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Glossary of Technical Terms

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

The lexicon of the wired world is rife with semi-words, made-up phrases and a multitude of acronyms. But perhaps that was inevitable in a world where different kinds of technology are all converging in the workplace. This glossary is derived from several resources, but draws most heavily from www.whatis.com, a comprehensive and refreshingly free-of-advertising Web site of technology nomenclature. Other sources are the reports generated by the W3C, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter's technology research team and the various CNet help features on www.help.com.

ACK (Acknowledge)
An acknowledgement (approval) from an authorized point of contact for a domain name record, contact record, or host record that a requested modification should be completed. When a modification request is received from a source that is not an authorized contact, the request will be rejected and a message will be sent to the listed contacts asking them to ACK (approve) or NAK (disapprove) the modification.

Application Service Provider (ASP)
An online outsourcing or hosting service for software applications, typically for large businesses with hundreds of users or more. ASP users "rent" instead of buy applications, such as many back-office and e-commerce applications. Many experts expect the use of ASPs to grow very quickly in the coming years, but others aren't convinced it's economical for many businesses. For now, expect ASPs to cater mostly to Fortune 500 companies.

Architecture
How components of a system are connected to, and operate with, each other. Architecture manages voice, video, data and text--everything that travels on a network. Descriptions of architecture include the ability of the system to carry narrow, medium and broadband signals. It also describes how seamlessly a system can grow--or, in other words, how much it will cost to make it grow.

ASCII-armored
A feature of Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), which "EnCase®s" an encrypted message in ASCII, allowing the message to be sent via e-mail as a regular message.

Active Server Pages (ASP)
Microsoft's Active Server Pages (ASP) technology provides a framework for building dynamic HTML pages which enable Internet and Intranet applications to be interactive.

Authentication
The process of verifying a user's identity. In an electronic transaction, authentication allows the recipient to have confidence in both the identity of the sender and the integrity of the message. Your account number and password are essential to the authentication process.

Auto Responder
An automated program that acknowledges receipt of an e-mail message (e.g., a Domain Name Registration Agreement, a question, or some other type of electronic correspondence) and creates a tracking number for the e-mail message. The auto responder sends the acknowledgment via e-mail to the requester; the subject line of the e-mail message will contain the tracking number.

Auto-parser
An automated program that extracts information from the fields in the registration forms. The auto-parser will detect errors or incomplete information in the registration forms. Upon receipt of complete and correct registration forms, the auto-parser enters the appropriate data into the domain name database.

Biometrics
The science of measuring and analyzing biological features of humans. The stuff of science-fiction movies, it is used to scan retina patterns, measure and match fingerprints, voice patterns, etc., for authenticating someone. Biometrics is still an emerging technology, but is considered by many in the industry as a sure bet to replace passwords.

Cache
A cache (pronounced CASH) is a place to store something more or less temporarily. Web pages you request are stored in your browser's cache directory on your hard disk. That way, when you return to a page you've recently looked at, the browser can get it from the cache rather than the original server, saving you time and the network the burden of some additional traffic. Computers include caches at several levels of operation, including cache memory and a disk cache. Caching can also be implemented for Internet content by distributing it to multiple servers that are periodically refreshed.

Carnivore
Carnivore is the Internet surveillance system developed by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who developed it to monitor the electronic transmissions of criminal suspects.

Carnivore is an application installed with an Internet service provider (ISP) to keep court-ordered tabs on a criminal suspect's e-mail and instant messages. It works much like a commercial sniffer and other network diagnostic tools. Carnivore has a unique ability to distinguish between communications that have been authorized for interception and those it does not have the right to search.

The FBI officially began the Carnivore project, under the name "Omnivore," in February 1997. Some security software vendors now claim to have developed alternatives to Carnivore. Carnivore could also lead to a rise in encryption software for Internet transactions, which would make such "sniffer" tools less effective.

The FBI explains Carnivore on its Web site.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) discusses its objections to Carnivore.

SearchSecurity.com provides news and links to more information about Carnivore.

Common Gateway Interface (CGI)
Common Gateway Interface, or CGI, permits interactivity between a client and a host operating system through the World Wide Web via the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP). It's a standard for external gateway programs to interface with information servers, such as HTTP or Web servers. A plain HTML document that the Web server delivers is static, which means it doesn't change. A CGI program, on the other hand, is executed in real-time, so that it can output dynamic information - perhaps a weather reading, or the latest results from a database query. CGI allows someone visiting your Web site to run a program on your machine that performs a specified task.

