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| AppendixK |
Glossary of Terms and Acronyms
As you're no doubt aware, the number of acronyms in current use increases at an astonishing rate. This is by no means a complete glossary; simply an attempt to provide translations for the most widely used acronyms.
A
ACID Data transaction properties. For a transaction to be considered valid, it must be Atomic, Consistent, Isolated and Durable - hence the acronym.
ACL Access Control List. Internal object used by Windows NT to store user permissions for an individual resource, such as a disk file or directory.
ADC Advanced Data Connector. An Active Server Component usually referred to as the Data Access Component, which can provide the interface between a script and a data source.
ADO ActiveX Data Objects. A Microsoft data access technology that is the preferred way to provide data access capabilities to any kind of data store, such as relational databases, message stores, etc. (through an OLEDB provider
ADS Active Directory Services. A network-centric repository for all kinds of information about all the resources on the network and connected networks. New in Windows NT5.
ADSI Active Directory Service Interface. The API for the Microsoft Active Directory Service. Allows programmers to read and manipulate the contents of the directory in code.
ANSI American National Standards Institute. A standards body that provides definitions on computing topics such as programming languages and character sets.
API Application Programming Interface. A series of functions exposed by an application or operating system that allow programmers to access and use the services it provides.
ARP Address Resolution Protocol. A high-level network protocol running over TCP/IP that identifies network hardware addresses on a LAN given an IP address.
ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange. A standard definition for character sets. Limited to 255 characters and slowly being superseded by Unicode, which uses 2 bytes per character and can store all types of foreign characters.
ASP Active Server Pages. A Microsoft server-based scripting language that combines HTML and script code into a single file. Can be used create all kinds of dynamic pages.
ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode. A communication protocol designed to offer much higher data transmission speeds over existing networks than traditional methods such as Ethernet.
B
BDC Backup Domain Controller. A Windows NT Server installation that holds a read-only backup copy of security and other information for a network domain. Can authenticate users, and be promoted to a PDC in case of failure of the primary machine.
BSC Backup Site Controller. A server within a Microsoft Message Queue Server site. It stores a backup copy of the part of the MSMQ Information Store database that applies to the site in case the PSC should fail.
C
CA Certificate Authority. A (usually) well known and trusted third party that issues certificates for encryption and verification use. Examples are Verisign and Thawte Consulting.
CDF Channel Definition Format. A Microsoft specialized implementation of XML, used to define Channels in Internet Explorer 4+ and Windows 98.
CDO Collaboration Data Objects. The object programming interface for Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5, which allows other applications to access the mail features of Exchange Server.
Certificate A form of identification for secure communication. Certificates are used to pass public encryption keys between applications, and to verify the certificate holder. Used for secure communication with HTTPS and by MSMQ.
CGI Common Gateway Interface. A standardized interface exposed by most Web servers. Allows script and executable programs to access the user requests and server responses in order to create dynamic pages.
CIFS Common Internet File System. An open and cross-platform mechanism for clients to request files over a network. Based on the SMB protocol widely used by PCs and workstations on a variety of operating systems.
COM Component Object Model. The Microsoft open standard that defines how components communicate. Extended as COM+, which adds extra features that make building component interfaces easier.
CORBA Common Object Request Broker Architecture. A standard for integration and communication between components. Generally UNIX-based, and supported by Sun, Netscape, IBM, etc.
Corpus Index Server document collection. The set of documents, files and other resources that are indexed by Microsoft Index Server or other indexing service.
CRL Certificate Revocation List. A list of certificates that are no longer valid. Maintained and published by the CA that originally issued these certificates.
Crossware Netscape development environment. A design methodology that defines how applications can be built so that they can run both over an internal network, and out to external partners over the Internet.
CryptoAPI Cryptographic Application Programming Interface. A Microsoft API that provides services for authentication, encoding and encryption in Windows 32-bit applications.
CSP Cryptographic Service Provider. A code module that integrates with the CryptoAPI to perform the authentication, encoding and encryption. Often created by ISVs.
