Healthwatch Web Jargon-buster

Transcription

1 Healthwatch Web Jargon-buster

2 Accessibility - The degree to which a website is available to as many people as possible; this includes aspects of development like browser compatibility (making sure that the site can be seen & used on a variety of browsers on different operating systems) through to ensuring that users with disabilities or special needs are given the necessary tools to allow them to use the site to the same degree as anyone else. Android - a Linux-based mobile operating system developed by Google, primarily aimed at touchscreen devices. AJAX - Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, helps websites appear quicker and more responsive. The technique allows a web page to request additional data from a server without requiring a new page to load. Analytics - The measurement and study of web usage data, including pages views, unique visitor numbers, user paths, etc., for the purpose of understanding how and by whom the site is being used. Alt Tag - A metadata field that describes an asset (image, video file, text file, etc.) so that accessibility-enhanced browsers (e.g. screen readers) can understand and explain the nature of that asset to the user. Also tells search engines what the image or asset is. Back-end - A catch-all term for the software and programming that supports the website and is (ideally) invisible to the user, who only interacts with the front-end. The Drupal Content Management Framework is your back end. Bluetooth - a wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances, usually between personal computers and mobile devices. Bot - See web crawler. Browser - a program (e.g. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome) usually running on a computer or mobile device that allows the user to access and navigate the World Wide Web. Cache - A copy of a web page stored by either a search engine or a user s browser. Call-to-action - A site page or element that encourages the user to take action, for example exhortations to sign up for a newsletter, join a forum or download content. CGI - Common Gateway Interface, the interface software between a web server and other machines (and can also be used to describe software running on that server). Many CGI programs are used to add interactivity to a web site. CLI - command line interface, a means of interaction with a computer program where the user issues commands to the program in the form of successive lines of text (command 2

3 lines). The CLI was the primary means of human interaction with most early operating systems (e.g. MS-DOS). CMF - Content Management Framework, similar to a CMS, but with additional capabilities more usually found in a Web Application Framework. CMS - Content Management System, the software that allows users to change or upload new data (text, images, video files, etc.) to their website. Cookie - a small data file written to the user s computer which is used to help websites customise the user experience (e.g. remembering log-in details, user preferences, etc). CSS - Cascading Style Sheet, a method of programming a website that allows for generic attributes (e.g. background colours, page styles, text & image formatting) to be defined and managed once for the whole site, rather than repeatedly on each individual web page. DNS - Domain Name Server, an Internet service which translates user-friendly domain names (URLs) into IP addresses so that machines can find one another over the network. Drupal - An open-source CMF (Content Management Framework) is a back-end system for supporting websites and managing their content. Extranet - An internal computer network that allows controlled access from the outside, for specific business or educational purposes. Flash - Vector graphics-based animation software that is useful due to its flexibility and low file sizes, but also problematic as flash files are difficult for search engines to index and they also create issues with accessibility. Front-end - The interface through which users access the site and its services, effectively a synonym for GUI. GPS - Global positioning system, also shorthand for the method by which a satellite network allows a device to locate itself accurately (usually down to a few metres) on the face of the Earth. GUI - Graphical User Interface, a designed environment that allows users to access a computer s functions through images and point-and-click navigation rather than the typed text commands of a CLI - they are ubiquitous and are integral elements for operating systems (e.g. Windows, OS X), mobile phones, software programs and websites. HTML - Hypertext Mark-up language, the code from which the vast majority of websites are built; most developers currently use HTML 5 (as defined by W3C) 3

4 HTTP - Hypertext Transfer Protocol, is the system that sits on top of TCP/IP, and ensures that sites can connect to one another across the Web. IA - Information Architecture, the structure of a website, usually including a sitemap, page template diagrams, as well as notes on specific features & functions. Intranet - An internal (i.e. not public) computer network that uses IP (Internet Protocol) technology to share information, operational systems, or computing services within an organization. ios - see Mobile Operating System IP Address - Internet Protocol Address, possessed by every computer that is linked to the internet. JavaScript - a scripting language commonly implemented as part of a web browser in order to create enhanced user interfaces and dynamic websites. Linux - an open source computer operating system developed in 1991, now the basis for the likes of Google Android. Metadata - Essentially data about data, metadata is the information that describes a particular asset or function; in the context of websites metadata is primarily for the benefit of effective content management and SEO tools. Meta Tag - the snippet of metadata (meta keywords or meta descriptions) that describes the page (or site) to enable search engines to find and categorise it correctly. Mobile Operating System - Also called a mobile OS, it is the operating system that operates a smartphone, tablet, or other digital mobile devices. Modern mobile operating systems combine the features of a personal computer operating system with a range of other technologies including touchscreen, cellular, Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS mobile navigation, camera, video camera, speech recognition, voice recorder, music player, and NFC. Mobile operating systems include the likes of ios (Mac), Symbian (Nokia) Android (Google) and BlackBerry OS (RIM). NFC - Near field communication, a set of standards for smartphones and similar devices to establish radio communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into close proximity, usually no more than a few centimetres. Open Source - Software that is available to the general public for use without the cost of a licence; Open source software, as it makes the source code available as well, allows developers to modify and build upon the original design to meet their own needs. 4

