Here are the current definitions to be used for WS Sig Web Hosts Project. If you find any spelling or grammar mistakes, or if you have a suggestion regarding a current or missing term please let me know!
Rod Apeldoorn - rod(-AT-)canowhoopass(-DOT-)com
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The type of server software the host is running. There are many web hosting packages out there, however the two most popular are Apache and IIS. Depending on your needs, you may need to choose one or the other.
Apache is a free open source server package. Despite the cost, it is highly configurable and full of advanced features, which is why the majority of web hosts use it.
Server side support usually includes XSSI, PHP, Perl, and site logging.
Internet Information Services (IIS) is a web server package, which comes with Microsoft's NT Servers. Because it is easy to set up and integrates well with Microsoft networks, IIS is a popular choice for companies.
Server side support usually includes ASP, Front Page Extensions, and site logging.
http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/
A public FTP server is an excellent way to serve larger files, and take some load off of the web server. There are several drawbacks however. The files for the ftp server might be kept in a separate directory or server from your web files, thus making administration more difficult. Limitations are commonly put on FTP servers limiting the number of visitors along with the speed at which they may download.
Who do you talk to when things go wrong? A good web host will take their technical support obligations very seriously however to do so can be expensive. Many lower cost hosts may offer only email support, or none at all.
If you are new to web hosting, it is recommended you look beyond the prices and base your decision more on support issues.
If the web host offers phone support, what hours are they open?
One thing to keep in mind is that many larger companies will move all late night calls to a national or regional call centres.
Does the web host also offer dial-up ISP services? Some people would prefer to deal with one company for all of their online needs.
Security can be improved by dialing directly to the web host to retrieve e-mail and order information. Another way to increase security for order information is to use e-mail encryption.
What is the primary business focus of the company that runs the web host? Of course it is expected all companies will want to say web hosting for this listing, however many derive most of their income from being an ISP or perhaps from their national telecommunications or cable television holdings.
This is just one field to help you decide if the company has the experience and know how to host your site.
Using an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) program is the most popular method to update a web site. Commonly the web host will provide you with a server, username, and a password so you may configure your FTP program.
Many web editing packages support auto updating via FTP including Homesite, Dreamweaver, and FrontPage.
WebDAV stands for Distributed Authoring and Versioning on the World Wide Web. It is a new protocol, which stands to vastly improve the speed and simplicity of updating or managing files on the net.
Currently many programs including Adobe Golive 5, Dreamweaver 4, IIS 5, Office 2000, Apache (with Mod_dav), and WebDrive 3, support WebDAV.
Expect to see this updating method offered by more and more web hosts in the future.
Also known as shell access, telnet is a text based command line driven way to manage your site. It is used mainly for quick edits or to use text based configuration tools.
The FrontPage Server Extensions are a set of programs on a Web server that let users of FrontPage administer, author, and browse a FrontPage-based Web-a structure containing all of the pages, images, subdirectories, and other files that make up a Web site.
Also included are a number of what Microsoft calls "browse time" extensions. These include a hit counter, e-mail form handler, discussion forum, and search tool.
Server Side Includes (SSI) are HTML comments that direct the server to dynamically generate data to be included in the page whenever it is requested. There are different flavours of SSI out there depending what server software your web host is running, and what SSI settings they have enabled.
Nearly every flavour supports the "include file" directive. This is useful for having common headers and footers.
<!--#include file="header.html" -->
Web pages using SSI typically have a .shtml file extension however some web hosts may require another. Ask your web host for details.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/psdk/iisref/serv9i5h.htm
http://httpd.apache.org/docs/howto/ssi.html
Active Server Pages (ASP) is a server side scripting language useful for creating
dynamically generated web pages, which can interface with a database. Microsoft
developed ASP for use on its NT servers.
ASP can be created using any programming language supported by the ActiveX interface
including Visual Basic Script, Java Script, and now even Perl Script.
Web pages using ASP typically have a .asp file extension. The newest version of ASP called ASP.NET also uses the .aspx file extension.
ColdFusion Meta Language (CFML) is a server side scripting language useful for creating dynamically generated web pages, which can interface with a database. Allaire developed CFML to interface with its own ColdFusion application server which can run alongside either Microsoft or Linux web servers.
CFML was designed from the ground up to be an easy to learn tag based scripting language very similar to HTML. It has been rated the best language for e-commerce by several review sites.
Web pages using CFML typically have a .cfm or .cfml file extension.
http://www.allaire.com/products/coldfusion/
Practical Extraction and Report Language (Perl) is a multi purpose programming language that has been adapted for the creation of dynamically generated web pages, which can interface with a database. Perl is free to use, and most popular on Unix and Linux web hosts. There are however versions available for Windows.
