This article contains a list of commonly used abbreviations on the internet. All abbreviations on the list also have a short description on the subject and some links to other related articles, etc.
| Letter | Abbreviation | Definition | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Ajax | Asynchronous JavaScript and XML | Allows web apps to make quick, incremental updates to the user interface. |
| ASCII | American Standard Code for Information Interchange | Code for representing English characters as numbers. | |
| ASP | Application Service Provider | Manages and distributes software-based services and solutions to customers. | |
| B | B | Byte | 8 Bits. |
| BBS | Bulletin Board System | Also known as a forum. | |
| Bit | Binary DigIT | Smallest unit of information on a machine. | |
| Blog | weB LOG | A publicly accessible personal journal updated regularly. | |
| BPS | Bits Per Second | Standard measure of data transmission speeds. | |
| C | CGI | Common Gateway Interface | A specification for transferring information between a World Wide Web server and a CGI program. |
| CMS | Content Management System | Software installed on a website allowing management of content on the website. | |
| cPanel | Control Panel | A popular website administration tool used by many website hosting providers. | |
| CSS | Cascading Style Sheet | Stylesheets that define how different elements such as headers & links appear. | |
| D | DB | DataBase | A collection of information organised in a way that a computer program can quickly select desired pieces of data. |
| DHTML | Dynamic HyperText Markup Language | Web pages that use a combination of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. | |
| DNS | Domain Name System/Server | An internet service that translates domain names into IP addresses. | |
| E | Electronic Mail | The transmission of messages over communications networks. | |
| F | FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions | Documents that list and answer the most common questions on a particular subject. |
| FF | FireFox | Web browser. | |
| FTP | File Transfer Protocol | Protocol for transferring files over the internet. | |
| G | GIF | Graphic Interchange Format | A bit-mapped graphics file format limited to 256 colours. More Information >> |
| GB | Gigabyte | 1024MB | |
| H | HTML | HyperText Markup Language | The coding language used to create hypertext documents on the web. |
| HTTP | HyperText Transfer Protocol | The protocol for moving hypertext files across the internet. | |
| I | IE | Internet Explorer | Web browser. |
| IMAP | Internet Message Access Protocol | Used to access messages from a server. | |
| IP | Internet Protocol | Specifies the format of packets, also called datagrams, and the addressing scheme. | |
| IRC | Internet Relay Chat | Enables people connected anywhere on the internet to join in live discussions. | |
| ISP | Internet Service Provider | Refers to a company that provides internet services, including personal and business access to the internet. | |
| IT | Information Technology | The broad subject concerned with all aspects of managing and processing information. | |
| J | JDK | Java Development Kit | A software development kit for producing Java programs. |
| JPEG | Joint Photographic Experts Group | Uses a lossy compression technique for colour images. More Information >> | |
| JS | JavaScript | A scripting language developed by Netscape to enable web authors to design interactive sites. | |
| K | KB | Kilobyte | 1024B |
| L | LAN | Local Area Network | A computer network limited to the immediate area, usually the same building or floor of a building. |
| M | MB | Megabyte | 1024KB |
| MIME | Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions | Specification for formatting non-ASCII messages so that they can be sent over the internet. | |
| Modem | MOdulator, DEModulator | A device or program that enables a computer to transmit data by converting digital & analog signals. | |
| MUD | Multi-User Dimension | A multi-user simulation environment. | |
| N | NIC | Network Information Center | Any office that handles information for a network. |
| P | Portable Document Format | A file format that provides an electronic image of text or text and graphics that looks like a printed document and can be viewed, printed, and electronically transmitted. | |
| Perl | Practical Extraction & Report Language | A high-level programming language used in many applications running on the world wide web. | |
| PHP | PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor | An open source, server-side, HTML embedded scripting language used to create dynamic web pages. | |
| PM | Private Message | Like an e-mail sent from one user to another user on an internet forum, bulletin board system, social networking site or chat room. | |
| PNG | Portable Network Graphics | Bit-mapped image format that employs lossless data compression. Created to improve upon & replace GIF. More Information >> | |
| POP | Post Office Protocol | Used for downloading email messages. | |
| PPP | Point to Point Protocol | A method of connecting a computer to the internet. | |
| PS | PhotoShop | Image editing software from Adobe. | |
| PSP | Paint Shop Pro | Image editing software from Corel. | |
| R | RSS | Really Simple Syndication | A standardized system for the distribution of content, especially news, from an online publisher to internet users. |
