Jargon Buster
As a web design geek all the techy lingo that goes with it comes as second nature to me. If you don’t know much about how the internet works or web design the terminology can be very confusing. I have put the following guide together to help explain some of the the more commonly used web design terms.
Actionscript
Is a programming language in Flash that allows the programmer to control the movie play back and the action of objects.
CMS or Content Management Systems
The basic function of a CMS is to provide a way for non-technical web users to edit the content shown on a website. This editing functionality can be as simple as text-only editing and can be sophisticated enough to control all aspects of the website.
CSS
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a template used to define how elements of a web page will be displayed.
HTML
HTML, which stands for HyperText Mark-up Language, is the predominant markup language for web pages. It provides a means to create structured documents by denoting structural semantics for text such as headings, paragraphs, lists etc as well as for links, quotes, and other items. It allows images and objects to be embedded and can be used to create interactive forms. It is written in the form of HTML elements consisting of “tags” surrounded by angle brackets within the web page content. It can include or can load scripts in languages such as JavaScript which affect the behavior of HTML processors like Web browsers; and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to define the appearance and layout of text and other material.
Flash
Adobe Flash (previously Macromedia Flash) is an industry standard program for creating interactive features for websites. It can create; interactive websites, rich media advertisements, instructional media, engaging presentations, games, and more. The output from Flash is known as a Movie and it uses ActionScript script to create such complex properties.
JavaScript
JavaScript is a scripting language developed by Netscape. JavaScript can make web pages more animated and dynamic in terms of graphics and navigation. One of the most common graphic JavaScript effects is called a mouseover, and Javascript navigation is commonly created using drop-down menus.
JPEG
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) is a standard type of image file. It is a very common way to compress and store images for transfer over the Internet.
jQuery
jQuery is a lightweight JavaScript library that emphasizes interaction between JavaScript and HTML.
PHP
The PHP Hypertext Pre-Processor is a programming language that allows web developers to create dynamic content that interacts with databases.
Robots
Tells search engine spiders which pages of a website not to index.
SEO or Search Engine Optimisation
Search Engine Optimisation, the use of various techniques to improve a web site’s ranking in the search engines and thus attract more visitors.
Vector Graphics
Describes images using lines and curves, called vectors, that also include color and position properties. Each vector uses mathematical calculations, instead of bits, to describe the shape, which allows them be scaled without degrading in quality.
