info@kddidit.com

Glossary of Terms Relating to Art, Computer, Therapy ++

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

Your best source for taking the confusion out of technical terms---from KD Did It. This glossary of computer, art, and therapy terminology is designed to give artists a quick definition---and examples of HTML/CSS code as well as links where you can find more information.

If you're looking for a computer or art term that is not listed in the Glossary of Terms Relating to Art, Computers, Therapy ++, please email Kathy.

Accessibility

Required for users who are disabled in some way and are not able to use a website easily or at all

Some of the considerations a website designer must consider includes:

Include alt=... text and labels so that screenreading software can voice information for a seeing-impaired person
Provide a good color contrast
- One example is color blindness which is experienced by some 5-20% of men and less than 1% of women
- There is a website, Colorblind Web Page Filter, which will test your page for its contrast effectiveness
Make your text size big enough—and don't make your smallest font size too small!
Enable flexible sizing of your font size
Provide information using links or labels for acronyms and abbreviations
Create intuitive navigation making it simple for users to move around in the website

Address

Path that a browser or computer follows to find a file

For example:

A computer file address might read:
..\MyDocuments\MyWebs\kddidit\images\originals\bkgrdNavFooter.jpg (on a PC) or HD:Users:kathydavie:Documents:MyWebs:kdDidIt :images:originals:bkgrdNavFooter.jpg (on a Macintosh
A web address might read: http://www.w3.org/

If any part of this path is wrong, the file will not be found

.AI

Adobe Illustrator image file

Uses vector graphics

Approach format

How a gallery/museum/alternative space prefers an artist new to them to contact them about an exhibition or seeking a space to show their work

Archival

Methods using acid-free supplies to preserve art and images

Assistive technology

Alternative methods for accessing and using the Internet

Depending upon the disability, people may use speech output, Braille displays or screen magnification, keyboard navigation versus the use of a mouse, voice-driven systems to access the Web, voice recognition for spoken commands, or the use of switch devices which can be controlled by head, mouth or eye movements.

Attribute

Label for HTML coding

Defines properties used to create a web page, see element

Only included in a start tag, <; never an end tag, /x>

You'll know it's an attribute when you see <a name=... id=...> (part of an anchor tag)

For example: <img src=" ../images/imageFromFile.gif " alt=" This image is from my file " />

src and alt are attribute tags

..images/imageFromFile.gif is the address for the image while This image is...file is an alt tag explaining what the image is about in case, for some reason, the picture does not appear on the user's monitor

Bitmap graphics

Also known as raster graphics

Used by paint programs

Not easily scalable; can look fuzzy

Uses dots to compose the image (see resolution)

.BMP

Bitmap

File format used for digital images

One bit per pixel

Uncompressed (saves as huge files)

Bot

A.k.a., robot

A program used on the Internet to perform mindless, automated tasks such as web crawling, searching for people's email addresses so they can send spam to them

Usually includes its URL and/or an email address so the bot's operator can be found by a webmaster

A benign example is a spider which reads pages on websites and indexes the words used on that website. These words become keywords.

Browser

A software program which enables you to access the Internet

Some of the more popular browsers include Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Mozilla's Firefox, Apple's Safari, and Opera.

They are all free

Burnish

Rubbing or polishing with a tool to:

Make a surface smooth
Turn an edge and flatten it
Transfer a product onto a surface
Make a surface shiny or lustrous

Button States

Refers to the appearance of a button link on a website

A button may have up to four different looks depending on:

if it is a link
if it has been "pushed" by clicking with a mouse
if it has used to indicate the user's location in the website, or
if it has previously been clicked by the user

Different programs and/or web designers use different terms to refer to the same states:

