S - Web Design & Internet Jargon Buster
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Scanner - A scanner is a device that captures text or images from a document for storage in a computer system. Scanners can be used to grab photographs for desktop publishing or to store copies of incoming letters, invoices and so on. Once you have digital copies of documents, you can cut the amount of paper you need to store, access their contents from anywhere on your network an, with the right software, search for information faster and more accurately.
Script - A program which is executed by the web server. ASP and PHP are two popular scripting languages as they allow program instructions to be mixed with HTML.
SCSI - Pronounced 'scuzzy', a SCSI (small computer system interface) port is a specification for connecting hard disks, CD-ROMs, printers and other devices to a computer.
Search engines - Search engine software (on sites such as Google, Yahoo! Alta Vista or Lycos) helps you find what you are looking for on the World Wide Web. When you type in a word or phrase to describe what you are looking for, the search engine matches this against its index, to offer a list of likely matches. Getting an e-commerce site listed on the major search engines is vital for attracting visitors and business.
Secure server - A web server offering e-commerce facilities via a secure web site by use of technologies such as encryption and digital certificates.
Shareware - Shareware software is distributed free, usually via the Internet. You can use it for evaluation purposes, but are trusted to send money to the authors if you want to use it regularly. Sometimes sending a payment brings a more powerful version of the software, together with access to technical support and future upgrades. For small software firms, shareware can provide access to markets without the need to invest heavily in marketing and distribution.
Shopping Basket - A software system used by websites that allows visitors to place their goods and products in an electronic shopping cart. Items can be added and removed very easily before proceeding to the 'checkout' at the website to pay for the goods purchased.
Signatures - When a file is passed through a message digest, the resulting output number is encrypted with your private key to create a digital signature. This can then be attached to the original file so recipients can decrypt your signature and check the message digest number to ensure the file has not been tampered with in transit.
Software - Software is the program, or set of instructions, that tells a computer what to do. There are two basic types of software. The 'operating system' - such as Windows XP - controls the basic workings of a computer, while 'application software' - such as Microsoft Word, Sun's Star Office and Adobe Photoshop - allows you to do particular jobs. There are also other types of software - for example, network software, which enables a group of computers to communicate with one another, and language software, which helps programmers to write other software.
Sound card - A device that allows a computer to play sophisticated audio files.
Spam - Unsolicited email advertising which targets many recipients simultaneously.
Spider - Search engine software that automatically scans the Internet, collecting information as they go, which is then indexed and stored on the search engine's query database.
Spreadsheet - Software that allows you to store, compare and analyse large amounts of numerical data. Spreadsheets are commonly used for budgets, forecasting and accounts. One distinctive feature of a spreadsheet is its ability to project possibilities and answer 'what-if?' questions.
SSL (Secure Socket Layers) - Netscape's de facto standard for encrypting TCP/IP applications, but used mainly for encrypting communications over the web.
Surfing - Slang term for the process of moving around the web. Now out of favour, because of its implications of directionless wandering.
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