Introduction
Address Bar: The long, narrow window at the top of the browser, which shows the Web address (URL) of the site you are currently viewing. In Internet Explorer, the word ‘Address’ appears just to the left of the window. The address bar is automatically filled when you visit a Web page. Alternatively, you can type in the address of a Web page you wish to visit, and click the ‘Go’ button at the right-hand end of the window, to view that Web page.
Browser: A computer program, running on the human user’s PC, which gets information from Web servers and displays it on the screen. These instructions are usually in the computer language HTML.
Email: Email or electronic mail is a service that sends messages across the Internet from one human user to another. Like a letter, email is person-to-person and its stores messages until they are read.
Internet: A large collection of computers, connected together to allow them to share information with one another.
Link: A link, or hyperlink, is a part of a Web page that, if clicked with a mouse, opens a different Web page. Links are usually shown in blue and underlined on a web page.
Online: A word used as shorthand for ‘on the Internet’ or ‘connected to the Internet.
OPAC: (Online Public Access Catalogue)
A library OPAC, is the online version of the catalogue of the library’s holdings. This catalogue will give you information in relation to the item you are looking for, including its location, its status (whether it is in stock
or out on loan).
Portal site: A website that acts as a directory, providing links to many related sites.
PC: Personal Computer.
Web: Also called the WWW or the World Wide Web. A service that sends information over the Internet from Web server programs to Web browser programs. The browser then displays this information to the user on his computer screen.
Website: A website is a collection of Web pages which displays information on a particular topic. Common types of websites include company websites (all about a company), online shops (where you buy goods and services any pay by credit card) and personal websites (where individuals share their interests). A website may consist of just one page of information, but will usually contain several pages, all linked together. All the pages in a website usually share the same ‘domain’ name. For example, all the pages in the large online shop ‘Amazon’ have an address (URL) that starts with
‘www.amazon.com’.
WiFi: Wireless Fidelity, a network allowing Internet access without the need for wires with a compatible laptop (or other device). Places, such as some libraries and airports, that provide access to a WiFi network are called ‘Hot Spots’.
