glossary of web hosting terms.

This document gives the general definitions of the commonly used Web Hosting Terms. You can use our powerful Knowledge Base for more information about how these apply to Aplus.Net’s services.

*ASP (Active Server Pages): A Microsoft's technology to enable HTML pages to be dynamic and interactive by embedding scripts, i.e. either VBScript or JScript, Microsoft's alternative of JavaScript. Since the scripts in ASP pages (suffix .asp) are processed by the server, any browser can work with ASP pages.

*CGI (Common Gateway Interface): A set of rules that describe how a Web Server communicates with another piece of software on the same machine, and how the other piece of software (the 'CGI program') talks to the web server. Any piece of software can be a CGI program if it handles input and output according to the CGI standard. Usually a CGI program is a small program that takes data from a web server and does something with it, like putting the content of a form into an e-mail message, or turning the data into a database query.

*DNS (name server): The Domain Naming System is a hierarchical method of naming computers on the Internet. A DNS server maintains a database of host names and IP addresses. The DNS server is responsible for translating your domain name into an IP Address.

*DNS “A” Record: An “A” Record, short for Address Record, maps from a domain name or subdomain to an IP address. An “A” record is also referred to as a host or hostname. For example, you can use an "A record" to designate yourdomain.com to send traffic to your web site at IP address 209.15.32.135. You can designate abc.yourdomain.com to go to a separate IP address.

*DNS “MX” Record: A “MX” Record, short for Mail Exchange Record, is used to define the email server(s) willing to accept mails for a given domain name.

*Domain name registrant: The individual or organization that registers a specific domain name with a registrar. This individual or organization holds the right to use that specific domain name for a specified period of time, provided certain conditions are met and the registration fees are paid. This person or organization is the "legal entity" bound by the terms of the Domain Name Registration Agreement with the registrar.

*Domain Name Registrar: A company in the business of registering domain names which is authorized to receive domain name registration requests, approves registrations, and initiates propagation of registration information throughout the Internet. An accredited registrar is also permitted to update the global domain name database directly. (Example: Names4ever.Com is an accredited domain name registrar)

*Domain name: A domain name is the unique name that identifies a specific internet site. The domain name is the words you have chosen to call your website instead of using the IP address of the hosting server.

E-commerce (electronic commerce or EC): A term used to describe the buying and selling of goods and services on the Internet, especially the World Wide Web.

*Email (Electronic mail): A method of sending messages, mail, pictures and information from one Internet user to another.

*Email Client: A software application used to compose, send, receive and view e-mails. Some common examples include Outlook, Outlook Express, and Eudora.

*FTP (File Transfer Protocol): A method of transferring files from one computer to another. Usually, it is used to copy files from a personal computer to a server or vice versa. There are several common FTP software programs that are used to transfer files (CuteFTP, WS_FTP, Fetch, etc.).

*FTP Client: A software application that uses the File Transfer Protocol to connect to a server and transfer files to and from the server.

*Host: A host is any computer on a network that is a repository for services available to other computers on the network. It is quite common to have one host machine provide several services, such as SMTP (email) and HTTP (web).

*HTML (HyperText Markup Language): The coded format language used for creating hypertext documents on the World Wide Web and controlling how Web pages appear.

*HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol): The protocol for moving hypertext files across the Internet. Requires a HTTP client program (web browser) on one end, and an HTTP server program (web server) on the other end. HTTP is the most important protocol used in the World Wide Web.

*IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol): IMAP is a standard protocol for accessing e-mail from your local server. IMAP is a client/server protocol in which e-mail is received and held for you by your Internet server. You can view just the heading and the sender of the mail and then decide whether to download the mail.

*IP Address: The acronym IP stands for Internet Protocol. An IP address servers to identify a computer, or any other networked device on a TCP/IP network, thus enabling communication between computers and devices. An IP address is formatted as 4 numbers, each having a value between 0 and 255, separated by dots. An IP looks like 216.55.128.4.

*JavaScript: A scripting language developed by Netscape Inc. JavaScript code can be included within an HTML document, and is executed by the Web Browser when the document is loaded.

*JSP (Java Server Pages): A server-side scripting language that allows web pages to be generated dynamically. A technology developed by Sun Microsystems.

*MySQL: A relational database management system, which means it stores data in separate tables rather than putting all the data in one big area. The MySQL database server is the most popular open source database in the world. It is extremely fast and easy to customize, due to its architecture.