Perl is one of the oldest and most popular languages used for the web, as such there is a huge code base developers can draw upon. Most of the newer languages are easier to learn, however not as versatile.
PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a server side scripting language useful for creating dynamically generated web pages, which can interface with a database. PHP is free to use, and is most popular on Unix and Linux web hosts although there are versions available for Windows.
PHP was developed from the ground up to be used as a flexible web based programming language. Because of this, PHP has quickly become one of the most popular languages to write code with.
Web pages using PHP typically have a .php, .php, or .phtml file extension. Ask your web host for details.
Microsoft's low-end database program which many home and business owners may already be familiar with. The connection via the web server and Access database is normally made via ODBC.
Because this is a Microsoft database, normally only Windows hosts offer it.
http://www.microsoft.com/office/access/
Microsoft's high-end relational database management system contains many of the options needed by high traffic or corporate web sites.
Because this is a Microsoft database, normally only Windows hosts offer it.
MySQL is a free open source relational database management system, which is actually one of the fastest on the market.
MySQL is offered mostly by Linux hosts. However there are ports available for Windows.
Oracle is a high-end relational database management system which is widely considered to be the most powerful. Due to the high cost, few web hosts can afford to offer it however.
Oracle is available for both Linux and Windows platforms.
PostgreSQL is a free open source relational database management system. It has several features not available on other free dbms's including triggers and sub-selects.
Btw, it is pronounced post-gress-cue-ell.
PostgreSQL is available only for Linux.
Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) is a system for encrypting, decrypting, and digitally signing email. PGP is based upon the use of public and private keys. The public key can be distributed to anyone whom you wish to receive encrypted messages from, and the private key is used by you to unencrypt those messages.
Often web designers use the web hosts e-mail system to transfer sensitive information generated by their web site (such as credit card numbers). Because POP3 email is generally transferred as plain text, this sensitive information can be intercepted and read in mid transit.
PGP packages are available free on the Internet from a variety of sources. After installing, you would need to generate your own key pair. The web host would require a copy of your public key.
POP 3 SSL is a method of transferring email via an encrypted secure socket layer to an SSL enabled email client.
Often web designers use the web hosts e-mail system to transfer sensitive information generated by their web site (such as credit card numbers). Because POP3 email is generally transferred as plain text, this sensitive information can be intercepted and read in mid transit.
SSL enabled email clients include:
A counter gadget is useful for visually keeping track of how many times a web page has been accessed. Some do this by using .gif images, others by embedding plain text in your page.
A basic form processor gadget accepts input from a custom html form and then will email it to the web site owner. Some web hosts offer more advanced versions.
Guestbook gadgets are useful for allowing visitors to write a greeting message to a page on your site.
A shopping cart is a fairly complex system to securely keep track of customers along with their purchases as they move through an online store. Upon checkout, the system should also provide a method to accept and possible verify payment, then deliver final purchase information to the merchant and customer.
Some web hosts provide shopping cart solutions that have been tested to work with their own servers. Using these can make development of an ecommerce site much quicker and easier, though with the possible loss of portability and customization.
Email auto responders are used to automatically send a premade email reply as soon as a message reaches the web hosts email server. Often these can be configured to check for certain keywords in the subject or body.
Common reasons for using an autoresponder include confirming the email was received, sending common support information, or vacation notices.
Email forwarding is used to bounce email to another account possibly on another server.
It is not uncommon for customers to want all of their email forwarded to one server. Companies may want all email for an ex-employee to be forwarded to another box.
The automatic filtering or blocking of unwanted email is a great time saver. Some web hosts provide ways to optionally block email from individual addresses or block general spam.
A mailing list server manages the sending of email to groups of people. Often there is an automated way for people to opt in and out.
There are 3 standard modes most email servers can operate.
Web site statistics are useful for determining the health of a web site, providing a wealth of information that is useful both for the site designer and the site owner.
Web stats often include information on:
Some web hosts will provide raw site logs allowing the designer to store and compile their own statistics. Raw logs can be very large however.
A Real Server allows the streaming of Real Audio and Real Video without requiring the client to download the complete file before playing. Newer versions of the server also provide streaming of other formats including mp3.
A web interface allows web host clients to easily view, add, or change options all from one location.
Common web interface options include:
An uptime guarantee is an assurance that a site will be up a certain percentage of the time or else all or a portion of the hosting fee shall be returned.
Many hosts who offer this guarantee limit it to exclude forces outside of their
control, or during periods of scheduled maintenance.
Quickie Menu
Features
Updating Options
Server Side Programming Languages
Databases
Secure Email
Web Gadgets
Email Options
Miscellaneous