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Scanner :
A device that resolves a two-dimensional object, such as a
business document, into a stream of bits by raster scanning
and quantization.
SCO :
Santa Cruz Operation. Supplier of the popular SCO Unix
operating system for Intel-based system and a founding member
of the Advanced Computing Environment consortium.
Screen capture :
Operation consisting in "photographing" the computer display
and copying the result in a file on disk.
Sector :
Recording zone on a disk. Of a fixed size, the sectors are the
smallest addressable units on a disk. A sector generally
contains 512 data bytes.
SCSI :
Small Computer System Interface. A peripheral interface for up
to seven devices. SCSI provides a high-speed, parallel data
transfer of up to 4 Mbytes per second and has the advantage of
connecting multiple peripherals while taking up only one slot
in the computer.
SCSI chain :
Up to seven SCSI peripherals can be serially connected to the
same computer SCSI port.
SDSL :
(Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line) A version of DSL
where the upload speeds and download speeds are the same.
Search Engine :
A (usually web-based) system for searching the information
available on the Web.
Some search engines work by automatically searching the
contents of other systems and creating a database of the
results. Other search engines contains only material manually
approved for inclusion in a database, and some combine the two
approaches.
Security Certificate :
A chunk of information (often stored as a text file) that is
used by the SSL protocol to establish a secure
connection.
SEO :
(Search Engine Optimization) The
practice of designing web
pages so that they rank as high as possible in search results
from search engines.
There is "good" SEO and "bad" SEO. Good SEO involves making
the web page clearly describe its subject, making sure it
contains truly useful information, including accurate
information in
Meta tags,
and arranging for other web sites to make links to the page.
Bad SEO involves attempting to deceive people into believing
the page is more relevant than it truly is by doing things
like adding inaccurate Meta tags to the page.
Separator :
Special character in charge of delimiting words or values.
This separator is not part of the character string it
delimitates.
Serial interface :
Interface allowing to exchange data in serial mode : in this
mode one bit is exchanged at a time. On a micro computer, used
for example for modem interface. To be opposed to "parallel
interface".
Server :
A system or a program that receives requests from one or more
client systems or programs to perform activities that allow
the client to accomplish certain tasks. A processor that
provides a specific service to systems on a network. Routing
servers connect sub networks of like architecture, gateway
servers connect networks of different architecture by
performing protocol conversions and terminal, printer and file
servers provide interfaces between peripheral devices and
systems on the network.
Servlet :
A small computer program designed to be add capabilities to a
larger piece of server software.
Common examples are "Java
servlets", which are small programs written in the Java
language and which are added to a web server. Typically
a web server that uses Java servlets will have many of them,
each one designed to handle a very specific situation, for
example one servlet will handle adding items to a "shopping
cart", while a different servlet will handle deleting items
from the "shopping cart."
Sex :
This topic is definitely outside the scope of the present
glossary, sorry.
SGML :
Standard Generalized Markup Language. An international
standard of identifying the basic structural elements of a
text document. SGML addresses the structure of a document, not
its format or presentation.
Shell :
Intermediate program between the user and a software. The
MS/DOS shell allows to choose files in a list and to start
commands by selecting them in menus.
SIMM :
Single In-Line Memory Module. Small board containing 8 or 9
memory chips. These boards are used to increase the storage
capacity.
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), Agent :
A platform that uses a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol stack to generate SNMP-compliant information, which
is then used by an SNMP " manager" to manage the supported
platform.
SLIP
: (Serial Line Internet Protocol) A standard that was
popular in the early 1990's for using a regular telephone line
(a serial line) and a modem to connect a computer as a
real Internet site. SLIP has largely been replaced by
PPP.
SMDS :
(Switched Multimegabit Data Service) A standard for very
high-speed data transfer.
SNMP is defined in RFC 1089
SMTP :
(Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) The main protocol used to send
electronic mail from server to server on the Internet.
SMTP is defined in RFC 821 and modified by many later
RFC's.
SNMP :
(Simple Network Management Protocol) A set of standards for
communication with devices connected to a TCP/IP network.
Examples of these devices include routers, hubs, and
switches.