Chief Information Officer
The CIO makes the computer systems go. The title is usually given to the person responsible for the computer systems, but it has come to encompass a broad range of duties, including the setting of strategic direction. A CIO makes sure a company has the right information technology to achieve its business goals.

Client Server
Computers on a local area network that the user (the client) can request information or applications from. More recently, however, client servers have come to refer to a computing system that splits the workload between desktop workstations and one or more larger computers joined on a network.

Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC)
A company that competes with the established local telephone company by providing its own network and switching. Such companies arose from the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which was intended to promote competition among both long-distance and local phone service providers. CLECs often provide various kinds of Internet connectivity and broadband services, usually in partnership with other providers.

Cookies
A cookie is a small text file that is stored on your computer. Website programs, such as our online ordering system, create these text files to record information about you and your preferences. Our online ordering system, for example, needs to create these text files to record the items you add to your shopping cart. Others may use these text files to record your personal preferences for, say, a news briefing or sports scores.. Most cookies expire after a certain time period

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
Cascading Style Sheets allow you to control the rendering of fonts, colors, leading, margins, typefaces, and other aspects of style, of a Web document without compromising its structure.

Data Mining
The use of sophisticated search engines that use statistical algorithms to discover patterns and correlations in otherwise unrelated data. It's used as a way to find knowledge buried in the vast mountain of information either on the Internet or in a companies own files.

Dedicated Hosting
A server that is dedicated to the traffic to your Web site. Only very busy sites require dedicated hosting. Indeed, many companies purchase their own servers and set them up at a Web-hosting facility that provides fast access to the Internet. This practice is called co-location.

DHTML
"Dynamic HTML" is the combination of HTML, style sheets and scripts that allows documents to be animated. Dynamic HTML allows a web page to change after it's loaded into the browser --there doesn't have to be any communication with the web server for an update. You can think of it as 'animated' HTML. For example, a piece of text can change from one size or color to another, or a graphic can move from one location to another, in response to some kind of user action, such as clicking a button.

Digital Signature (Digital ID)
The digital equivalent of an authentic, handwritten signature. A digital signature is a piece of data attached to an electronic file, asserting that the owner of the digital signature wrote or authorized the file.

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
High-bandwidth information delivery to homes and small businesses over ordinary copper telephone lines. First installed in 1998, most businesses in urban areas, where the service is most prevalent, can receive data at up to 6.1 megabits (millions of bits) per second. But more typically data can be received over DSL at about 1.544 megabits per second and can be sent at about 128 kilobits per second. DSL is expected to replace ISDN in many areas and to compete with cable modems in bringing multimedia and 3-D to homes and small businesses.

Domain
A subset of the total domain name space. A domain represents a level of the hierarchy in the Domain Name Space, and is represented by a domain name. For example, the domain name galeit.com represents the second level domain galeit which is a subset, or sub-domain, of the top-level domain com, which is in turn a larger subset of the total Domain Name Space. If you think of the Domain Name Space as a tree, a domain would be analogous to a limb and would encompass all of the branches off of that limb.

Domain Name
An addressing construct used for identifying and locating computers on the Internet. Domain names provide a system of easy-to-remember Internet addresses, which can be translated by the Domain Name System (DNS) into the numeric addresses (Internet Protocol (IP) numbers) used by the network. A domain name is hierarchical and often conveys information about the type of entity using the domain name. A domain name is simply a label that represents a domain, which is a subset of the total domain name space. Domain names at the same level of the hierarchy must be unique. Thus, for example, there can be only one .COM at the top-level of the hierarchy, and only one galeit.com at the next level of the hierarchy.

Domain Name Space
An Internet addressing scheme that is hierarchical in nature and uses a "tree" structure to organize information that describes networks and computers. The domain name space is the sum total of domain names that currently represent networks and computers, as well as all of the possible domain names - not yet in use - which may potentially represent networks and computers. Also, the realm of networks, computers, and other network devices that can be described and represented by the Domain Name System (DNS).