*Adobe Dreamweaver* uses:**
Down	Button appears to have been pressed
Out, a.k.a., up	Appears when page is first loaded
Off	Button does not function
Over, a.k.a., on or hover	Changes appearance when a viewer moves his/her mouse over it
Over While Down	Allows the button to look pressed and still change its appearance when the viewer hovers over it
*Adobe Flash* uses:**
Up	Appearance of the button when the mouse is not over it
Over, a.k.a., hover
Down	Button's appearance when the viewer clicks on it
Hit	Defines the area that will respond to a mouse click Without a hit area, the viewer must click on the actual letter in the text

Camera-ready artwork

Crisp, black-and-white printout of desired image

Image must be saved as:

If using Adobe Illustrator:
- Save as either an EPS or an AI file
If using Adobe Photoshop:
- Save with an EPS file extension
- Only as a 4-color graphic process
- Use CMYK color format
- Type must be in vector format
At the desired, final size
- Use an 800 dpi resolution
Convert all text and graphics to outlines or paths

CAPTCHA

Small box of really weird text that a user has to type into to prove that s/he is a human so the site can avoid spam bots, etc. You can't provide a text alternative as it would make the CAPTCHA accessible to a spam bot so you need text that describes the purpose of the CAPTCHA and [provide] alternate forms usng different modalities...to address the needs of people with different disabilities (Non-Text).

.CDR

File format used by CorelDRAW, a digital image processing software program

File format used for digital images

Good software program but rarely used due to the difficulty in sharing its files across software programs

Certificate authority

Company authorized to provide digital signatures

VeriSign is considered a very reliable and reputable source

CGI

Computer Graphic Interface

Requires server-side interaction

Child

Relates to classes assigned to selectors in CSS coding

In CSS, it is possible to create classes, sub-categories of a selector such as ul.footer. The selector is ul and the child class is .footer (I generally use ul.footer to set up my footer menu).

Using a child/class, allows you to change only those property:values of the parent selector that you choose.

selector
ul.footer        { font-size : 0.85em ;}
parent . child     property value
                          declar ation

Class

A.k.a., child

Label for CSS coding which modifies a selector

Client-side

Code or script which does not require the web host's server

Uses the viewer's computer to chat back and forth

See also server-side

CMYK

Cyan-magenta-yellow-black

Subtractive color model

A color process used for your printed images

Use for images you intend to print

Code point

A.k.a., character code

A grouping of letters and characters used to represent a particular symbol or accented letter

For example (spaces are inserted to prevent the browser from showing the character it represents):

& a m p ; is the code point for &
& q u o t ; is the code point for "

The & and the ; enclose the group; it tells the browser this is a code from the UTF-8

Cookies

Cookies are textual information about you that is sent to you by a web server. This information is sent back and forth between you and the server and is used to track your preferences, contents of your shopping cart, know which part of a class or session you should be in, authenticate that you are who you say you are, etc.

A cookie is not a virus but it can be used as spyware. Browser mechanisms are usually set to read cookies, and, while mostly benign, they can be used as spyware. Anti-spyware products may warn users about some cookies because cookies can be used to track people or violate privacy concerns (Wikipedia).

CSS

Cascading StyleSheet

Tells the browser:

Where to position graphics, text, and all other page parts on a web page
What colors to use for everything
The sizes of the individual parts of the page
Where to find graphics to use on the web page

Uses external, internal, and inline stylesheets

Benefits of using CSS include:

Ability to create a single external stylesheet from which changes are made to a single file which affect all the pages on a website (see also external CSS link
Enables faster loading of individual web pages because the browser only has to load the one stylesheet
Ability to create specific stylesheets to permit an efficient printing of specific parts of web pages

Declaration

Label for the property:value portion of the CSS element code

p { font-size : 1em ;}
selector property value
declar ation

Deprecated

An element or attribute that has become updated and may become obsolete with future updated browsers.

As future browser versions are released, there is less and less support for deprecated elements which means parts of your website won't work.

Detail shot

Close-up image of a small, interesting detail of an individual art piece

Download

Transfer files, images, words, programs, etc. from the Internet to your computer

Also see Upload

dpi

Dots per inch

Measure of the printer's density of dot (e.g. ink droplet) placement

Element

In CSS, selectors, the chunks of code you create, are elements.