CSS1 Cascading Style Sheets (Level 1). The W3C-approved way to specify text formatting and layout in a Web page. Currently being expanded to CSS2. Several style sheets can be linked to a Web page, or the style information embedded within the page.
D
Daemon Background network program. A software application or service that runs continually within a network node to handle any of a range of tasks such as directing mail or routing data.
DAO Data Access Objects. A Microsoft data access technology with a complex multi-level object model, introduced for use with MS Access and Office. Now superseded by ADO.
DBMS Database Management System. A program or environment that stores, manages and retrieves data, for example SQL Server, Oracle, DB2, etc. Usually a relational database system.
DCOM Distributed Component Object Model. The implementation of COM that allows components to communicate over a network connection, rather than being limited to the same machine.
DES Data Encryption Standard. A standard that protects passwords from being read and then used again on the same a network to obtain unofficial access.
DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. A protocol under which a client can contact a server to obtain a valid IP network address for its own use, rather than using one hard-wired into the client. Useful on large networks to prevent IP address conflicts.
DHTML Dynamic HTML. The overall moniker for the ability of the latest generation of browsers to change the contents of a Web page using script code, while it is loaded.
DLL Dynamic Link Library. A software component or library of functions stored as a disk file in a special format. Used by other applications that require these functions.
DNA Distributed interNet Applications Architecture. A methodology for three-tier application design using components that communicate via COM and DCOM. Also a broad marketing term for the combination of the different services offered by Windows NT.
DNS Domain Name System. Also refers to a Domain Name Server. Translates a text URL (such as http://webdev.wrox.co.uk) into the equivalent IP address.
DOM Document Object Model. A standard definition of the structure and content of a Web page when displayed in a browser or other user agent. Used in scripting to manipulate the contents of the document.
DRP Distribution and Replication Protocol. An index-based protocol proposal designed to improve the efficiency and reliability of data distribution over HTTP. Based on XML and RDF, and provides content identifiers, an index format, and new HTTP header fields.
DSN Data Source Name. A specification of all the information required to connect to and access a data store. Used with ODBC, and can also be stored a file on disk (File DSN) or with system-wide access (System DSN).
DSO Data Source Object. A control embedded into a Web page that provides an OLE-DB interface allowing ADO to connect to a remote data store. Used in databinding.
DTC Distributed Transaction Coordinator. A software component that manages changes to a data source under control of a transaction manager. Allows updates to be rolled back if the transaction needs to be aborted, leaving the data store unchanged.
DTD Document Type Definition. A set of rules that define how the rules of SGML are applied to a particular markup language.
E
ECMA European Computer Manufacturers Association. A standards body that manages and ratifies proposals for computer technologies. Issues the open standard for the scripting language ECMAScript, which is based on JavaScript and JScript.
F
FAT File Allocation Table. The original MS-DOS format for disks. Has no built-in security, and imposes restrictions on the way files are physically stored. The limited number of allocation units it supports means that it is inefficient on large disks.
FAT32 32-bit File Allocation Table. An upgraded version of FAT introduced with the Windows 95 OSR2 update. Can handle more allocation units on large disks, with corresponding reduction in cluster size, to provide more efficient file storage.
Firewall Network security component. A software component that acts as a filter restricting specific types of network packets from passing from one network to another. Often used between a LAN and the Internet.
FTP File Transfer Protocol. A standard Internet protocol for transferring files between machines. Generally faster and more efficient than email or HTTP.
G
GIF Graphics Interchange Format. A format for graphics and images that compresses the content to provide efficient transmission over a network. Developed by CompuServe and now in common use on the Internet.
GINA Password filter component. A software component that can be added to Windows NT to perform extra checking on user passwords as they are changed, ensuring they are strong enough to meet security requirements.
Gopher Internet search and retrieve protocol. A protocol designed to allow clients to search for, retrieve and display documents over the Internet. Generally
superseded by the Web, and no longer in common use.
GUID Globally Unique Identifier. A 128-bit number that is generated automatically and used to refer to a resource, component, directory entry or any other type of object. Guaranteed to be unique.
H
HTML Hypertext Markup Language. The language of the Web. A way of inserting tags (elements and attributes) into a text page to add formatting, rich content, and other information.
HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol. A protocol running over IP and designed for the World Wide Web. Provides packaging of information that can contain instruction headers and other data about the content.
HTTPS Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. The secure version of HTTP using certificates that can uniquely identify the server and client, and encrypt all communication between them.
I
ICMP Internet Control Message Protocol. An extension to IP that permits extra control, test and error messages to be incorporated into the packet stream.
IDC Internet Database Connector. A Microsoft server-based scripting language for linking ODBC data sources to a Web server, so as to create dynamic pages based on a database.
IE Internet Explorer. Microsoft's Web browser. What more can you say?
IETF Internet Engineering Task Force. A large multi-vendor international group of engineers, operators, vendors and researchers that defines, proposes and ratifies technical standards for the Internet.
IIOP Internet Inter-Orb Protocol. A standard, like CORBA, for communication between Java-based components such as JavaBeans. Allows components to communicate over the Internet in a Crossware application.
IIS Internet Information Server. The Web server software included with Microsoft Windows NT. Supports applications that use CGI, ASP, IDC and ISAPI; and interfaces with Windows NT and other services running on the server machine.
IP Internet Protocol. The low-level part of the TCP/IP protocol. IP assembles the TCP packets, adds address information, and dispatches them over the network.
IPX/SPX Novell NetWare network protocol. A network protocol developed by Novell to allow servers to provide an easily navigable network structure, and to share network resources.
ISAPI Internet Server Application Programming Interface. A broadly standardized interface that allows server-side programs to create dynamic Web pages, in a similar way to CGI.
ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network. A technology for combining voice and data in separate streams over a standard PSTN phone line to provide higher speeds, increased capacity and multiple channels.
ISO International Standards Organization. A world-wide group of standards bodies that create international standards, including information technology related areas.
ISP Internet Service Provider. An agency or company that provides a connection to the Internet, usually as a leased line or a dial-up link.
ISV Independent Software Vendor. Term used to describe companies that produce software or components for use with other companies operating systems or technologies.
ITU International Telecommunications Union. An international body that defines the standards for modems and low-level transmission of data, typically over public networks like the PSTN.
J
JavaBean Java software component. A software component, built in Java, that implements a control or provides a series of functions for use within another application.
JDBC Java Database Connectivity. A software interface layer that allows Java applications and components to access data stores via ODBC.
JDK Java Development Kit. A set of documentation, samples and tools that provide programmers with the information required when creating Java applications and components.
JIT Just In Time. An acronym applied to several technologies to indicate that a process, such as compilation of byte code, is carried out just before it is required by an application.
JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group. A body that designed and promotes the JPEG (JPG) graphics format, which combines high color depth with small file size for photographic still images by using a lossy compression scheme.
JSP Java Server Pages Server-side programming language combining HTML and Java code to generate custom servlets for dynamic web pages.
K
Kerberos Network security protocol. A security technology that has been under development in academic institutes for some time. Windows NT 5 uses this, replacing the existing LAN Manager based security methods in NT 3.5 and NT 4.
L
LAN Local Area Network. A series of machines in close proximity, usually in the same building, connected together. Uses any of a range of common network protocols, often referred to as Ethernet.
LDAP Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. An Internet standard used to access directory information on remote servers. Uses less resources than the traditional X.500 protocol.
Linux Operating system. Open-source UNIX-clone operating system first built by Linus Torvalds and developed by a distributed community over the Internet. In large part responsible for giving free software a good name in enterprise due to its reliability and performance.
Locale Language and locality information. A text string such as "en-us" that accurately identifies a language and locality to allow programs to use language-specific formatting and processes. Can also be identified by a number called the LocaleID.
M
MAPI Mail (or Message) Application Programming Interface. The Microsoft standard application programming interface for email software. Allows programs to read, create, send and manipulate stored messages.
MDA Message Digest Algorithm. A software algorithm that creates a digest for a message or other stream of data. The digest is unique, and the original data cannot be recreated from it. Generally specified as MD2, MD4, MD5, etc.
MDAC Microsoft Data Access Components. A series of component objects that provide data access services such as ADO to Windows applications.