Domain Name System (DNS)
A distributed database of information that is used to translate domain names, which are easy for humans to remember and use, into Internet Protocol (IP) numbers, which are what computers need to find each other on the Internet. People working on computers around the globe maintain their specific portion of this database, and the data held in each portion of the database is made available to all computers and users on the Internet. The DNS comprises computers, data files, software, and people working together.

E Commerce
Electronic Commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services or the transfer of money over the Internet or an Intranet. This can involve stores or banking activities. Standards have been established to make the process easier and more secure.

Electronic Data Interchange
The process of creating standardized forms of documents used by the systems of two different companies. The typical use is a simple online ordering form that is standardized for both the customer and the supplier.

Encryption
A highly secure method of guarding sensitive information traveling over the Internet by scrambling and encoding data so that only the intended recipient can read the information. When you purchase a service, your credit card information is encrypted to protect it from unauthorized access.

Encrypted Password
A password that has been "scrambled" to protect it from being discovered and used by someone other than the person to whom it belongs. Encrypted passwords generally have an equivalent "clear-text password." allowing the use of encrypted passwords, which help to ensure that modification of a domain name record, contact record, or host record can only be completed by an authorized source.

Enterprise Resource Planning
ERP is the use of complex applications employed by large businesses to manage inventory and integrate all the different processes of a business across multiple divisions and organizational boundaries. Used typically on an intranet, it allows different parts of vast enterprises to speak a common language and share information more readily.

Ethernet
The most popular form of local area network. Invented by Xerox Corp., it typically uses coaxial cable or other special grades of wiring that can provide high-speed communication to users on a network.

Exchanges
In Internet-speak, a two-sided marketplace where buyers and sellers negotiate prices, usually with a bid-and-ask system. Exchanges are typically centered around specific industries, where all the users can compare and contrast products and services based on common standards.

Extranet
A closed network that is set up to conduct business among an organization's employees, between an organization and its customers, and between an organization and its suppliers. Extranets typically include Web sites that provide information to employees and also have secure areas to provide information to customers and other outsiders with whom an organization wants to give limited access to its own network.

Firewall
A set of related programs that protects a private network from intruders. Firewalls are typically installed along with router programs and keep outsiders from accessing information on an intranet. But it also typically is used to prevent users on an intranet from bringing in unwanted stuff from the Internet.

Gateway
A connection from one network to another. The Internet is often described as a set of networks all connected by gateways. Gateways also involve the use of routers and switches.

Guardian
An authorization and authentication scheme that helps protect domain name records, contact records, and host records from unauthorized updates. Guardian helps support secure registration transactions in an automated environment. It also provides flexible security mechanisms that can accommodate changes in organizations, personnel, and security needs.

HTML
Hypertext markup language is the language of the World Wide Web. It is a set of markup symbols or codes inserted in a file that tell an Internet browser how to display a Web page.

Internet Architecture Board (IAB)

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)
The function that currently oversees registration for various Internet Protocol parameters, such as port numbers, protocol and enterprise numbers, options, codes, and types. The IANA function is currently located at the Information Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California in Marina del Rey, CA.The Internet Architecture Board oversees the development of Internet standards and protocols, and acts as a liaison between the Internet Society (ISOC) and other standards bodies.

Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG)
The Internet Engineering Steering Group acts as the operational management arm of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
An international, voluntary body consisting of network designers, engineers, researchers, vendors, and other interested individuals who work together to address and resolve technical and operational problems on the Internet and develop Internet standards and protocols. The IETF, which was formed by the Internet Architecture Board (IAB), meets three times a year, however the bulk of the collaboration and work takes place on the various mailing lists maintained by its participants.

Internet Protocol (IP) Numbers (IP addresses): A unique, numeric identifier used to specify hosts and networks. Internet Protocol (IP) numbers are part of a global, standardized scheme for identifying machines that are connected to the Internet. Technically speaking, IP numbers are 32 bit addresses that consist of four octets, and they are expressed as four numbers between 0 and 255, separated by periods, for example: 216.168.224.69. IP allocation for the Americas, the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa are currently handled by the American Registry for Internet Numbers.

Internet Service Provider (ISP)
A person, organization, or company that provides access to the Internet. In addition to Internet access, many ISPs provide other services such as Web hosting, Domain Name Service, and other proprietary services.