SOAP :
(Simple Object Access Protocol) A protocol for
client-server communication that sends and receives
information "on top of" HTTP. The data sent and
received is in a particular XML format specifically
designed for use with SOAP. SOAP is similar to the XMLRPC
protocol except that SOAP provides for more sophisticated
handling of complex data being sent between a client and a
server. SOAP actually grew from the work that created XMLRPC.
Microsoft's ".NET" system is largely based on SOAP.
Socket services :
Universal software interface which manages PCMCIA cards
supports.
SONET :
Synchronous Optical Network Standard. An emerging
International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee (CCITT)
standard for synchronous transmission up to multigigabit
speeds. The standard promises multi-vendor
interoperability, improved troubleshooting and network
survivability. As a Layer 1 standard, it will be the
foundation for broadband ISDN (Integrated Services Digital
Network)
Spam :
(or Spamming) An inappropriate attempt to use a mailing
list, or USENET or other networked communications
facility as if it was a broadcast medium (which it is not) by
sending the same message to a large number of people who didn't
ask for it. The term probably comes from a famous Monty Python
skit which featured the word spam repeated over and over. The
term may also have come from someone's
low opinion of the food product with the same name, which is
generally perceived as a generic content-free waste of
resources. (Spam ® is a registered
trademark of Hormel Corporation, for its processed meat
product.)
Spyware :
A somewhat vague term generally referring to software that is
secretly installed on a users computer and that monitors use
of the computer in some way without the users' knowledge or
consent.
Most spyware tries to get the user to view advertising and/or
particular web pages. Some spyware also sends
information about the user to another machine over the
Internet.
Spyware is usually installed without a users' knowledge as
part of the installation of other software, especially
software such as music sharing software obtained via
download.
SPX :
Sequenced Packet eXchange. A network protocol from Novell.
SQL :
Structured Query Language. SQL is a relational data language
that provides a consistent, English keyword-oriented set of
facilities for query, data definition, data manipulation and
data control. It is a programming interface to a relational
database management system (RDBMS). SQL was introduced by IBM
Research as the main external interface to System R, an
experimental RDBMS developed in the 1970s. SQL statements
include: Data manipulation language (DML) statements - SELECT,
INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE; Data definition language (DDL)
statements including the CREATE and DROP statements for tables
and indexes and statements that control data consistency, and
grant and revoke authority. SQL statements that are not
completely specified until the program is executed are called
dynamic. SQL statements that are completely specified when the
program is compiled are said to be static.
SRAM :
Static RAM. This memory, contrarily to the DRAM, does not need
to be refreshed. Data registered in SRAM are maintained until
they are modified.
SSL :
(Secure Socket Layer) A protocol designed by Netscape
Communications to enable encrypted, authenticated
communications across the Internet.
Start/stop bits :
Signalization bits affected to a character before its
transmission in asynchronous mode.
Store-and-Forward :
A delivery method for data within a network in which
information moves from one node to another toward its target.
If any node in the paths is unavailable, the last active node
in the chain holds the information until that node becomes
available, at which time the transfer continues. The
originator need not maintain the information as each node
receiving the object accepts responsibility for its delivery.
Although store-and-forward is most often associated with
electronic mail, it can be used for file transfer, software
updates and other functions that do not require a "quick" or
synchronized response.
Switched Connection :
A connection that requires a manual or an automated sequence
to establish a connection before it can be used by any
software or hardware component. Often referred to as a
"dialed" connection because of the need to complete a phone
call to establish the connection, its characteristics are
different from a dedicated line (always available for use) and
it requires different support. Applications using switched
lines cannot assume the connection is made or that
communication has been initialized.
Synchronous :
Having a constant time interval between successive bits,
characters or events. Synchronous transmission uses no
redundant information to identify the beginning and the end of
the characters, and thus is faster and more efficient than
asynchronous transmission, which uses start and stop bits. The
timing is achieved by transmitting sync characters prior to
data ; usually synchronization can be achieved in two or three
character times.
Sysop :
(System Operator) Anyone responsible for the physical
operations of a computer system or network resource. For
example, a System Administrator decides how often backups and
maintenance should be performed and the System Operator
performs those tasks.
System V :
(Read as system 5). AT&T 's Unix operating system, introduced
in 1983, then sold to Novell.
Systimax :
AT&T cabling system. |
