Term | Definition |
Data transmission | Movement of data from one place to another |
Serial data transmission | Single bits are sent one after another along a single wire |
Parallel data transmission | Bits are sent simultaneously down several wires |
Baud rate | The rate at which signals on a wire or line may change |
Bit rate | The number of bits transmitted per second |
Bandwidth | The range of signal frequencies that can be transmitted over a particular medium |
Asynchronous serial data transmission | The arrival of data cannot be predicted by the reciever, so a start bit is used to synchronise the transmitter and reciever temporarily |
Commication protocol | A set of pre-agreed signals, codes and rules to be used for data and information exchange between computers and/or peripherals |
Handshaking protocol | The sending and recieving devices exchange signals to establish that the recieving device is connected and ready to recieve, then co-ordinate the sending, and finally that the reciever is ready to recieve again |
Baseband system | A system that uses a single data channel in which the whole bandwidth of the transmission medium is dedicated to one data channel at a time |
Broadband system | A multiple data channel system in which the bandwidth of the transmission medium carries several data streams at the same time |
Local area network (LAN) | Linked computers in close proximity |
Stand-alone computer | A computer that is not networked |
Topology | The shape, layout, confiuguration or structure of the connections that connect devices to the network |
Wide area network (WAN) | A set of links that connect geographically remote computers and local area networks |
Internet | A collection of LANs and computers that are interconnected by a WAN |
Network segment | A portion of a computer network, where all devices are connected |
Thin-client network | A network where all processing takes place in a central server; the clients are dumb terminals with little or no processing power or local hard disk storage |
Thick-client (rich client) network | A network where the applications are run in the client workstations, which have local processing power |
Peer-to-peer network | A network that has no dedicated servers, meaning all computers (peers) are equal |
Client | A computer that uses the services provided by a server |
Server | A computer that provides shared resources to network users |
Server-based network | A network in which resources, security, administration and other functions are provided by dedicated servers |
Web 2.0 | Software that becomes a service accessed over the internet |
Web services | Self-contained, modular applications that can be described, published, located and invoked over a network, generally the internet |
Software as a service (SaaS) | A model of software deployment where an application is hosted as a service and provided to customers across the internet |
Web services architecture | All components in the system are services |
Ajax | A web technology that allows only the part of a web page that needs updating to be fetched from the web server |
Wireless network | Any type of LAN in which the nodes are not connected by wires but use radio waves to transmit between them |
Wi-Fi | Trademarked IEEE 802.11 technologies that support wireless networking of home and business networks |
Bluetooth | A wireless protocol for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices |
Router | A device that recieves packets or datagrams from one host or router and passes them, correctly formatted, to another host or router |
Gateway | A device used to connect networks using different protocols so that information can be passed from one system to another |
Web server extension | A program written in native code that is interpreted by an interpreter running on the web server, that extends the functionality of the web server and allows it to generate content at the time of the HTTP request |
Common gateway interface | A gateway between a web server and a web server extension that tells the server how to send information to a web server extension, and what it should do after recieving information in return |
Dynamic web page content | Conten that is generated when the web browser request is recieved |
Virus | A small program attached to another program or file, which replicates itself by attaching itself to other programs, and usually attacking the computer |
Spam | Unsolicited junk emails |
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