MIME Multipurpose (or Multimedia) Internet Mail Extension. Defines the content type of a document, file or message attachment, for example "image/mpeg" or "text/plain".
MPEG Motion Pictures Expert Group. A body that designed and promotes the MPEG (MPG) moving graphics format, which combines high color depth with small file size for photographic moving images by using a lossy compression scheme.
MQIS Message Queue Information Store. The central repository of information about an MSMQ enterprise, stored on the PEC and distributed to each site via the PSCs and BSCs.
MSMQ Microsoft Message Queue Server. A Windows NT service that provides robust and secure transmission of messages between servers, which can be on different connected networks.
MTS Microsoft Transaction Server. A Windows NT service that acts as both an object broker for components and as a distributed transaction manager. The basis for most DNA applications that require data access.
N
Namespace A name resolution area. The bounded area within which a named object can be resolved. Examples are a subtree in a directory service, or a class within a component.
NDS Novell Directory Service. Novell's implementation of a network-centric directory service. Has been available for some time, and is in common use on large NetWare networks. Supported by Windows NT.
NetBEUI Networking protocol. The native protocol that forms the basis for Microsoft Networking in Windows environments.
NetBIOS Networking protocol. A widely accepted and implemented standard for networking in a LAN environment.
NIC Network Interface Card. The hardware providing the connection between a computer or peripheral and the network. Usually a plug-in card with sockets for a range of cable connector types.
NNTP Network News Transfer Protocol. A protocol that transports news messages to special servers and client software over the Internet. Provides cross referencing, expiration, and search and retrieval facilities.
NOS Network Operating System. A generic term for the protocol and software that provides communication services over a network. Examples are NetBIOS, TCP/IP, etc.
NTFS NT File System. The Windows NT native disk format. Provides an efficient data storage format, and allows a range of security settings to be applied to individual files and directories.
NTLM NT LAN Manager authentication. The protocol normally referred to as Challenge/Response that Windows NT uses to pass authentication information between the client and server when logging on.
O
OCX OLE Control Extension. A software component stored as a disk file in a special format for use by other applications. Similar to a DLL, but generally offers a single function to create an object or control.
ODBC Open Database Connectivity. An open standard originally developed by Microsoft to allow transparent data access to all kinds of data stores such as relational databases. Drivers are manufactured by third parties to suit their own data store.
ODSI Open Directory Services Interface. A set of industry-standard functions that can be implemented by a directory service, such as LDAP and ADS, to allow other applications to access the directory content.
OLAP On-line Analytical Processing. A data store (or data warehouse) holding data in a multi-dimensional fashion. Often used for decision support and other commercial enquiry systems.
OLE Object Linking and Embedding. The fore-runner to ActiveX. Uses COM to let components communicate, and allows applications to use the services of other applications as though they were just components.
OLE DB Object Linking and Embedding Database. The new standard data access programming interface from Microsoft that is designed to replace ODBC, and provide wider coverage of different types of data stores.
OLTP On-line Transaction Processing. The technique of performing order or information processing in real time, rather than storing the transactions for execution as a batch at a later time.
OMG Object Management Group. An alliance of vendors formed to define and promote the CORBA object specification. Prominent members are Sun, Netscape and IBM.
ONE Open Network Environment. A Netscape development environment based on open standards that makes it easy to build, deploy and run applications over the Internet. See also Crossware.
Open Source Availability of software in source code form. Movement and practice dedicated to providing software (whether free or paid for) in both binary and source code form, enabling end-users to adapt the software to suit their own needs.
OSF Open Software Federation. A multi-vendor body that defines and promotes open standards for Unix-based operating systems and software.
P
Package Group of MTS components. A set of related components installed into MTS that are defined and used together in an application. The package defines the security trust boundary for the component group.
PASSFILT Password filter component. An interchangeable software component within Windows NT that performs checking on user passwords as they are entered, ensuring they are strong enough to meet security requirements.
PDA Personal Digital Assistant. A small, usually hand-held device for personal portable data storage and management. Examples are the 3COM Palm Pilot and Psion Organizer. Often regarded as small electronic Filofaxes.