*Perl (Practical Extraction and Report Language): A very powerful and popular common scripting/programming language designed by Larry Wall. It is often used for generating CGI scripts. Perl is an interpretive language, which makes it easy to build and test simple programs.

*PHP (a recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor): An open-source, server-side HTML embedded scripting language used to create dynamic Web pages. A dynamic Web page is a page that interacts with the user, so that each user visiting the page sees customized information. PHP is freely available and used primarily on UNIX Web servers.

*POP3 (Post Office Protocol v3): A protocol used for receiving emails. When you use your email client to retrieve email messages, the client communicates with the email server via POP3.

*SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol): A protocol used to send e-mail on the Internet. SMTP is a set of rules regarding the interaction between a program sending e-mail and a program receiving e-mail.

*SQL (Structured Query Language): A specialized programming language for sending queries to databases. Most industrial-strength and many smaller database applications can be addressed using SQL. Each specific application will have its own version of SQL implementing features unique to that application, but all SQL-capable databases support a common subset of SQL.

*SSH (Secure Shell): Secure Shell (SSH), sometimes known as Secure Socket Shell, is a UNIX-based command interface and protocol for securely getting access to a remote computer. It is widely used by network administrators to control Web and other kinds of servers remotely.

*SSL (Secure Sockets Layer): A protocol designed to enable encrypted, authenticated communications across the Internet. SSL is used mostly in communications between web browsers and web servers. URL's that begin with 'https' indicate that an SSL connection will be used. Online shopping sites frequently use SSL technology to safeguard credit card information.

*TCP/IP:  A suite of protocols that defines the Internet. TCP/IP defines how data can be transmitted between hosts. TCP/IP is the most widely used communications standard and is the basis for the Internet.

*Telnet: A protocol for remote computing on the Internet. It allows a computer to act as a remote terminal on another machine, anywhere on the Internet. This means that when you telnet to a particular host and port, the remote computer (which must have a telnet server) accepts input directly from your computer (which must have a telnet client) and output for your session is directed to your screen.

*Tomcat: A Java based web server software that was created to run Java Server Pages (JSP) in web applications.

*UNIX: A computer operating system like Dos or MacOS. UNIX is designed to be used by many people at the same time (it is multi-user) and has TCP/IP built-in. It is the most common operating system for servers on the Internet.

*URL (Uniform Resource Locator) - The World Wide Web address of a site or file on the Internet. The first part of the address indicates what protocol to use, and the second part specifies the IP address or the domain name where the resource is located. (Example: The URL of Aplus.Net’s website is - http://www.aplus.net)

*“Utility” domain name: The utility domain is an integral part of the Aplus.Net shared hosting plans. This utility domain enables customers to directly access the files associated with their web space, regardless of the status of their registered domain names. You can also use the utility domain to gain access over most of the services available in your Web Control Panel.

*Web Browser: An application program that interprets HTML and presents the final Web page. A browser is used to surf the World Wide Web. Examples of browsers include: Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, and Firefox.

*Web Control Panel: An Account Control Panel is basically a service that allows you to administer your web hosting account from a web browser. A web application that centralizes all of the management functions related to your service plans in a single, user friendly, online interface.

*Web Hosting: A service that allows you to upload and store a site's HTML documents and related files on a Web server. This makes the files available on the World Wide Web for viewing by the public. A company that provides Web Hosting services is usually called: “Web Host” or “Internet Presence Provider”.

*Web Server: A computer that provides World Wide Web services on the Internet. It includes hardware, operating system, Web server software, TCP/IP protocols and the Web site content (Web pages).

*Web site:  A group of Web Pages that collectively represent a company, or individual on the World Wide Web. A group of web pages that have been developed together to present information on specific subjects is also a Web Site. A website may include text, graphics, audio and video files, and hyperlinks to other web sites or web pages.

*Webalizer: A fast, web server log file analysis program. It produces highly detailed, easily configurable usage reports in HTML format, for viewing with a standard web browser.

*Webmail Client: A web application used to compose, send, receive and view e-mails from a web browser.

*WHOIS: A searchable database maintained by registries and registrars that contains information about domain name registrations. A WHOIS query is primarily used to look up for the domain name ownership information and the domain name status.

*Windows: An operating system for desktop computers, workstations, and network servers. Windows provides a standard interface based on drop-down menus, windowed regions on the screen, and a pointing device such as a mouse.

*XML (eXtensible Markup Language): A programming language that enables designers to create their own tags to indicate specific information. A widely used standard from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that facilitates the interchange of data between computer applications. XML is similar to the language used for Web pages, the HyperText Markup Language (HTML).