Module # 7.4.1

Identify telecomputing terms (i.e., telecommunications, direct access, dial-in access, modem, baud rate, Internet, World Wide Web, telnet)

Getting there

BAUD RATE: the speed at which a computer communicates to another.   Higher numbers are faster.  Usually measured in bits per second (like number of computer letters per second).

BROWSER: a client program that enables the user to view and activate graphical files stored on a computer (usually located in a different location).

CLIENT: either a piece of software or a computer that accesses another process run on a different computer.

DIAL-IN ACCESS: a computer connection to another computer system requiring the computer to borrow a telephone line.

DIRECT ACCESS: a computer connection to another computer system that is either connected within a building or outside a building using a permanent connection system.

FTP: file transfer protocol.  Also the programs that can accomplish the transfer of file from one computer to another.

GOPHER: a program and protocol to access interconnected text-based resources.  Mostly replaced with HTTP.

HTTP: the protocol prefix for URL's that are pages to be viewed with a browser.

INTERNET: a world wide system of interconnected computer networks.

IP ADDRESS:  a unique number in the form ###.###.###.###     Each computer functioning on a TCP network must have a unique address.

MODEM: a peripheral that translates computer output into electronic signals useable over telephone lines, and back again.

SERVER: A computer running a process (program) that allows other computers to access files and other activities.

TCP: also called TCP/IP.  A protocol that allows computers to speak to each other over connections.  This specific protocol was developed for the UNIX platform.  This is the only protocol that internet supports.

TELNET: a client program that allows the user to issue commands on a different computer (usually located in a different location).

UNIX: a very old operating system developed for mainframe style computers.  This operating system is very resilient and is used by many computers on internet.

URL: Universal Resource Locator.  An address to a file on a different computer.

WORLD-WIDE WEB: a concept developed in the late 1980's at the National Center for SuperComputer Applications.  This concept is of interconnected resources.   Today it is generally used to refer to pages that are viewed using browser software.