PDC Primary Domain Controller. The Windows NT server installation that holds the central security and other information for the entire network domain.
PEC Primary Enterprise Controller. The server that is at the root of Microsoft Message Queue Server enterprise. It stores the complete MSMQ Information Store database.
Perl Practical Extraction and Reporting Language. A scripting language used with the first Web applications. Runs on the server and can create dynamic pages via the CGI.
PFX Personal Information Exchange. A protocol that can safely and securely transfer the contents of a PStore from one location to another.
PGP Pretty Good Privacy. An independently developed encryption application that uses public keys to allow secure transmission of messages.
PHP Personal Home Pages. A server-side, cross-platform, HTML embedded scripting language with dedicated database abstraction layer. It is also opensource, therefore "You can give it to your friends, print it out and hang it on your wall, or eat it for lunch".
PING Packet Internet Grouper. A diagnostic utility program that uses ICMP to request messages from a remote server to check that it is available and can respond.
PKCS Public Key Cryptography Standard. A generic term used to describe the various available types of public key encryption standards such as DES, RSA, etc.
PNG Portable Network Graphics. A format for graphics and images that compresses the content to provide efficient transmission over a network. Developed by W3C, but not yet in commmon use.
POP3 Post Office Protocol. An Internet protocol designed to transmit email messages and attachments between mail servers. Offers extra features over the earlier SMTP protocol.
PPP Point-to-Point Protocol. An industry-wide standard protocol that defines how packets are exchanged over the Internet, particularly via a modem.
PPTP Point-To-Point Tunneling Protocol. A protocol that allows native network services such as NetBEUI and IPX to be used to create a secure and reliable connection over the Internet.
Proxy Software connection component. A software program or service (as in proxy server) that acts as an intermediate gateway and connects two processes or users. In the case of a proxy server, it can also filter the network packets.
PSC Primary Site Controller. A server that is at the root of Microsoft Message Queue Server site. It stores a copy of the part of an MSMQ Information Store database that applies to the site.
PStore Protected Information Store. A Windows NT technology that provide a secure store for personal and security information about the network users. Can contain certificates, credit card details, personal information, etc.
R
RAS Remote Access Service. A Windows technology that allows dial-up users to connect to a network (over a phone line or the Internet, for example) and access the resources on the network as though they were a local user.
RDF Resource Description Framework. An XML-based specification being developed under the authority of the W3C, which governs the interoperability of applications in terms of metadata property sets. Formerly called the Meta Content Framework
RDO Remote Data Objects. A Microsoft remote data access technology with a complex multi-level object model, introduced for use with programming languages like Visual Basic. Now superseded by ADO.
RDS Remote Data Service. A Microsoft technology that provides a persistent and automatic method for caching data from a server-side data source on the client, for use in a Web page or other application.
RIP Routing Information Protocol. A network routing protocol for IP that allows routers to pass network and routing information between themselves as the topology of a network changes
Role Transaction Server security context. Roles are used to define the user accounts that can execute a component running under MTS. They simplify security management in DNA-based applications.
RPC Remote Procedure Call. A standard defined by the Open Software Foundation that allows one process to execute methods defined by another process, either on the same machine or across a network.
RSA Public key cryptography method. A standard type of encryption technique designed by Rivest, Shamir and Adleman for securing data passing over a network or between components.
RSVP Resource Reservation Protocol. A protocol that is used to allocate bandwidth for particular applications over a network
S
S/MIME Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension. A version of MIME that allows the contents of the message and attachments to be digitally signed and encrypted, using standard public key ciphers, hash functions and certificates.
SChannel Secure Channel. A security service provider module that sits on top of the Microsoft CryptoAPI, and implements the public key encryption between a client and the server.
SDK Software Development Kit. A set of documentation, samples and tools that provide programmers with the information required to work with a technology - for example the IE4 SDK for Internet Explorer 4.
Servlet Java server-based executable. An executable program written in Java that runs on a Web server in response to a request. Can be a simple replacement for a Perl script, or as complex as a business object or other component.