In HTML, an element consists of a start tag, content, and an end tag—styling an element: paragraph <p>, lists <ul>/<ol>, tables <table>, headings <h1>, to name just a few.

   <p>      Then the content slips in here.    </p>

    <td>     Then the content slips in here.    </td>

Start tag     Content (your contribution)    End tag

Embedding

Now deprecated in HTML 4.0 and replaced by <object>

However, it's not yet fully supported by all browsers (as of June 2010)

.EPS

Encapsulated Postscript Format

File format used for digital images

Used to store vector images so applications that work with Postscript can read or edit them

More closely related to TIF documents

External CSS link

Code inserted inside the <head> tag of a web page

<link type= "text/css" rel= "stylesheet" href= "CSS/styles.css">

Causes the CSS stylesheet to communicate with that HTML page

Faux column

Tiling does not work in a confined section of a webpage so if you are using a particular image or color in a sidebar and that sidebar's height varies depending on a page's contents, you want to use a faux column effect

A good example is the sidebars on this glossary page versus the sidebars on the Home page

File

In computerese, a file is a document, image, graph, webpage, etc. that is saved on a computer

In this instance, a file is the webpage you saved under your root folder, or an image you saved under your images folder, or...

File compression

Used primarily for graphic images. Graphic images can be so big that they cannot be sent via email. By using a file compression format, you can squeeze the file into a smaller size.

In Adobe Photoshop, a graphic file can be compressed by choosing File > Save for Web & Devices

Macintosh and Windows use a variety of different file compression programs. The most popular are:

StuffIt Expander (Macintosh)
WinZip (Windows)

File extension

3- or 4-letters that follow a computer file name, for example:

.doc / .pdf / .tif / .jpg
- My story.doc
- dog.bmp
.jpeg / .tiff / .html

Useful for the user as it indicates the software program used to save the file

ALWAYS preceded by a period

Folder

A folder is capable of holding multiple file(s)

It can also hold multiple folders

Ideal for organizing the hard drive on your computer

A root folder is another type of folder

Forward(ing)

A service provided by the company which registers your domain name

The registering company may provide a hosting service which you choose not to use so when a user types in your web address, their inquiry must be forwarded to where your web site is being hosted

File Transfer Protocol

A process by which files are up- or downloaded to the Internet

See also SFTP

Separate, small program that performs a few actions

When used with JavaScript, it keep[s] the browser from executing a script when the page loads W3C.

Best placed in the <head> section

.GIF

Graphics Interchange Format

File format used for digital images

Designed to compress images to make them as small as possible using lossless compression

Internally compressed bitmap

Best for Internet use where quality is not an issue and you need a small file size

Global changes

Change information in one file and it applies that change to every page in the website when you save and upload that file to your website

Glossies

Shiny-surfaced, smooth photographic print

Generally refers to an 8" x 10" size

Usually in black-and-white

Usually requested by newspapers, magazines, and art festivals

Hack

A.k.a., work-around

A bit of code written to fix a specific problem in a version of a browser

Hard code

Many web editors provide shortcut options to create links—DO NOT trust them

These types of links always break or they create a link to the file on your computer

You want links which connect to your UPloaded files:

NOT ...My Documents\websites\kddidit.com\howICanHelp.html (a link to a file on your computer)
NOT ..howICanHelp.html (shortcut; always breaks)
YES http://kddidit.com/howICanHelp.html (a link to a page on the Internet)

Hard drive

Generically used to refer to the box that holds the CD/DVD drive, memory, fans, etc. into which you plug all the peripherals used with a computer such as a printer, scanner, monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, etc.

A.k.a., the computer

Specifically refers to a small piece of hardware installed inside the computer that acts as the storage unit holding your software, drivers, files, and folders.

