're not "dial-up" because they're "always on". Host - this is the computer where the files which create your web site are stored. The host computer is connected to the Internet full-time over high-speed wires. You will pay "rent" for your space on the host - anywhere from $0 for a "free" web site which comes with a dial-up account (be careful, you get what you pay for), to thousands of dollars a month for a lot of bells and whistles on an extremely complex site. Server - this has become another name for "Host", although technically "Server" is a noun and "Host" is a verb. The Server runs an operating system such as UNIX, LINUX, SunOS, NT, etc., and a program such as Apache which actually handles the Internet communications. One of the functions of a Server is to Host the Web Sites. ISDN, T-1 and T-3 - these are the names of 3 types of high speed connections between computers. Your modem is capable of transmission speeds of 28,800, or 33,600, or 57,600 bits per second. An ISDN connection can handle 128,000 bits per second, a DSL line is capable of 1,544,000 bits per second, and a T-3 is the equivalent of 30 DSLs. While your modem uses a local telephone line which can cost as little as $10-15.00 a month, a DSL line will cost $35.00 and up, a T-1 line can cost $3,500 a month and a T-3 can set you back $40,000 or $50,000 a month. "The price of their toys ..."! World Wide Web - "Web" and "Internet" have become interchangeable, and have come to mean the same thing. Technically, the Web is one way to use the Internet, just as a Word Processor is one way to use a computer, or commuting is one way to use a car. Web Site - a collection of files containing computer program instructions which, when "interpreted" by the user's browser, define the look and capabilities you want to offer. The important element here is "computer program instructions", because that's what these files are. Browser - this is the program you run on your computer which displays the site you're visiting. A word processing program displays the letter you're writing ... the browser displays the web page you're visiting. The "big two" are Netscape's Navigator (or Communicator, as the latest version is called) and Microsoft's Internet Explorer. When you type an address in the "Location" box at the top of the browser screen, the program sends out a request for the main file associated with that address, then waits for an answer. When you click on a link or a button, the browser then sends another request out onto the Internet, and waits for an answer ... and over, and over, and over ... IP Address - this is the 4-part number which is actually the identifying name of your web site ... for instance, our IP address is 216.147.26.93 which is one of the series of numbers assigned to our hosting company, which in turn assigned it to us. The master database of whose name goes with which actual IP address is maintained by Network Solutions in New Jersey (commonly referred to as InterNic). Domain Name - this is the unique name assigned to your IP address. No one can remember 204.146.17.33 -- ibm.com is somewhat easier, especially as you get older ...! URL - there are technical differences between a Domain Name, an IP address, and a URL, but those differences are not very meaningful ... for all intents and purposes, an IP address by any other name is a Domain Name or a URL. DNS - Domain Name Server - this is a computer used by your ISP to store the database of IP addresses and their associated Domain Names. When you type a Domain Name into your browser, your ISP consults the DNS database to translate the name into the appropriate IP address, then broadcasts your request onto the Internet. No database entry, no IP address, and the resulting error message "Unable to find ..." or "No DNS entry ..." InterNic - this organization (more properly called Network Solutions, Inc.) maintains the master database of IP addresses and Domain Names on their computer in New Jersey. They charge you $35/year to register your Domain Name (2 years up front for new names). HTML - HyperText Markup Language - this is the computer language which tells your browser what the web page is supposed to look like. HTML is plain old text, with commands "hidden" in between the words, so that "<B>" tells Netscape to start showing the text in Bold face, while "<BR>" signals a line break. To see what the code for this page looks like, right-click anywhere on the Newsletter text, and select "View Source" (or, under VIEW in the browser menu, choose "Document Source"). PHP - truth be told, HTML is a dumb programming language, because it can't add 2 + 2. So if you need to do something more with your web site than display text and images - something more like sell merchandise, or collect customer data, or access a database - you'll need a more capable language. PHP is fast becoming the language of choice, mostly because of its flexibility and built-in database support. We do almost 100% of our work using PHP ... and I'm not ducking the question of what PHP stands for - even the guy who wrote version 1 won't take sides in the debate any more! HTTP - HyperText Transfer Protocol - this is the method used by the Server and your computer to transfer data between them. There's a whole complicated set of definitions that make it possible for a Server running UNIX to talk with a Mac ... the good news is that it's all transparent to you: your browser and the Server take care of it all. FTP - File Transfer Protocol - the method used by computers to transfer files to each other. FTP is how the files which make up your web site get transferred from the development computers to the hard drive on your Server. Make sure your hosting service allows unlimited FTP access before you sign up. Telnet - a connection between computers which gives the second computer command-line access to the first computer. Unless you are a programmer, you'll probably never start a Telnet session ... but the more complex your site, the more likely it is that I will have to use Telnet while I'm programming your site. And that's why Telnet access is absolutely necessary in certain development situations, and why our company can't help you if you need a complex database and your hosting service won't allow Telnet. Database - a database is just a file which contains information in a format that can be accessed quickly. Browse through the Newsletter What's a Database and Why Do I Care? if you care ... Freeware - a program which is distributed for no charge. The price is rarely a reflection of the quality of the program; the best Windows FTP program has a freeware version available - it's called WS_FTP32 ... Shareware - a program which is distributed at no charge for your evaluation; after a certain number of days, if you continue to use the program, you have to send a check to the author. A good example is the program PaintShop Pro, which costs about $70 after the 30 day evaluation period ... and it gives the much pricier retail (or "shrinkwrap") programs like PhotoShop a real run for their money! I'm quick to admit that this list of definitions is neither infallibly correct nor complete, so if you run across a buzzword that should be included, drop me an e-mail and I'll add it here ... assuming I know what it means! Oh yeah, PING - that's the message one computer sends out on the Internet which asks "Are you there?". So if you use some program such as NetTools (another great shareware program) to ping "www.iNetWebInc.com", you'll get a report back telling you how long the message took to get from your computer to our server. Unless our Server is down, in which case you'll get a dreaded "No Response" message ... but that's a subject for another Newsletter! Sincerely, 
bowker@iNetWebInc.com 
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