Glossary

Document (Page)

refers to the actual page you are looking at (for instance, this one). The main page (or home page) of a server is normally the first page to be viewed for a specific server.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

a TCP/IP utility that lets you copy files from remote hosts that support TCP/IP to your workstation. Mosaic supports FTP; FTP archives are one type of server that you can connect to with Mosaic.

Gopher

a type of global information server that Mosaic can access. Mosaic presents information on Gopher servers as menus and plain text.

Hotlist

a user-defined set of links.

Hyperlink (or Hypertext link)

the connections (or links) that are associated with hypertext. These links allow the user to take a free-associative tour of information on the World Wide Web.

Hypertext

text that contains connections to other documents.

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

a coding specification which is used to create World Wide Web hypertext pages.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)

a prefix used on URL specifications to distinguish the type of server that Mosaic is connecting to, since Mosaic can connect to other items such as local files, public FTP areas, and Gopher servers.

Internet

a worldwide collection of computer networks that can intercommunicate. These networks all communicate in the same "language" or protocol, named TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). For your computer to be a part of the Internet, it must be on a computer network that is part of the Internet, and it must be able to communicate with TCP/IP protocols. The Internet can communicate via gateways with other networks such as CompuServe, MCI Mail, FIDONet, Prodigy, and America Online.

Local Area Network (LAN)

a network that is in a small (or local) geographic area.

Mosaic

a global browser that allows users to search for and retrieve, display, store, and forward documents and data from anywhere in the world via the Internet. With simple point-and-click features, Mosaic provides unlimited access to the almost infinite variety of information and subject matter found on the Internet.

or

an application which allows you to traverse a subset of the Internet, known as the World Wide Web, using hypertext links in a graphical user interface. Mosaic integrates connections to Web-specific documents (specified by HTTP) with other Internet functions that are not Mosaic-specific, such as FTP, Gopher, and WAIS.

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)

a protocol by which networks intercommunicate.

Universal Resource Locator (URL)

an address string which specifies a full Internet domain and host path, as well as specific directory and file name information for the document. World Wide Web documents typically contain hypertext jumps to other documents referenced by additional URLs.

Web Server

a server on the World Wide Web which offers documents to be viewed. You must be connected to the Internet to access these servers. The servers are reached through URLs.

Web Surfing

the action of traversing the World Wide Web via the hyperlinks.

Wide Area Information Service (WAIS)

a project set up to provide an automated method of searching for and retrieving various kinds of information on the World Wide Web. WAIS software is one result of this project.

World Wide Web (WWW)

a "hypermedia" information environment, meaning that by simply highlighting a subject, information linked to that subject can be accessed quickly from wherever it may reside in the world. World Wide Web documents are available on various TCP/IP hosts around the world, accessible using Universal Resource Locators (URLs) and linked via hypertext jumps. The World Wide Web runs over the Internet. In many ways, using the World Wide Web is analogous to reading a huge Windows Help file.