Internet technologies

This WhatIs.com glossary contains terms related to Internet technologies, including definitions about port numbers, standards and protocols and words and phrases about how the Internet works.
  • web services - Web services are a type of internet software that use standardized messaging protocols and are made available from an application service provider's web server for a client or other web-based programs to use.
  • web stack - A web stack is the collection of software used for web development that incorporates, at a minimum, an operating system (OS), a programming language, database software and a web server.
  • weblog - A blog, short for weblog, is a frequently updated web page used for personal commentary or business content.
  • webOS - WebOS is an LG-owned, Linux-based operating system for smart devices, particularly smart TVs.
  • WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communications) - WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communications) is an open source project that enables real-time voice, text and video communications capabilities between web browsers and devices.
  • What are Internet data caps and why do providers use them? - A data cap, also known as a bandwidth cap, is a limit that service providers impose on the amount of data a user account can transfer at a specified level of throughput over a given time period, for a specified fee.
  • What are systems of engagement? - Systems of engagement are decentralized IT components that incorporate technologies such as social media and the cloud to encourage and enable peer interaction.
  • What are vector embeddings? - Vector embeddings are numerical representations that capture the relationships and meaning of words, phrases and other data types.
  • What is a cloud access security broker (CASB)? - A cloud access security broker (CASB) is a software tool or service that sits between an organization's on-premises infrastructure and a cloud provider's infrastructure.
  • What is a Consensus Algorithm? - A consensus algorithm is a process in computer science used to achieve agreement on a single data value among distributed processes or systems.
  • What is a content management system (CMS)? - A content management system (CMS) is a software application that lets users create, edit, collaborate on, publish and store digital content.
  • What is a protocol data unit (PDU)? - In networking, a protocol data unit is the basic unit of exchange between entities that communicate using a specified networking protocol.
  • What is a recommendation engine? - A recommendation engine is a system that gives customers recommendations based on their behavior patterns and similarities to people who might have shared preferences.
  • What is a Request for Comments (RFC)? - A Request for Comments (RFC) is a formal document created by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) that outlines technical specifications, organizational notes and standards relevant to internet and networking technologies, including protocols such as routing, addressing and transport technologies.
  • What is a server? - A server is a computer program or device that provides a service to another computer program and its user, also known as the client.
  • What is a unique identifier (UID)? - A unique identifier (UID) is a numeric or alphanumeric string that is associated with a single entity within a given system.
  • What is a URL (Uniform Resource Locator)? - A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is a unique identifier used to locate a resource on the internet.
  • What is a web server? - A web server is software and hardware that uses HTTP and other protocols to respond to client requests made over the World Wide Web.
  • What is an operating system (OS)? - An operating system (OS) is the program that, after being initially loaded into the computer by a boot program, manages all the other application programs in a computer.
  • What is authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA)? - Authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) is a security framework for controlling and tracking user access within a computer network.
  • What is cloud computing? Types, examples and benefits - Cloud computing is a general term for the delivery of hosted computing services and IT resources over the internet with pay-as-you-go pricing.
  • What is computational linguistics? Definition and career info - Computational linguistics (CL) is the application of computer science to the analysis and comprehension of written and spoken language.
  • What is Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)? - An enterprise service bus (ESB) is a software platform used to distribute work among connected components of an application.
  • What is Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP)? - Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) is a protocol for wireless networks that expands the authentication methods used by Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP), a protocol often used when connecting a computer to the internet.
  • What is FTP? - File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a network protocol for transmitting files between computers over TCP/IP connections.
  • What is hybrid cloud? The ultimate guide - A hybrid cloud is a cloud computing environment that uses a mix of on-premises, private cloud and third-party public cloud services with orchestration among these platforms.
  • What is image metadata and how is it used? - Image metadata is text information pertaining to an image file that is embedded into the file or saved to a separate file that is associated with the image file.
  • What is IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6)? - Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is a set of specifications from the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) that is responsible for identifying network devices and routing traffic across the internet.
  • What is LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol)? - LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) is a software protocol used for locating data about organizations, individuals and other resources, such as files and devices, on public and corporate networks.