SET Secure Electronic Transaction. A protocol for implementing secure electronic transactions over the Internet. Particularly aimed at financial institutions for handling credit card and related information.
SGML Standard Generalized Markup Language. A root language for the formal definition of other markup languages, and not directly used for programming. Designed to provide portability and flexibility between markup languages based on it.
SHA Secure Hash Algorithm. A software algorithm that creates a digest for a message or other stream of data. The digest is unique, and the original data cannot be recreated from it.
SID Security Identifier. A non-volatile hidden GUID that identifies a user account in Windows NT. When accounts are deleted and recreated, a new SID is applied to them. The SID is passed between applications running under NT, instead of the username.
SMB Server Message Block. A protocol used in Windows Networking to provide network-wide access to files and printers.
SMTP Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. The first email transfer protocol for the Internet. Still used to transmit simple mail messages, but slowly being replaced by POP3.
SNA System Network Architecture. A standard communication framework developed by IBM to allow communication between different models of computer, including minicomputers and mainframes.
SNMP Simple Network Management Protocol. A standard for remote management of devices such as routers and other services over a TCP/IP network. Also provides monitoring services for a network.
SQL Structured Query Language. A standard language for accessing data in relational databases. ANSI provide a base definition but many vendors have added extra proprietary features and extensions.
SSI Server-side Include. An instruction within a Web page or script that causes the Web server to execute a program, or insert a file or other information into the HTML stream sent to the client.
SSL Secure Sockets Layer. A technology originally developed by Netscape to provide client and server verification, and secure communication between a Web browser and server. Uses public key and secret key encryption.
SSP Security Support Provider. A software library that manages a set of security functions. Multiple SSPs can be installed, each from a different vendor if required. See SSPI.
SSPI Security Service Provider Interface. A standard programming interface specification that allows applications to query any SSP and use its services. Example SSPs are Kerberos, NTLM, and SSL.
Stub Software connection component. A software component within an application that links to a corresponding proxy elsewhere, and handles the communication of data between them. May be running in a separate environment from the proxy, or just on a different execution thread.
T
TAPI Telecommunications Application Programming Interface. A set of standard programming functions that can be implemented by applications that interface with telecommunications equipment, i.e. telephones, exchanges, fax machines, voice mail, etc.
TCO Total Cost of Ownership. The cost, generally far exceeding original purchase price, of a computer system. Includes such things as training, maintenance, support, consumables, etc.
TCP Transport Control Protocol. The high-level part of the TCP/IP protocol. TCP creates the data packets and passes them to IP for transmission over the network. It is also responsible for marshalling and sorting received packets, and basic packet error detection.
TCP/IP Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. The base protocol of the Internet, also used on internal networks and Intranets. Passes data in routable packets between servers, and supports high-level protocols like HTTP, FTP, etc.
TDC Tabular Data Control. An ActiveX control, part of the MDAC Universal Data Access components package, that provides client-side access and caching over HTTP for data stored in text format.
TLA Three Letter Acronym. A recursive definition designed to make fun of the way the industry tends to name its products and services.
TRID OLE Transaction Identifier. A unique identifier (GUID) for a transaction process that is executing against an OLE Transactions resource manager.
TSAPI Telephony Services Application Programming Interface. A standard developed by Novell for Netware-based applications that interface with telephones and associated equipment.
TSQL Transact SQL. A set of extensions to SQL implemented in MS SQL Server, which allow (amongst other things) more complex queries to be created and compiled as stored procedures within the database.
U
UDA Universal Data Access. Microsoft term describing a concept of using one data access technology with all enterprise data sources. Based on ADO and OLE DB. See also MDAC.
UHTTP Unidirectional Hypertext Transfer protocol. A protocol designed to allow the multicasting of IP packets over the Internet or other network, in order to provide a combination of Internet content and ordinary broadcast television.
UML Unified Modeling Language. A specification from the Object Management Group aimed at providing a common language for specifying, visualizing, constructing, and documenting distributed objects and business models for application developers.
UNC Uniform Naming Convention. A combination of server name and resource path and name which identifies a resource on a local or wide-area network. Common UNCs start with the double-backslash, such as \\sunspot\C\documents\myfile.doc.
