Glossary of Terms

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C

Capture - The submission of a credit card transaction for processing and settlement. POS terminals and real-time processing software capture transactions to submit to merchant account providers or credit card processors.

Certificate Authority - An issuer of Security Certificates used in SSL connections. See Also: Security Certificate, SSL, Secure Server, and Encryption

CGI-Bin - The most common name of a directory on a web server in which CGI programs are stored. The "bin" part of "cgi-bin" is a shorthand version of "binary", because once upon a time, most programs were referred to as "binaries". In real life, most programs found in cgi-bin directories are text files -- scripts that are executed by binaries located elsewhere on the same machine. Also See: CGI

CGI (Common Gateway Interface) - A set of rules that describe how a Web Server communicates with another piece of software on the same machine, and how the other piece of software (the "CGI program") talks to the web server. Any piece of software can be a CGI program if it handles input and output according to the CGI standard. Usually a CGI program is a small program that takes data from a web server and does something with it, like putting the content of a form into an e-mail message, or turning the data into a database query. You can often see that a CGI program is being used by seeing "cgi-bin" in a URL, but not always. See Also: CGI-Bin

Chargeback - A fee charged by a merchant services provider against a merchant account for transactions that are successfully challenged by a credit card holder. After a charge is disputed and adjudicated in the cardholder's favour, the transaction total and charge back fees are deducted from the merchants account.

Chat - Used to talk live to other network users from any and all parts of the world. To do this, you use Internet Relay Chat (IRC). Also See: IRC

Client - A computer that uses the services of another computer (such as Usenet or Gopher or FTP or Archie or the World Wide Web). If your computer is a PC or Macintosh and you dial in to another system, your computer becomes a client of the system you dial in to.

Client/Server Model - A division of labour between computers. Computers that provide a service other computers can use are known as servers. Servers provide such services as FTP or Search Utilities (Search Engines) or connect a user to the World Wide Web. If you don't have these services on your very own machine, you can connect to these machines and use these services and thereby become a client.

Co-Location - With normal web hosting accounts, you are leasing space from a server owned by the web hosting company. With co-location, you actually own the server but still connect to the Internet using the same backbone. You are purchasing fast, more reliable connectivity and superior maintenance abilities that a web hosting company can provide. Also See: Dedicated Server

Cold Fusion - A visual tool and application server. Cold Fusion gives you a fast way to build and deploy scalable solutions that integrate browser, server, and database technologies. Com - When these letters appear in the last part of an address (www.yourcompany.com) it indicates that the host computer is run by a company rather than by a university or governmental agency.

Commerce Server - Is web server software that runs some of the main functions of an online storefront such as product display, online ordering, and inventory management. Works in conjunction with online systems to process payments. Also See: SSL, Encryption

Compression Program - Software used to squeeze files together so that they take up less room and are easier to transfer from one location to another. Popular compression programs include ZIP and Stuffit. The opposite of compression is expansion. Also See: Archive, Zip

CompuServe - An on-line information provider that gives you some Internet access. It provides lots of forums, which are similar to newsgroups, including many that provide excellent technical support for a wide range of PC and Mac software. If your CompuServe account number is 7123,456, your Internet address is 7123.456@compuserve.com (notice the period in the account number).

Cookie - The most common meaning of "Cookie" on the Internet refers to a piece of information sent by a Web Server to a Web Browser that the Browser software is expected to save and to send back to the Server whenever the browser makes additional requests from the Server. Depending on the type of Cookie used, and the Browser's settings, the Browser may accept or not accept the Cookie, and may save the Cookie for either a short time or a long time. Cookies might contain information such as login or registration information, online "shopping cart" information, user preferences, etc. When a Server receives a request from a Browser that includes a Cookie, the Server is able to use the information stored in the Cookie. For example, the Server might customize what is sent back to the user, or keep a log of particular user's requests. Cookies are usually set to expire after a predetermined amount of time and are usually saved in memory until the Browser software is closed down, at which time they may be saved to disk if their "expire time" has not been reached. Cookies do not read your hard drive and send your life story to the CIA, but they can be used to gather more information about a user than would be possible without them. Also See: Browser, Server

Country Code - The last part of a geographic address, which indicates which country the host computer is in. An address that ends in .uk is from the United Kingdom, and one that ends in .us is in the United States.

Credit Card Processors - (Third Party Processors) - Merchant service providers that handle the details of processing credit card transactions between merchants, issuing banks, and merchant account providers. Web site operators must first establish their own merchant account before contracting for credit card processing services.

Cyberspace - Term used to describe the Internet and the whole range of information resources available through computer networks.