InterNIC
The "InterNIC", a registered service mark of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is a concept for an integrated network information center that was developed by several companies in cooperation with the U.S. Government. Currently, the term "InterNIC" is being used in conjunction with a neutral, stand alone web page (located at http://www.internic.net) that has been established to provide the public with information regarding Internet domain name registration.

Intranet
A private network within a company or organization. Typically, an intranet of several computers is linked to the Internet through some kind of gateway, so that a company can share information among insiders and also, where appropriate, share it with outsiders on the Internet (a setup that's also called an extranet). In essence, it is a miniature version of the Internet, and is usually accessed using the same browser technology.

Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)
Integrated services digital network is a system for digital transmission of data over telephone copper wires. Home and business users who install an ISDN adapter (in place of a modem) can access data, including graphics-intensive Web pages, at speeds up to 128 kilobits per second. ISDN requires adapters at both ends of the transmission, so your Internet service provider also needs an ISDN adapter. ISDN is generally available from the phone company in most urban areas.

JAVA
A programming language developed by Sun Microsystems, Java has evolved into one of the hottest programming languages for the World Wide Web allowing programmers to integrate animation, music, audio, dialog boxes, and secure transactions into state-of-the-art Web pages - JAVA Glossary

Java was originally called OAK, and was designed for handheld devices and set-top boxes. Oak was unsuccessful so in 1995 Sun changed the name to Java and modified the language to take advantage of the burgeoning World Wide Web.

Java is an object-oriented language similar to C++, but simplified to eliminate language features that cause common programming errors. Java source code files (files with a .java extension) are compiled into a format called bytecode (files with a .class extension), which can then be executed by a Java interpreter. Compiled Java code can run on most computers because Java interpreters and runtime environments, known as Java Virtual Machines (VMs), exist for most operating systems, including UNIX, the Macintosh OS, and Windows. Bytecode can also be converted directly into machine language instructions by a just-in-time compiler (JIT).

Java is a general purpose programming language with a number of features that make the language well suited for use on the World Wide Web. Small Java applications are called Java applets and can be downloaded from a Web server and run on your computer by a Java-compatible Web browser, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer.

JAVA Script
JavaScript is a compact, object-based scripting language for developing client and server Internet applications. JavaScript statements can be embedded directly in an HTML page. These statements can recognize and respond to user events such as mouse clicks, form input, and page navigation. For example, you can write a JavaScript function to verify that users enter valid information into a form. Without any network transmission, an HTML page with embedded JavaScript can interpret the entered text and alert the user with a message dialog if the input is invalid. Or you can use JavaScript to perform an action (such as play an audio file, execute an applet, or communicate with a plug-in) in response to the user opening or exiting a page.

Key-ring
A pair of keys that consists of both a public key and its corresponding private key. Key-rings are used in public-key encryption systems such as Pretty Good Privacy (PGP). Data encrypted with someone's public key can only be decrypted with the corresponding private key, and vice versa. Key-rings are associated with an encryption system known as Pretty Good Privacy (PGP).

Legacy
A word often bandied about by information technology consultants, "legacy" refers to an application or information system into which a company has invested a lot of time and money. For many companies to install fancy new software and hardware, it must be able to marry up to its legacy system. Legacy systems are typically viewed as an unfortunate but unavoidable impediment to large-scale upgrades.

Mail exchange record (MX record)
A MX record is an entry in a domain name system database that directs the routing of mail transfer agents to send information from one location and to receive it at another.

Middleware
A type of software that allows other types of software to talk to each other. But the definition of middleware is changing all the time, and is often used to describe any software system that is invisible to the user, but makes two or more software applications work seamlessly together.

NAK (No Acknowledgement)
An "negative" acknowledgement (disapproval) from an authorized point of contact for a domain name record, contact record, or host record that a requested modification should not be completed. When a modification request is received from a source that is not an authorized contact, the request will be rejected and a message will be sent to the listed contacts asking them to ACK (approve) or NAK (disapprove) the modification.

Name Server
Also called a host or a name server. A computer that has both the software and the data (zone files) needed to resolve domain names to Internet Protocol (IP) numbers.

Name Service
Providing individuals or organizations with domain name-to-Internet Protocol (IP) number resolution by maintaining and making available the hardware, software, and data needed to perform this function. Many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) operate name servers and provide their customers with name service when they register a domain name. Most individuals are not in a position to operate a name server on their own and will need to make arrangements for name service with an ISP or some other person or organization.

