Web Related Abbreviations List

This article contains a list of commonly used abbreviations on the internet. All abbreviations on the list also have a short description on the subject and some links to other related articles, etc.

Letter	Abbreviation		Definition
A	Ajax	Asynchronous JavaScript and XML	Allows web apps to make quick, incremental updates to the user interface.
	ASCII	American Standard Code for Information Interchange	Code for representing English characters as numbers.
	ASP	Application Service Provider	Manages and distributes software-based services and solutions to customers.
B	B	Byte	8 Bits.
	BBS	Bulletin Board System	Also known as a forum.
	Bit	Binary DigIT	Smallest unit of information on a machine.
	Blog	weB LOG	A publicly accessible personal journal updated regularly.
	BPS	Bits Per Second	Standard measure of data transmission speeds.
C	CGI	Common Gateway Interface	A specification for transferring information between a World Wide Web server and a CGI program.
	CMS	Content Management System	Software installed on a website allowing management of content on the website.
	cPanel	Control Panel	A popular website administration tool used by many website hosting providers.
	CSS	Cascading Style Sheet	Stylesheets that define how different elements such as headers & links appear.
D	DB	DataBase	A collection of information organised in a way that a computer program can quickly select desired pieces of data.
	DHTML	Dynamic HyperText Markup Language	Web pages that use a combination of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.
	DNS	Domain Name System/Server	An internet service that translates domain names into IP addresses.
E	Email	Electronic Mail	The transmission of messages over communications networks.
F	FAQ	Frequently Asked Questions	Documents that list and answer the most common questions on a particular subject.
	FF	FireFox	Web browser.
	FTP	File Transfer Protocol	Protocol for transferring files over the internet.
G	GIF	Graphic Interchange Format	A bit-mapped graphics file format limited to 256 colours. More Information >>
	GB	Gigabyte	1024MB
H	HTML	HyperText Markup Language	The coding language used to create hypertext documents on the web.
	HTTP	HyperText Transfer Protocol	The protocol for moving hypertext files across the internet.
I	IE	Internet Explorer	Web browser.
	IMAP	Internet Message Access Protocol	Used to access messages from a server.
	IP	Internet Protocol	Specifies the format of packets, also called datagrams, and the addressing scheme.
	IRC	Internet Relay Chat	Enables people connected anywhere on the internet to join in live discussions.
	ISP	Internet Service Provider	Refers to a company that provides internet services, including personal and business access to the internet.
	IT	Information Technology	The broad subject concerned with all aspects of managing and processing information.
J	JDK	Java Development Kit	A software development kit for producing Java programs.
	JPEG	Joint Photographic Experts Group	Uses a lossy compression technique for colour images. More Information >>
	JS	JavaScript	A scripting language developed by Netscape to enable web authors to design interactive sites.
K	KB	Kilobyte	1024B
L	LAN	Local Area Network	A computer network limited to the immediate area, usually the same building or floor of a building.
M	MB	Megabyte	1024KB
	MIME	Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions	Specification for formatting non-ASCII messages so that they can be sent over the internet.
	Modem	MOdulator, DEModulator	A device or program that enables a computer to transmit data by converting digital & analog signals.
	MUD	Multi-User Dimension	A multi-user simulation environment.
N	NIC	Network Information Center	Any office that handles information for a network.
P	PDF	Portable Document Format	A file format that provides an electronic image of text or text and graphics that looks like a printed document and can be viewed, printed, and electronically transmitted.
	Perl	Practical Extraction & Report Language	A high-level programming language used in many applications running on the world wide web.
	PHP	PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor	An open source, server-side, HTML embedded scripting language used to create dynamic web pages.
	PM	Private Message	Like an e-mail sent from one user to another user on an internet forum, bulletin board system, social networking site or chat room.
	PNG	Portable Network Graphics	Bit-mapped image format that employs lossless data compression. Created to improve upon & replace GIF. More Information >>
	POP	Post Office Protocol	Used for downloading email messages.
	PPP	Point to Point Protocol	A method of connecting a computer to the internet.
	PS	PhotoShop	Image editing software from Adobe.
	PSP	Paint Shop Pro	Image editing software from Corel.
R	RSS	Really Simple Syndication	A standardized system for the distribution of content, especially news, from an online publisher to internet users.
S	SEO	Search Engine Optimisation	The use of various techniques to improve a web site's ranking in the search engines and thus attract more visitors.
	SSI	Server Side Includes	A server side scripting language on apache servers.
	SMTP	Simple Mail Transfer Protocol	Used in sending & receiving email.
	SQL	Structured Query Language	An international standard for database manipulation.
	SSL	Secure Socket Layer	A computing protocol that ensures the security of data sent via the internet by using encryption.
T	TB	Terabyte	1024GB
	TCP/IP	Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol	Basic communication language of the internet.
	TLD	Top Level Domain	Eg. .com, .net, .org
U	UDP	User Datagram Protocol	An internet protocol which transmits data packets without error checking.
	URI	Uniform Resource Identifier	A string of characters used to identify a name or a resource on the internet.
	URL	Uniform Resource Locator	The address of a web page on the world wide web.
V	VOIP	Voice Over IP	A communications protocol that allows for telephonic communication via the internet.
	VPN	Virtual Private Network	Imitation of a secluded intranet on the web, enabling secure traffic of encrypted data.
	VPS	Virtual Private Server	A method of splitting a server using software thus allowing each server to run it's own operating system.
W	WAN	Wide Area Network	Comprises LAN's in different geographic locations that are connected, often over the public network.
	WiFi	Wireless Fidelity	A local area network that uses high frequency radio signals to transmit and receive data over distances of a few hundred feet.
	WWW	World Wide Web	Commonly known as The Web, is a system of interlinked hypertext documents contained on the internet. With a web browser, one can view web pages that may contain text, images, videos, and other multimedia and navigate between them by using hyperlinks.
X	XHTML	eXtensible HyperText Markup Language	An HTML system for tagging text files to achieve font, color, graphic, and hyperlink effects on World Wide Web pages, incorporating user-defined elements.
	XML	eXtensible Markup Language	A set of rules for encoding documents electronically.
	XUL	eXtensible User-interface Language	Application of XML that defines various user interfaces elements, mostly widgets, control elements, template, etc.

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