Overview of Terms

Browser	The user interface that one uses to "browse" the World Wide Web. The browsers discussed in this book are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer, although ACUCOBOL-GT applications can be accessed by most Web browsers. This book describes three ways for users to accomplish browser access: 1) by setting up the ACUCOBOL-GT runtime as an Internet helper application or viewer , 2) by using the ACUCOBOL-GT Web Plug-in , and 3) by using CGI to call the ACUCOBOL-GT application.
CGI	Common Gateway Interface. A standard interface for running external programs, or gateways, on a Web server. The Internet Server Application Programming Interface (ISAPI) standard is an alternative to CGI. CGI programs can be written in any language -- including COBOL.
Headers	The information included in the beginning of client requests and server responses using the HTTP model. Request headers contain file type requirements, usernames and passwords, URLs, etc. Response headers contain Web server information, date information, MIME types, etc.
Helper Application	Software installed on a user's machine that has the ability to read and process files of a given type. Synonymous with "viewer." The ACUCOBOL-GT runtime can be set up as a helper application in Netscape Navigator or a viewer in Microsoft Internet Explorer.
HTML	HyperText Markup Language. A language that tells browsers how to present Web pages. HTML uses a header and tags to pass structure, formatting, hyperlink, and form description information to the browser.
HTTP	HyperText Transfer Protocol. The protocol or set of rules used by the World Wide Web to govern the transfer of documents.
Hyperlink	A hot spot in a document or Web site that when clicked, takes you to another location in the same or different document. Also called a Link.
Internet	The largest TCP/IP network in the world. A network that allows global users to exchange information instantly and seamlessly. The infrastructure behind the World Wide Web.
Internet Explorer	Microsoft's browser program. Has become one of the two browser standards used today, alongside Netscape Navigator.
MIME	Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. A set of standards for encoding/decoding and identifying different types of files for transmission across multiple platforms on the Internet.
Netscape Navigator	Netscape's browser program. Has become one of the two browser standards used today, alongside Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Plug-in	A plug-in is an application that extends the built-in capabilities of a Web browser. Plug-ins allow you to view, play, hear, modify or execute a file over the Internet inside the browser without downloading first and then opening or running it using a separate application. Acucorp's plug-in is a special 32-bit version of the ACUCOBOL-GT runtime. It executes COBOL objects inside the user's Web browser.
SSI	Server-Side Includes. Commands in an HTML document that are interpreted by the Web server. SSIs are used when you want to include the contents of another file in the current HTML document or to execute a script whose output will be included in the current HTML document before being sent to the browser client.
Tags	Codes that you use to mark up HTML documents in order to format the document's appearance. Tags indicate to the Web browser how to display and handle portions of the document.
TCP/IP	Transmission control protocol/Internet protocol. The protocol or set of rules used by the Internet and most client/server networks to facilitate communication between computers.
Templates	HTML documents that can be used to provide standard formatting for other HTML documents. Templates save hours of work. They can be used to store common HTML shared by multiple Web pages on a single Web server. This decreases the amount of replication and simplifies the task of maintaining a Web site.
URL	Uniform resource locator. It contains the address or location of a resource on the Internet. The resource may be located on a server or locally on the client machine. The resource can be a file, command or query that is handled using a protocol or access method indicated in the URL prefix. Some common URL prefixes are http, ftp, file, news, javascript, telnet, wais, and gopher.
Viewer	Software installed on a user's machine that has the ability to read and process files of a given type. Synonymous with "helper application." The ACUCOBOL-GT runtime can be set up as a helper application in Netscape Navigator or a viewer in Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Web site	A Web page or a set of related Web pages on the World Wide Web.
World Wide Web	Also known as WWW. A collection of sites or pages that provide access to text, graphics, multimedia, and more over the Internet.