National Science Foundation (NSF)
An independent U.S. government agency that sponsors, funds, and fosters research and development in science and engineering. The NSF, recognizing that networks would play a crucial role in scientific communication, became involved in wide area networking in the mid 1980s and founded NSFNET, which connected academic and research institutions. NSFNET was later connected to the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), and eventually developed into the network that we now refer to as the Internet. The NSF has gradually transitioned its role and responsibility in the Internet to the private sector, however it continues to be involved in a number of experimental networking efforts.

NIC Handle
A NIC Handle is a unique identifier, which can be up to 10 alpha-numeric characters, assigned to each domain name record, contact record, and network record in the domain name database. NIC handles should be used on registration forms whenever possible, as they save time and help to ensure accuracy in the records.

Outsourcing
Contracting out a company's functions to outsiders. It could include everything from running a phone system to customer relations. Senior management typically likes outsourcing because it provides a level of certainty and accountability. Middle management generally dislikes it because it means, at the least, that they give up power and, at the worst, they get fired. Wired companies, conceivably, could outsource nearly everything.

Pretty Good Privacy (PGP)
A commonly used encryption system, invented by Phillip Zimmerman. PGP is based on public key encryption. With PGP, you have a "private key" and a "public key". You use your private key to sign your documents, and your public key is on key rings of your choosing around the Internet. You must add your key to the key ring in order to use this option.

The first thing you should do if you want to use PGP is find and download PGP software, which is available both commercially and as freeware. A good place to start your search is at the PGP website. Specific instructions for using PGP technology will vary with the PGP software you select.

Most Windows^TM-based e-mail software converts e-mail message to MIME format. If your e-mail software converts your mail messages to MIME format, PGP is not a good option for you. In fact, PGP signed messages sent from a computer using any platform other than UNIX have risks.

Plug-Ins
Plug-ins are software programs that extend the capabilities of the browser you are using, giving you for example, the ability to do things like download and display or hear audio, video, animation, and special image viewing files. Software companies are developing plug-ins at a phenomenal rate, so check back here frequently to download the latest programs.

Private Key Encryption
An encryption method in which both the sender and recipient of a message share a single, common key that is used to both encrypt and decrypt the message.

Public Key Encryption
An encryption method that uses the concept of a key-ring. The key-ring has two keys - a public key that is made available to everyone and a private, or secret, key that is known only by the private key holder. The public and private keys are designed to work together. Anyone can use the public key to encrypt data, but only the person with the corresponding private key can decrypt the data; this helps to protect the content of messages. Alternatively, anyone can use the public key to decrypt data, but only if it was encrypted with the corresponding private key; this helps to ensure the identity of the person sending the data. Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) is a type of Public Key Encryption.

PGP Public Key Server
A database of information that can be queried to find someone's public key.

Registry
A registry is responsible for delegating Internet addresses such as Internet Protocol (IP) numbers and domain names, and keeping a record of those addresses and the information associated with their delegation. Examples of regional IP registries include Reseaux IP Europeens (RIPE), Asian-Pacific Network Information Center (APNIC), and the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN). Examples of domain name registries include Registry operation (com, net, and org) and the ISO 3166 country code registries (e.g., fr, de, uk, us).

Resolve
The term used to describe the process by which domain names are matched with corresponding Internet Protocol (IP) numbers. "Resolution" is accomplished by a combination of computers and software, referred to as name servers, which use the data in the Domain Name System to determine which IP numbers correspond to a particular domain name.

Root server
A machine that has the software and data needed to locate name servers that contain authoritative data for the top-level domains (e.g., root servers know which name servers contain authoritative data for com, net, fr, uk. etc.). The root servers are, in fact, name servers and contain authoritative data for the very top of the Domain Name System (DNS) hierarchy. Currently, technical specifications limit the number of root servers to 13. These machines are located around the globe, in the U.S., the U.K., Sweden, and Japan.

Router
A device or, in some cases, software, that figures out how to send information to its destination. The router is connected to at least two networks and decides which way to send data based on what's going on inside the networks. Located at juncture points, routers are the traffic system of the Internet.

