Glossary
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X
A
- aliasing
- The jagged stair-stepped edges that can appear between colors in a bitmapped graphic.
- anchor
- The HTML element responsible for making hyperlinks.
- applet
- A self-contained, mini-executable program, such as one written in the Java programming language.
- attribute
- Parameters that extend or modify an HTML element
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B
- backend
- Aspects of a web site that pertain to functions that take place on the server
- bit depth
- A measurement of colors based on the number of bits alloted by the file or system
- browser
- The client software that requests and displays web pages.
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C
- cache
- Temporary storage area that browsers use for downloaded documents
- CGI
- Common Gateway Interface, a mechanism for communication between the web server and other programs running on the server
- codec
- An algorithm used by media files for compressing and decompressing data
- compression
- A method for reducing the file size of a document. Different file formats use different compression techniques
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D
- dithering
- The approximation of a color by mixing pixels of similar colors that are available in the image or system palette.
- Document Type Definition (DTD)
- An XML document that defines every element and attribute for a markup language.
- domain name
- A name that corresponds to a specific IP address.
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E
- extranet
- A web site or system that is available within a closed system and to select users outside that system, usually via a password.
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F
- Flash
- A multimedia format for the delivery of animation, interactivity, and audio on the Web
- frame rate
- In video and animation, the number of frames per second
- FTP
- File Transfer Protocol; a system for moving files over the Internet from one computer to another
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G
- gamma
- Refers to the overall brightness of a computer's monitor display.
- GIF
- Graphic Interchange Format; common file format of web graphic images. GIF is a palette-based, 8-bit format.
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H
- hexadecimal
- A base-16 numbering system that uses the characters 0-9 and A-F. It is used in CSS and HTML for specifying color values
- host
- Another term for the server. Hosting services are companies that provide server space for web sites.
- HTML
- HyperText Markup Language; the tagging language used to identify the structure of web documents.
- HTTP
- Hypertext Transfer Protocol; the system that defines how web pages and media are requested and transferred between servers and browsers.
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I
- imagemap
- A single image that contains multiple hypertext links
- IP address
- A numeric identifier for a computer or device on a network.
- ISP
- Internet Service Provider; a company that sells access to the Internet computer network
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J
- Java
- A cross-platform, object-oriented programming language developed by Sun Microsystems.
- JavaScript
- A scripting language that adds behaviors to elements on web pages and browsers.
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L
- lossy
- A type of compression in which data is thrown out to reduce file size. The JPEG format uses a lossy compression scheme.
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M
- MP3
- A popuplar file format for high-quality audio that uses MPEG compression
- MPEG
- A family of multimedia standards created by the Motion Picture Experts Group
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N
- nesting
- Placing one HTML element within another. HTML and XHTML define rules for what elements may be nested within another.
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O
- optimizing
- Reducing file size to improve transfer time over the network.
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P
- palette
- A table in an 8-bit indexed color file that provides color information for the pixels in the image.
- pathname
- Directions to a file using a nomenclature in which directory hierarchies and filenames are separated by slashes
- pixel
- A single square in a bitmapped graphic image
- PNG
- Portable Network Graphic; a graphic file format that features support for 8-bit and 24 bit images
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Q
- QuickTime
- An audio and video format developed by Apple Computer and available for all platforms
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R
- resolution
- The number of pixels per inch (ppi) in a bitmapped image or computer monitor
- RGB color
- A color system that describes color based on combinations of red, green, and blue light
- root directory
- The top-level directory for a web site. The root directory contains all the files and subdirectories for a site.
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S
- sans-serif font
- A font design featuring straight or squared off character strokes. Helvetica is an example.
- serif font
- A font that has horizontal slabs at the ends of character strokes. Times is an example
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T
- tweening
- A function in animation tools for automatically creating frames between a start and end frame.
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U
- Unix
- A multi-user, multi-tasking operating system developed by Bell Laboratories.
- URL
- Universal Resource Locator; the address of a document or resource on the World Wide Web
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V
- vector image
- A graphic that uses mathematical equations to define shapes and fills. Vector images can be resized without change in quality.
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W
- W3C
- The World Wide Web Consortium; a consortium of companies and organizations that develops common standards for the development of the Web.
- web palette
- A set of 216 colors that is available on both Mac and Windows machines running 8-bit color monitors.
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X
- XHTML
- The new HTML standard that has been written according to the rules of XML.
- XML
- eXtensible Markup Language; a metalanguage for creating custom markup languages
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