Horizontal rule

Horizontal line that spans all or part of a page acting as a divider

HTML code to insert a horizontal line is <hr color=#xxxxxx>

Icon

Small image that takes the place of text and is meant to catch the eye

Can represent an action, a program, or device on a computer operating system

Image editing software

Enables you to adjust the size, brightness, content, color, angle, contrast, resolution, etc. of an image to varying degrees

Examples include:

Adobe Photoshop
Windows' Paint
Apple's iPhoto

Image organizing software

Enables you to better control how much computer memory is used to store images

Instead of saving multiple copies of the same image in different folders, organizing software uses keywords, (also known as indexing)

Keywords are used to sort the images into albums (iPhoto) or folders (Photo Gallery)
The original images are kept intact and will always be available through iPhoto or Photo Gallery

Internally compressed bitmap

Compression is a method of storing data in less space by squeezing it

Internet

A.k.a., the World Wide Web, www, the 'net

iPhoto

Image manipulation/editing and organizing software program available through iLife on a Macintosh computer

.JPG
.JPEG

Joint Photographic Experts Group

File format used for digital images

Used extensively for photos used or sent on the Internet / continuous tone images

Very popular with Web designers

Internally compressed bitmap

Uses lossy compression

Keyword

Carefully chosen words which are specific to a topic or website

From a viewer's standpoint, keywords are those words or phrases used when doing a search on a particular topic or for a particular type of website

Indexed by bots and used to help direct searchers to the desired website(s)

Link

Also known as a hyperlink

Uses an HTML code to create an address which, when clicked, connects the viewer to other web pages

<a href="http://www.yoursite.com> Your Site <a>

If the desired link is to an external website, it's usually best to have it open into a new window. Add target="_blank" to the <a> address

<a href="http://www.yoursite.com/target="_blank"> Someone Else's Site<a>

There are three states for coding a link in CSS:

Unvisited - an unclicked link
- Uses some version of a brightish blue color
- Represented as a in CSS
  - a:link adds a special style to an unvisited link (W3C)
Visited - a link that has been clicked
- Helps the viewer know when s/he has already clicked that link
- Uses some version of a purple color
- Represented as a:visited in CSS
Hover - appearance of a link when a viewer's mouse is stationary over it
- Confirms to the viewer that it is a link
- Color is your choice
- Represented as a:hover in CSS
Active - indicates a change in the link text when the viewer hovers over a link that s/he has not yet clicked
- Color and decoration is your choice
- Represented as a:active in CSS

Local/Network

A type of protocol used to upload pages to the Internet

Generally refers to an internal website accessible only for company employees or the occupants of a house

Lossless data compression

Type of digital image compression

A.k.a., lossless compression

No data information is lost when it is compressed

Lossy data compression

Type of digital image compression

A.k.a., lossy compression

Some data information is deleted or lost forever

Meta tag

Coding statement that describes the contents of a web page

A wide variety of specific meta tags are possible:

Author
Copyright
Description *
Keywords **
Language
Title *

* Essential in improving your page rank
** Spiders look for keywords in a meta tag as well as extremely similar words used within the page

Naming convention

A standard by which the reader can determine something from a small amount of information

Some examples of conventions include:

The corner of 5th & Main tells you a location
1-800- is probably part of a phone number
mm refers to millimeters

Files for websites ALWAYS uses a small letter to begin a file name, e.g., aboutKathyDavie.html, navTop.gif, contact.html, portfolio.html, logo.jpg, etc.