| S | SEO | Search Engine Optimisation | The use of various techniques to improve a web site's ranking in the search engines and thus attract more visitors. |
| SSI | Server Side Includes | A server side scripting language on apache servers. | |
| SMTP | Simple Mail Transfer Protocol | Used in sending & receiving email. | |
| SQL | Structured Query Language | An international standard for database manipulation. | |
| SSL | Secure Socket Layer | A computing protocol that ensures the security of data sent via the internet by using encryption. | |
| T | TB | Terabyte | 1024GB |
| TCP/IP | Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol | Basic communication language of the internet. | |
| TLD | Top Level Domain | Eg. .com, .net, .org | |
| U | UDP | User Datagram Protocol | An internet protocol which transmits data packets without error checking. |
| URI | Uniform Resource Identifier | A string of characters used to identify a name or a resource on the internet. | |
| URL | Uniform Resource Locator | The address of a web page on the world wide web. | |
| V | VOIP | Voice Over IP | A communications protocol that allows for telephonic communication via the internet. |
| VPN | Virtual Private Network | Imitation of a secluded intranet on the web, enabling secure traffic of encrypted data. | |
| VPS | Virtual Private Server | A method of splitting a server using software thus allowing each server to run it's own operating system. | |
| W | WAN | Wide Area Network | Comprises LAN's in different geographic locations that are connected, often over the public network. |
| WiFi | Wireless Fidelity | A local area network that uses high frequency radio signals to transmit and receive data over distances of a few hundred feet. | |
| WWW | World Wide Web | Commonly known as The Web, is a system of interlinked hypertext documents contained on the internet. With a web browser, one can view web pages that may contain text, images, videos, and other multimedia and navigate between them by using hyperlinks. | |
| X | XHTML | eXtensible HyperText Markup Language | An HTML system for tagging text files to achieve font, color, graphic, and hyperlink effects on World Wide Web pages, incorporating user-defined elements. |
| XML | eXtensible Markup Language | A set of rules for encoding documents electronically. | |
| XUL | eXtensible User-interface Language | Application of XML that defines various user interfaces elements, mostly widgets, control elements, template, etc. |
Thanks for reading. If you have any questions, comments or you would like to request another abbreviation added to this article please post below.
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Comments
This is such a useful guide! I'm gonna go tweet about it right now! :)
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YAY! I'm so glad this is back! :D
Yay, Anna!
AnnaNeo
Oh boy, this is cool (in a really geeky way). :)
"Baldrick, have you no idea what 'irony' is?" "Yes, it's like 'goldy' and 'bronzy' only it's made out of iron."
Haha, Aashni I wish the *thumbs up* option was on the new IC already so that I would thumsup that comment
I'm a jack of all trades in training.
So I only just learned what WiFi stands for.
Mind = blown.
Also, the first thing I noticed was "ooh, pretty alternating background colour on the table."
Could we possibly get something like that happening in the comments and forums? It looks rad, and it breaks up the whole endless background thing we've got going on, because by the time you've scrolled all the way down the page the layout grid is a little lost.
Sam makes no sense.
Want to read the extraordinarily riveting and epic tales of a compulsive hyperbole artist with an embarassing life? Of course you do. Click it.
@Scarlie - remember it for when the Karma system comes back :P
@Sam - I agree :) the posts/comments would look much better :) and haha WiFi = AWESOME
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The list itself looks so damn good, never mind what's actually in it (which is just as golden). Look at the alternating colours....
God there are so many abbreviations. I hate it when people talk technical in abbreviations only. Gonna get a lot of use out of this list.
Jenny-Jen-Jen :D
Bloggity: www.windymill.net
Web-Design Portfolio: www.jenny-aster.net
This is also useful if you're doing any computing courses.
Password is just like your underwear. You have to change it everyday and make sure not to let anyone see it and use it.
Wait, Ajax stands for something. It's an abbreviation? I always thought they were talking about the Greek hero, Ajax.
Jenny-Jen-Jen :D
Bloggity: www.windymill.net
Web-Design Portfolio: www.jenny-aster.net
I never really thought about if the "E" in "email" actually stood for something...wow, I feel dumb.
Yay, Anna!
AnnaNeo
I never really thought about if the "E" in "email" actually stood for something...wow, I feel dumb.
Haha, well email used to be always written as "e-mail" instead. Eventually, people just stopped using the hyphen. :P
The french, because they don't like using english words, sometimes use "mel"
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i never knew what rss meant xD it's really simple...
I always thought ajax referred to the amsterdam football team...
I'm a jack of all trades in training.
This is really cool! I can't believe I didn't know what most of these stood for :-P Thanks for writing this!
Peace out? o.O