Key Terms
Fundamentals of Full-stack Web Engineering
By Section
Internet and the World Wide Web
Full Course Glossary
There are currently 81 terms in this directory
Application Protocol Layer
This is the TCP/IP layer that is closest to the user and used for application-specific protocols Read more...
Back-end Development
In web development, back-end developers write code that executes on the web server.
Client
In distributed systems, the devices a server provides services or functionality to Read more...
Client-server Model
The client-server model is a distributed system, where one server provides services and resources to multiple clients. Read more...
Database
A database is a structured way of storing information on a server, so the data is easily accessed and manipulated as needed. Read more...
Database Management System (DBMS)
Software programs used to create, define, manipulate, and interact with the database. Read more...
Dedicated Hosting
A web server stores your website. Dedicated hosting means your website gets its own dedicated server. Read more...
Distributed System
A distributed system includes many devices that work together to accomplish a common goal. Read more...
DNS (Domain Name System)
The DNS (Domain Name System) is a naming system for websites. It maps a site’s domain name to its IP address. Read more...
Domain Name
A domain name is the name of a website that is used by the web browser to obtain the website’s IP Address. Read more...
Encryption
Using cryptographic coding to display data in a manner that is unreadable without using the appropriate key. Read more...
Front-end Web Development
Writing code that will execute on the client-side. Front-end files are sent to the web browser.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
FTP is the rules for transferring files over a network, from one computer to another. Read more...
HEAD Method
The HTTP Head method is similar to the GET method, but the response does not include the body. Read more...
Hexadecimal
Hexadecimal uses base 16. Numbers 0-9 represent values 0-9, and letters A-F represent values 10-15. Read more...
HTML
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is the markup language used to display content on the web. Read more...
HTML Element
HTML Elements are individual components of a web page that are created using HTML tags. Read more...
HTML Tag
HTML Tags are commands that are read by the web browser and the basic building block of HTML files. Read more...
HTTP Response
After the web browser makes an HTTP request, the web server sends back an HTTP response containing the web data. Read more...
Internet
The internet is a vast network of networks that computers use to communicate with each other. Read more...
Internet Protocol (IP)
It is the TCP/IP layer that adds IP address to network packets, ensuring they are delivered to the correct recipient. It is responsible for addressing and routing network packets. Read more...
IP Address
IP addresses are unique numbers used to identify devices connected that are connected to the Internet. Read more...
IPv4
There are two IP address formats- IPv4 and IPv6. IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4), the older of the two, has been in use since 1982 and is still used by most devices. Read more...
IPv6
IPv6 addresses are 128 bits divided into eight 16-bit blocks, then written in Hexadecimal with a colon (:) separating each block. Read more...
ISP
An ISP is an internet service provider. The most common type is an Acess ISP, which provides internet access. Read more...
LAN
A LAN (Local Area Network) is a group of devices that are linked together in the same physical location. Read more...
Localhost
The hostname of the computer you are currently using is called localhost. It connects to a local loopback IPv4 address: 127.0. 0.1 Read more...
Nameserver
Nameservers handle DNS (Domain Name System) queries. They are responsible for translating domain names into IP addresses. Wikipedia Article
Network Layer
Also called the hardware or link layer, it converts the binary packet data to network signals. The physical hardware that transmits the signals (i.e., ethernet). See TCP/IP
Network Packet
Before transmitting over the internet, data is divided into smaller pieces called network packets. Read more...
Operating System
An operating system manages the interaction between a device’s hardware and software. Windows, Linux, and macOS are commonly used operating systems.
Packet Switched Network (PSN)
Packet Switched Networks break data down into smaller components called network packets, prior to transmitting the data over a network. Read more..,
Port
In TCP/IP, a port number is added to network packets to identify the specific process the data is related to. It lets the receiving device know which application layer should handle the data.
POST Method
The HTTP request POST method sends data to a web server. It is the most common method used to process web forms. Read more...
Shared Hosting
The hosting company partitioned a web server into several user spaces. Many websites share one server, each receiving its own private server space.
SQL
SQL stands for Structured Query Language and it is the most commonly used type of database. Read more...
Subdomain
Subdomains are prefixes used to partition your domain into different sections. i.e., dic in lamp-stack.com Read more...
TCP/IP
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) is the protocol stack used by the internet. It contains four layers: Application, Transport, IP, Network/Hardware/Link. Read more...
Three-Tier Architecture
A type of client-server model, where data is exchanged between three computing layers (i.e. Web browser, Web Server, Database Server) Read more...
Tunnel Connection
A tunnel connection is used to connect two devices over a network when conditions (i.e., firewall, HTTPS) would otherwise restrict communication.
URI
Each web server resource has a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) that is used by HTTP to identify the appropriate resource.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
The web address. It contains the protocol, domain name, and file path. i.e, https://www.lampp.org
User Input
In computer, programming input is any data that is sent to a computer for it to process. Read more...
Validate
In computer programming, validation is a programmed process of checking data to ensure it makes sense and meets the rules set up by the programmer. When processing web form data, you always want to validate the user’s input.
Virtual Machine (VM)
Software that functions as a separate computer. Oracle VirtualBox and VMware are popular VM software packages.
WAN (Wide Area Network)
A large network that is not constrained by geographic location and often connects many LAN together.
Web Browser
Web browsers, such as Chrome and Firefox, use the Internet to access the data stored on web servers, then display it appropriately to users. Read more...
Web Server Hardware
Web server hardware is the actual machine, typically contained in a secure data center, that stores website data.
Web Server Software
The software on web server hardware that uses HTTP to make the server work. i.e. Apache2
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web. The web is the mass collection of all data used to create web pages. Read more...