There are three types of naming conventions for web design use:

camelBack
under_score
hyphen-ated

Neutral position

Relaxed, balanced posture of the body which permits a neutral alignment

Stress to joints and muscles is minimized

Even better if you can incorporate Pilates training with its emphasis on core strength

Object

As of HTML 4, <object> is intended to replace <embed> and <img> but not all browsers are supporting it yet

OpenType

Considered a fusion font format because it combines Postscript and TrueType

See also TrueType or PostScript

Optimization

The primary purpose involves compressing an image to reduce it in size visually as well as to reduce its file size in order to speed up a web page opening

It also makes it more likely the image will be small enough in size to send as an email attachment while retaining a certain level of quality

Page rank

Position a website occupies after a search using a search engine such as Google or Bing

The higher your rank, the more likely your website is to appear on the first page of a list of searched websites

Paint

Image manipulation/editing software program available for free on a Windows-based computer

Parent

Relates to selectors in CSS coding

In CSS, it is possible to create classes, sub-categories of a selector such as ul.footer. When a class is created, the selector is referred to as the parent, in this case, ul. The class created is then referred to as the child, .footer.

UL is a selector frequently used in a CSS stylesheet. Frequently enough that you'll need classes/subcategories, or children for uls. Some examples include ul.menuTop, ul.table, etc.

selector
ul.menu        { margin-left : 0.5em ;}
parent . child     property      value
                             declar ation

PC

Personal computer

Typically runs a Windows operating system (OS)

.PDF

Portable Document Format

Used by Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat is used to create & save the text file or the form file as well as enable the user to create a form which anyone can fill out
Adobe Acrobat Reader permits anyone to open and read a PDF file but not to access it

Originally developed for cross-platform use

Photo Gallery

Image manipulation/editing and organizing software program available for free on a Windows-based computer

Photoshop

Image manipulation/editing professional software program available for both PC and Macintosh

Manufactured by Adobe

php

Stands for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor

A scripting language that is ideal for use in developing a Web site

Can be embedded into HTML

Must be used server-side

Pixel

(pix) picture (el) element

Smallest single unit that goes into making up a digital image

May use a square or a circle as its single unit

Depending on usage, it can take from 1- to 8-pixels to make up 1 byte

.PNG

Portable Network Graphics

File format used for digital images

Ideal for when you really, really have to have an invisible background on the Internet BUT still not widely supported

Bitmap image

Uses internal lossless data compression

Created to replace the GIF format

Use with gray scale, RGB, or palette-based 24-bit RGB colors

Cannot be used with CMYK (print images)

Postscript

Page description language, which evolved from InterPress at Adobe designed to describe any printed 'event' on a pageFelici

Installed on printers to enable fancier page layouts than the old typewriter-styled pages

Not linked to a specific printer, computer, operating system, or software

Uses a scalable, vector-based image

See also TrueType or OpenType

ppi

Pixels per inch

The greater number of pixels used per inch, the higher the resolution of the image

.PSD

Used with Adobe PhotoShop

File format used for digital images

Used for original images

Pseudo-class

Add special effects to a selector—a:link

Useful for minor visual effects

.RAW

Image data from a digital camera or scanner

File format used for digital images

Sometimes referred to as a digital negative

Not directly usable as an image until processed through an imaging software program

Standard file extension used when original photos first downloaded from a digital camera

Used for original images by professionals

RDS

Radio Data System (European Broadcasting Union)

Radio Broadcast Data System (U.S. version)

Protocol sending small amounts of digital information using conventional FM radio broadcasts on a 57kHz subcarrier wave

Information transmitted includes time, track and/or artist information, and station identification

Resolution

Number of pixels used to create the image. The more pixels used, the greater the number of color values that are possible and the better the image

It also means a very large file size

RGB

Red-green-blue

Additive color model

Color process used for your digital and/or Internet-intended images

RGB, palette-based 24-bit

Highest color depth normally used

Available on most modern monitors and software

RGBA

Lets you set the transparency of the color

Ranges from 1 to 10 with 10 fully transparent and 1 is fully opaque

For example:
Hexadecimal: #1B452C is RGB: 27,69,44,5
(the ,5 indicates the level of transparency)

Ranges from 0 to 1 are translucent (0.9, 0.8,..0.2, 0.1, 0)

