LWD5e_materials/ch06/Exercise 6-8/glossary.html

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

L

lossy

A type of compression in which data is thrown out to reduce file size. The JPEG format uses a lossy compression scheme.

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

N

nesting

Placing one HTML element within another. HTML and XHTML define rules for what elements may be nested within another.

O

optimizing

Reducing file size to improve transfer time over the network.

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

Q

QuickTime

An audio and video format developed by Apple Computer and available for all platforms

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.

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

T

tweening

A function in animation tools for automatically creating frames between a start and end frame.

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

V

vector image

A graphic that uses mathematical equations to define shapes and fills. Vector images can be resized without change in quality.

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.

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