Wildmoz Internet Glossary A-Z

Your Handy Glossary P:

Packet:
Packet is a formatted unit of data transmitted over a network. Formatted packets have no set size; they are transmitted as a series of bits, bytes or characters and range from a single to hundreds of characters. See Network in the glossary.

Pagination:
Pagination is separating content (material) into distinct pages and styles. This action in IT, applies to the electronic publishing phenomenon using rules and algorithms for page structuring. Can also be applied to printing in the conventional printing format from a computer.

Path:
Path refers to the method or route by which files can be accessed through the Hard Drive. This is done by giving the files directory instructions to fetch that file, using the files instruction map, its address i.e. C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\My Pictures\Mylogo.jpg. If that is the logo you searched for in search, it will then have been fetched.

PDF:
PDF, Portable Document Format, (extension .PDF) a file format designed and developed by Adobe Acrobat as a document reader. PDF’s purpose being to view documents as they were created, with the original layout that included images and links, read or viewed as they were made.

PERL:
PERL is a Practical Extraction and Report Language. Perl is designed for processing strong text and graphics, known as a programming language, which is popularly used for writing CGI scripts. See CGI in this glossary.

Personalization:
Personalization means; make it like I say, not like you want. Tailoring content to a specific user’s needs.

PHP:
PHP first called Personal Home Page Tools by the creator. Originally designed for Web development and is a general-purpose server-side scripting language.

Phrase Search:
Phrase Search is searching by inserting quotation marks around your text. When a phrase is written in the search engine as follows, it means “search only for the words I want”. This done, the search engine will search only for the phrase and not a combination of the words typed. This is loosely termed forcing the search engine. If you type in “backwards I’m living”, it will give you all the phrases on the Internet written exactly like that. Try it!

Pingbacks:
Pingbacks See Trackbacks in this glossary.

Pixel:
Pixel stands for ‘Pic’ture ‘el’ement. A monitor display is generally made up of 1,310,720 pixels given a resolution of 1280 x 1024. These dots in a color-display of 256 million are arranged by having three dots per Pixel and made up of red, green and blue using varying intensities.

Plug-and-play:
Plug-and-play, also known to some as Plug and pray. Although now commonplace, was first introduced around the world, with the MS Windows 1995 operating system. This was done by programing their software design to auto-detect hardware when installed. The purpose is for the PC’s operating system, to detect hardware, install its software automatically as well as install the drivers needed to make that device function. At times it is necessary for the installer/operator to install the software that came with the hardware, usually on a CD disc.

Plugin:
Plugin is an accessory program that adds capabilities to the main program, such as exist with most CMS. Plugins are also extensively used on Web pages to display multimedia content. Widgets are another type of plug-in commonly used. See CMS in this glossary.

PNG:
PNG, Portable Network Graphics, was designed to apply images to the internet and a successor to the GIF interchange format. Even though GIF has the ability for animation, PNG was chosen above GIF for internet use, mainly because the GIF color depth is not as good as PNG. In 1996, it became the W3C recommendation, and then became an International Standard ISO/IEC in 2003. There are also other reasons why PNG is the choice over GIF, which is a subject not for a glossary. GIF is however the popular Internet choice over PNG overall.

POP:
POP, Post Office Protocol is the set of rules and standards that govern the retrieval of e-mail messages from a mail server.

Podcast:
Podcast derived from the words “iPod” and “broadcast”. Podcasts are best understood and known as multimedia Internet conferencing. Podcasts are also sent to the listeners. This is done using syndication feeds for recording and distributing to the audience after the broadcast, on behalf of the podcaster.

Point-to-point:
Point-to-point is simply a transmission between two locations.

Portal:
Portal a website that acts as a Niche orientated search and news website, such as Google, MSN and AOL.

Post:
Post is to place a message in a public message forum. Also, to place a PHP, HTML page on the World Wide Web, usually via a blogging system’s CMS. See also Web page in this glossary.

Power users:
Power users are above average computer users and so called, because of their advanced knowledge in the application of enterprise software as an integral part of a computer based system. Or they have incorporated high-end technology, for Internet applications above the average computer user. Not necessarily a computer programmer.

Program:
Program is a computer application using software. Unless a computer is programmed they have no use. See Programming in this glossary.

Programming:
Programming is the science or art of writing code for a computer. This code is written in various computer “languages”. There are several types of language code, these are computer codes that are written for and understood by computers. These are languages the computer uses to function and communicate and they are known as “binary codes”.

Promote:
Promote indicates any form of advertising which brings visitors i.e. traffic to a Website. This can include being listed in search engines, exchanging links and other types of SEO marketing. See SEO in this glossary.

Protocol:
Protocol (object-oriented programming) is to keep a standard format by which data is exchanged, keeping a uniform language between the computer and other applications.

PSD:
PSD, Photoshop Document, extension .PSD “Photoshop Document”. Photoshop uses this extension to store or edit layers, masks and color spaces as a default setting.

PyMOL:
PyMOL is an open source 3D imaging tool for small molecules, for scientific and biological purposes for such things as proteins. Was released in the latter half of 2011 by the creator, Warren Lyford DeLano.