27,69,44,0.5 indicates a translucency of 0.5

Root folder

Folder set up on your hard drive to hold all the files and pages that make up your website

Script

Programming language which operates inside of a website or page; think of it as a tiny program

First created to take over tedious, repetitive computer tasks

Uses tags in either the or tag of a webpage

There are a lot of scripts possible:

JavaScript is very popular; less commonly known as ECMAScript - language
Perl - general purpose scripting language and third most popular
C, C++ - powerful, complex programming language
AppleScript
Macros
CGI
ASP
Ruby on Rails
Ajax - combination of XML and JavaScript
Visual Basic
Java - powerful, complex programming language developed by Sun Microsystems
.Net
PHP - second most popular
TCL
Rexx
Python
Coldfusion - language
CSS - language
HTML, XML, XHTML

Also known as:

Applets (Applets have, technically, been replaced by <object> since HTML 4.0)

Selector

There are two parts to CSS code: selectors and declarations

The selector is usually the HTML element you want to style, such as paragraph <p>, lists <ul>/<ol>, tables <table>, headings <h1>, to name just a few

p { font-size : 1em ;}
selector property value
declar ation

SEO

Search Engine Optimization

Process by which you perform a number of tasks on each webpage to make that page/your website more inviting to spiders so they are more likely to increase your page rank

Use of meta tags
A minimum of 2.5% of each page’s content shuld consist of keywords

Server

Computer program which responds to users' requests to see a particular website using http or https

Stored on a computer which may also be referred to as a server

Code or script which can only function from the web host's server (if you want to use php, be sure that your web host will allow it)

See also client-side

Simple File Transfer Protocol

A process by which files are up- or downloaded to the Internet

Less complex than FTP

.SIT
.SITX

Stuff-It compressed file format used with the Mac

A type of file compression software

Spam

Refers to unwanted junk emails, you know, Viagra ads, Ethiopian-Nigerian-? requests to transfer huge amounts of money

Spider

A.k.a, search engine crawler

Automated program that constantly searches the Internet looking at meta tags, keywords, and, most importantly, page content to use for indexing purposes by search engines such as Google, Bing, Ask, Yahoo, etc.

SSL

Secure Sockets Layer

Encryption program, which prevents a crook hacking into your session to steal your (or your customers’) personal or financial information

Encryption levels range from 40-bit to 256-bit although most computers are only capable of processing 128-bit encryption

If you want to sell products using your own credit card processing equipment or you collect personal information from clients, you should be using an SSL certificate. All financial institutions and any reputable e-store use SSL certificates.

Storyboard

A text-and-graphics record of a particular web page

Each storyboard contains:

Full text that will appear on that page
Link text and the hyperlink address for every link on that page
File name of every graphic used on that page
Record of the colors and font information

Strict Doctype

Describes a type of document recognized by a browser

A more proper term is standard

By adhering to the strict standard, your website will age more gracefully into newer browser versions with fewer problems now...and then

.TIF
.TIFF

Tagged Image File Format

File format used for digital images

Originally designed so images could be passed around to work with different applications

All popular image editing / e-publishing programs use this format

Internally compressed bitmap

Saves uncompressed using lossless compression

Tends to save as large files

Best for printing onto paper

Tile

Create a background using the same image multiple times

Think of it as a bathroom wall that's been tiled with 12" x 12""

Translucent

Details are fuzzy

Examples include foggy mirrors, privacy glass

Used as the fourth set of digits, 0 to 1, in RGBA to affect the color

Transparency

Also known as a slide

Transparent

The opposite of opaque/solid

Details are clear

The more easily one can see through a color, the more transparent the color

Used as the fourth set of digits, 1 to 10, in RGBA to affect the color

TrueType

Created through a collaboration by Apple and Microsoft in response to Adobe requiring font vendors to buy their hinting system to create fonts Felici

See also OpenType or PostScript

Upload

Transfer of files to a web host (or web server)

Enables users to access web pages

See also Download

URI

Uniform Resource Identifier

See URL.