  • What is mixed reality? - Mixed reality refers to advanced technology that combines both virtual reality (VR), a fully immersive computer-generated experience, and augmented reality (AR), which integrates digital elements into the physical world.
  • What is network-attached storage (NAS)? A complete guide - Network-attached storage (NAS) is dedicated file storage that enables multiple users and heterogeneous client devices to retrieve data from centralized disk capacity.
  • What is quantum computing? How it works and examples - Quantum computing is an area of computer science focused on the development of computers based on the principles of quantum theory.
  • What is REpresentational State Transfer (REST) - REST (REpresentational State Transfer) is an architectural style for developing web services and systems that can easily communicate with each other.
  • What is SSH (Secure Shell) and How Does It Work? - SSH (Secure Shell or Secure Socket Shell) is a network protocol that gives users -- particularly systems administrators -- a secure way to access a computer over an unsecured network.
  • What is TCP/IP? - TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol and is a suite of communication protocols used to interconnect network devices on the internet.
  • What is the blue screen of death (BSOD)? - The blue screen of death (BSOD) -- also known as a stop error screen, blue screen error, fatal error or bugcheck -- is a critical error screen that can be displayed by Microsoft Windows operating systems (OSes).
  • What is the dark web (darknet)? - The dark web is an encrypted portion of the internet not visible to the general public via a traditional search engine such as Google.
  • What is the digital divide? - The digital divide is the gap between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communications technology (ICT) and those with no or restricted access.
  • What is the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)? - Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is a specification for a software program that connects a computer's firmware to its operating system (OS).
  • What is unified endpoint management (UEM)? A complete guide - Unified endpoint management (UEM) is an approach to securing and controlling desktop computers, laptops, smartphones and tablets in a connected, cohesive manner from a single console.
  • white hat link building - White hat link building is a search engine optimization (SEO) technique for increasing the number of high-quality backlinks to a webpage.
  • whitelist (allowlist) - A whitelist (allowlist) is a cybersecurity strategy that approves a list of email addresses, IP addresses, domain names or applications, while denying all others.
  • wiki - A wiki is a web-based collaborative platform that enables users to store, create and modify content in an organized manner.
  • Windows Imaging Format (WIM) - Windows Imaging Format (WIM) is used for the creation and distribution of disk image files.
  • Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) - Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is a set of specifications from Microsoft for consolidating the management of devices and applications in a network from Windows computing systems.
  • Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) - Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a security protocol, specified in the IEEE Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) standard, 802.
  • wireless broadband (WiBB) - Wireless broadband (WiBB) is high-speed internet and data service delivered through a wireless local area network (WLAN) or wireless wide area network (WWAN).
  • Wireless Transport Layer Security (WTLS) - Wireless Transport Layer Security (WTLS) is a security level for the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), specifically for the applications that use WAP.
  • World Wide Web (WWW) - The World Wide Web -- also known as the web, WWW or W3 -- refers to all the public websites or pages that users can access on their local computers and other devices through the internet.
  • WSTx (Web Services Transactions) - WSTx (Web Services Transaction) is a set of XML markup specifications designed to permit the use of open, standard protocols for secure, reliable transactions across the Web.
  • XACML (Extensible Access Control Markup Language) - XACML (Extensible Access Control Markup Language) is an attribute-based access control policy language (ABAC) or XML-based language, designed to express security policies and access requests to information.
  • XML (Extensible Markup Language) - XML (Extensible Markup Language) is used to describe data.
  • XML Schema Definition (XSD) - XML Schema Definition or XSD is a recommendation by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to describe and validate the structure and content of an XML document.
  • XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language) - XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language) is a family of standards that specifies how to define Extensible Markup Language (XML) document transformation and presentation.
  • Yahoo - Yahoo, or Yahoo.
  • yak shaving - Yak shaving is programming lingo for the seemingly endless series of small tasks that have to be completed before the next step in a project can move forward.
  • Yammer - Yammer is a private microblogging and collaboration platform for enterprise social networking.