5 Operating system - software that manages computer hardware resources and provides common services for computer programs. In effect the operating system sits as a layer between the physical components of a computer (hard drive, motherboard, etc) and the applications or programs which are running on that computer. Examples of operating systems include OS X (for Macintosh products), and Windows XP / Vista / Windows 7 (for PCs). OS X - an operating system for Macintosh personal computers; the differing versions of OS X are named after big cats (e.g. OS X 10.7 Lion, OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion ). PHP - Hypertext Preprocessor, is an open source server-side scripting language used to render or add interactivity to web pages. RSS - Rich Site Summary, sometimes called Really Simple Syndication, is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works (such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video) in a standardized format. RSS feeds are accessed through RSS Readers, a type of software that can be web-based, desktop-based, or mobile-devicebased. Screen Reader - a software application that attempts to identify and interpret what is being displayed on the screen - this interpretation is then re-presented to the user with text-to-speech, sound icons, or a Braille output device. Search Engine - a tool designed to search for information on the web; search engines (e.g. Google, Yahoo) use web crawlers to trawl the web in real-time and provide results from websites and accessible databases and open directories SEO - Search Engine Optimisation, the process by which a site is tuned to appear as high as possible in the search return rankings from a given engine. Server - A computer used to store and/or host files and serve them to the web. Secure servers deliver the same functions but are encrypted to protect the data they manage (e.g. credit card details, personal user data, etc). Smartphone - a mobile phone built on a mobile operating system, with more advanced computing capability and connectivity than a standard phone. Now ubiquitous, smartphones are usually either touchscreen (e.g. iphone) or keyboard (e.g. BlackBerry) operated. Social Media - the content and associated communications that derive from the users of a site or service, as opposed to that provided to them. Dedicated social media sites include Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and LinkedIn, but most sites have a social media component 5

6 (allowing comments on articles, providing the ability to repost information to other services, etc). Spider - See web crawler. Subtitles - In video or film playback, subtitles are the contiguous on-screen rendering of text that translates a film s audio or commentary track. Subtitles that are in the same language as the audio or commentary track are usually referred to as captions, and are often a feature of accessibility design. Tablet - a tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a one-piece mobile computer, primarily operated by touchscreen. TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, among the first networking protocols of the Internet, TCP/IP provides end-to-end connectivity specifying how data should be formatted, addressed, transmitted, routed and received at the destination. Touchscreen - an electronic visual display that the user can control through simple or multi-touch gestures by touching the screen with one or more fingers. The touchscreen enables the user to interact directly with what is displayed, rather than using a mouse, touchpad, or any other intermediate device. Traffic - The number of visitors to a website, often broken down by user type, date of visit and visit duration. Traffic analysis is usually an integral part of analytics. Transcript - A textual version of an audio or audio-visual file, a necessary feature for the hearing-impaired or deaf, but one that can also be useful to general users. URL - Uniform Resource Locator, the unique link to any document or data asset on the internet. UCD - User-centred Design, the method of developing websites and technologies based first and foremost on the perceived need of the intended ends users. Usability - the capacity of a user to find or do what he or she wants in the most intuitive, straightforward way possible. Good usability is rarely noticed, bad usability can render a site unworkable. UX - User Experience, a catch-all term that encompasses all aspects of a user s reactions and feelings when using the site/product in question. User experience is most affected by issues of usability, as well as tone, style and visual design. Web a catch-all term for the development of Social Media services and the impact that they have had upon existing online business and interaction models. 6

7 W3C - The World Wide Web Consortium, the body responsible for the international standards of the World Wide Web; it aims to encourage compatibility by setting industrywide standards for core Web elements, e.g. HTML. WAI - The Web Accessibility initiative, set up by the W3C, aims to improve accessibility to the Web; they provide guidelines in a number of development areas which help sitebuilders ensure that their products and services are as accessible as they can be. Web Application Framework - A back-end software system that helps programmers to develop dynamic websites by, for example, facilitating access to databases or helping to standardise templates. Web Crawler - a computer program that browses the World Wide Web in a methodical, automated manner or in an orderly fashion; web crawlers are mainly used to create a copy of all the visited pages for later processing by a search engine that will index the downloaded pages to provide fast searches. Web crawlers are also known as bots or spiders. WiFi - a technology that allows an electronic device to exchange data wirelessly (using radio waves) over a computer network. A device that can use Wi-Fi (such as a personal computer, video-game console, smartphone, tablet, or digital audio player) can connect to a network resource such as the Internet via a wireless network access point (also called a hotspot). WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get, an editing program (usually for websites) where the content (text and graphics) displayed onscreen during editing appears in a form closely corresponding to its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product. XHTML - Extensible Hypertext Mark-up Language, a class of specifications designed to make HTML conform to XML formatting. XML - Extensible Mark-up Language, a programming language that defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. 7