In 1998, the Network Working Group merged two earlier Resource for Comment (RFC) documents into the URI. The purpose of this merging is to create “a single, generic syntax for all URI making it easier to program browsers to see websites.

URL

Uniform Resource Locator

Originally, web addresses were a string of numbers (IP addresses) which had to be typed in. The string proved too difficult for people to accurately and consistently enter so the concept of using actual words was introduced

An URL, does two things:

Identifies a website
Provides the address so you can locate the website

A relative URL ignores the domain name and begins /folder/fileName.xxx
There are two reasons why a relative URL is used:

Reduces typing errors if you don't have to type out the entire domain name
Saves space

There are several reasons why this is a bad idea:

Increases the chances of a bad link so people can't get to a different part of your website
It's a good habit to write the full domain name out in case people print your page out as it acts like a tiny bit of marketing for that person to find you again

An absolute URL includes the entire address, http://www.yourwebsitename.com/folder/filename.xxx
There are two reasons why an absolute URL is used:

Enables more people to access all the pages of your website by decreasing the chances of a bad, or broken, link
it's a good habit to write the full domain name out in case people print your page out as it acts like a tiny bit of marketing for that person to find you again

There are several reasons why this is a bad idea:

Increases typing errors when you type out the entire domain name
Takes up space

User agent

A.k.a., UA

Application that processes a web page, such as a browser, some assistive technology, or a search engine Olsson

Sometimes used to refer to both ends of a communications session, in norm-terms, when my computer talks to your computer or another server

On the Internet, UAs are web browsers (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, etc.), search engine crawlers (spiders), bots, mobile phones, screen readers, braille browsers, etc.

UAs usually identify themselves by their application type, operating system, software vendor, or software revision by submitting a characteristic identification string to its operating peer. In the HTTP and SIP protocols, this is transmitted in [the] header field, User Agent (User agent).

UTF-8

A character-encoding protocol which tells the Internet and mail programs how to interpret the letters, numbers, and symbols used on a website or in an email message

Backwards-compatible with ASCII

Validate

Checking the HTML and/or CSS code for errors

Errors in the code create problems for the layout and the viewer

The W3C is one of many services on the Internet providing validation for CSS and HTML

Vector graphics

Also known as object-oriented graphics

Used by draw programs, CADD systems, animation software such as:

Adobe Illustrator, Flash, Fireworks, Acrobat

Uses math to represent the images

When resized or restretched, the image retains its resolution

Ideal to use for text

Looks better on monitors and printers

Can be imported into Photoshop which will convert it into a bitmap

Viewport

Browser window, computer monitor, cellphone screen,

WebDAV

Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning

Allows reading AND writing to a Web page

Web editor

Software program that eases the coding of web pages

Popular programs include BBEdit and Adobe's Dreamweaver and Homesite

Web host

Also referred to as a web server

A host is a company which has a lot of space in a particular type of computer hard drive that you rent by the month (or year)

How much rent you pay depends upon how much space you need to hold the pages of your website, how many users access your site monthly, if you need CGI or php capability, if you want email addresses which relate to your website, etc.

Whitespace

A.k.a., white space, empty space, negative space, breathing room

Not necessarily white space

Refers to the blank areas of the page

Used to separate or unite elements on a page

WWW

World Wide Web, the Web for short

Indicates the primary host name for the location of your web site

Today's Web and its http:// standard was created by Tim Berners-Lee at the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1989. The World Wide Web was released in 1992.

WYSIWYG

What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get

Creating content that looks the same as what others will see

In the beginning, there were 1's and 0's, binary programming...today, you can draw a box and fill it with text or pictures

x-coordinate

Horizontal line

From left to right

Used in positioning graphics

y-coordinate

Vertical line

From top to bottom

Used in positioning graphics

.ZIP

WinZip compressed file format

Used with Windows

A type of file compression software