Secure Online Payment System:
A system that allows customers to pay fees 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by entering their credit card information directly via the Web. The system provides a fast and secure method of payment and requires that the customer have a browser that will support Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

Server Farm
A group of servers housed together in one location. The server farm usually functions as an off-site location where businesses store raw data, Web pages and online functions, or any combination of these. Depending on the company running the server farm and the level of service provided, the servers can have individual operating systems or a shared operating system, and may also be set up to balance the load of information requests across a number of severs when demand is high.

Server Side Includes (SSI)
A SSI is a command or directive placed in an HTML file through the use of a comment line. With a simple SSI command you can update an entire site design, dynamically add the current time and date or the date a file was last modified, execute shell and CGI scripts and more!

Sniffer
A sniffer is a program that monitors and analyzes network traffic, detecting bottlenecks and problems. Using this information, a network manager can keep traffic flowing efficiently.

A sniffer can also be used legitimately or illegitimately to capture data being transmitted on a network. A network router reads every packet of data passed to it, determining whether it is intended for a destination within the router's own network or whether it should be passed further along the Internet. A router with a sniffer, however, may be able to read the data in the packet as well as the source and destination addresses. Sniffers are often used on academic networks to prevent traffic bottlenecks caused by file-sharing applications such as Napster or Gnutella.

Switch
A network device that decides a path on which to send a piece of data to its next destination. A switch usually includes the function of the router--a device or program that comes up with the best way to send data over a network. In general, a switch is a simpler and faster mechanism than a router, which requires knowledge about the network and how to determine the route.

Supply Chain Management
Coordinating processes involved in producing, shipping and distributing products. Typically used by large manufacturers, it employs the Internet and often highly specialized software to make manufacturing more efficient.

TCP/IP
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet protocol is the basic communication language, or protocol, of the Internet. Every computer with access to the Internet has a copy of the TCP/IP program that allows it to communicate with every other computer on the Internet--or at least every other computer that wants to send and receive messages.

Viral
A very apt name for a very common phenomenon on the Internet: self-propagating practices or patterns of behavior. Napster, the soon-to-be-outlawed music copying service, is a viral service, as are other forms of community-oriented platforms that, as they grow, work better and faster.

VeriSign Server Digital ID: Server Digital IDs are used in much the same way that a business license or articles of incorporation are used in the real world to provide verification of an organization's identity to the people with whom the organization does business. VeriSign Server Digital IDs, which are the IDs available from VeriSign, Inc., are used by organizations wanting to authenticate Web sites, establish secure sessions and enable vertical applications such as Internet Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). Digital IDs make it possible for a Web site to assure visitors of its true identity, enabling users to avoid fraudulent or spoofed Web sites. Digital IDs for servers also enable Web sites to establish secure sessions with visitors - a private connection over the Internet that cannot be penetrated by external parties. The Server Digital IDs provided by VeriSign Inc. are backed by information from sources such as Dun & Bradstreet.

Web hosting
The function of housing, serving and maintaining files for one or more Web sites. Web hosts offer super-fast connections and easy access to the backbone of the Internet. Many Internet service providers, such as America Online, offer free, basic Web site hosting for members. But more complex Web sites are increasingly hosted by companies such as Digex.com and Ehost.com.

Whois
A searchable database which contains information about networks, networking organizations, domain names, and the contacts associated with them for the com, org, net, edu, and ISO 3166 country code top-level domains. Also, the protocol, or set of rules, that describes the application used to access the database. Other organizations have implemented the Whois protocol and maintain separate and distinct Whois databases for their respective domains.

XML
Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a subset of Standard Generalised Markup Language (SGML), a simple coding language using generic semantics that are appropriate for representing information from a wide range of domains. XML is extensible because it is a meta language, which enables one to write a Document Type Definition (DTD) and define the rules of the language so the document can be interpreted by the document receiver. The purpose of XML is to provide an easy to use subset of SGML that allows for custom tags to be processed. Custom tags will enable the definition, transmission and interpretation of data structures between organizations.

Zone
A portion of the total domain name space that is represented by the data stored on a particular name server. The name server has authority over the zone - or the particular portion of the domain name space - described by that data.

Zone File
A file that contains data describing a portion of the domain name space. Zone files contain the information needed to resolve domain names to Internet Protocol (IP) numbers.