URL Uniform Resource Locator. A combination of a protocol, host name, (optional) port, path and resource name. Uniquely identifies a resource on the Internet. For example http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/WroxTitle/productCd-0764543636.html
V
VB Visual Basic. Microsoft's entry-level programming language and environment for Windows programming, including building components and specialist applications.
VBA Visual Basic for Applications. Microsoft's version of Visual Basic that is designed to be used as a replacement and extension of macros in applications, rather than as a stand-alone programming language.
VJS Visual JavaScript. A Netscape tool for rapid crossware development, providing an array of components and services together with an HTML page designer.
VPN Virtual Private Network. The use of special encryption and protocol management software at each end of a network connection that allows a private virtual connection to exist. Useful on unsecured networks such as the Internet.
VRML Virtual Reality Modelling Language. A strandardized programming language that allows moving 3D-style effects to be created within HTML applications.
W
W3C World Wide Web Consortium. The main body responsible for managing and ratifying standards for the Internet, especially the World Wide Web (WWW).
WAM Web Application Manager. A sub-system component of IIS that is used to control applications that run in a separate area of memory (i.e. out of process) from the Web server.
WAN Wide Area Network. A series of machines or networks that are outside the limits of normal network cable length limits. Usually connection is via phone lines or fibre optic cables, radio or satellite links, or the Internet.
WAP Wireless Access Protocol. An industry-wide protocol for use over wireless communication networks. Supported by most major mobile equipment manufacturers and many software companies including Microsoft.
WIDL Web Interface Definition Language. A proposal for a set HTML extentions designed to allow interactions with Web servers to be defined as functional interfaces that can be accessed by remote systems over standard Web protocols, using Java, C/C++, COBOL, and Visual Basic.
WINS Windows Internet Name Service. A protocol and corresponding service that maps textual addresses to the equivalent IP address in Windows-based networks. See also DNS.
WinSock Windows Sockets. The software component that forms the connection to an IP-based network, and handles the transfer of data from the machine onto and off the network at the lowest level.
WML Wireless Markup Language. An industry-wide language for applications using wireless communication networks. Based on XML, and intended for devices with small displays, limited user input facilities, narrow-band network connections, and limited memory or computational resources.
WOSA Windows Open System Architecture. A range of APIs that allow programmers to access various Windows technologies in a uniform and standard way. Includes specifications for ODBC, MAPI, and TAPI.
WSH Windows Scripting Host. A server-based script interpreter that allows automation of common administration tasks using scripting languages such as VBScript and JScript
X
X.500 Directory access protocol. The high-level specification and interface definition for directory access. Generally used in commercial mainframe environments.
X.509 Certificate format standard. The principal standard format definition for certificates that are used to provide encryption and authentication.
XA X/Open transaction interface. The X/Open organization defined standard for communication between transaction managers and resource managers in a two-phase commit distributed transaction system.
XATM XA Transaction Manager. A component included in MTS that allows transactions against data stores which use the XA interface to be integrated into MTS transactions.
XID XA Transaction Identifier. A unique identifier for a transaction process that is executing against an XA resource manager.
XLL/Xlink Extensible Linking Language. A set of constructs for use in XML documents to describe links between it and other resources. Uses XML syntax to create structures that can describe both simple unidirectional hyperlinks and more sophisticated multi-ended and typed links.
XMI XML Metadata Interchange Format. A project designed to unifying XML and related W3C specifications with several object/component modeling standards to assist in defining, validating, and sharing document formats over the Web
XML Extensible Markup Language. A new markup language based on SGML, and designed to remove the limitation imposed by HTML. Allows a page to contain a definition and execution plan for the elements, and well as their content.
XSL Extensible Stylesheet Language. A specialist development of XML designed to provide flexible ways of adding style, display and layout information to a document.
Z
ZAW Zero Administration for Windows. A Microsoft initiative incorporated into NT5 which provides ways to reduce the Total Cost of Ownership in networked environments by providing automatic software installation and fixes, and other features.
| AppendixK |
