Glossary

Glossary of key IT terms and acronyms used on this site.
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Term Definition
XHTML
Short for Extensible Hypertext Markup Language, XHTML is a hybrid of HTML and XML specifically designed for Net device displays.
Work breakdown structure
A work breakdown structure (WBS), in project management and systems engineering, is an oriented dissection of a project into smaller deliverable components. It defines and groups a project's individual work elements in a way that helps organize and define the total work scope of the project.
WLAN
WLAN is short for Wireless Local Area Network. Also known as WiFi, this is the linking of computers without wires. It is most commonly used for internet access, either in public hotspots or in private home and office networks. Connectivity is limited to between 10 and 200 meters depending on physical infrastructure.
Webinar
Short for 'Web-based Seminar,' a webinar is a presentation, lecture, workshop or seminar transmitted over the Internet. Modern webinar software has very modest connection requirements so almost anybody with a computer and an internet connection can join and participate.
web browsers
A web browser is a program used to view, download, upload, surf or otherwise access documents (or pages) on the World Wide Web. Examples of popular web browsers include Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Safari and Google Chrome.
Web 2.0
Web 2.0 is a loosely defined intersection of website characteristics, including increased user participation, user-centered design, peer-to-peer collaboration, dynamic user-driven content and a rich online experience. As the Web 2.0 movement continues to grow, organizations are rapidly hiring talented programmers to increase their presence on the top Web 2.0 sites - and incorporate Web 2.0 elements into existing sites - to gain a competitive advantage in this fast growing and highly active population. Common Web 2.0 site structures and examples include social networks (Facebook), blogs (Mashable), wikis (Wikipedia), video sharing sites (YouTube) and social bookmarking hubs (Digg).
WAN
A WAN (or wide area network) is a network of computers within a very large area, such as an entire state or country.
VPN
Short for 'virtual private network,' a VPN is a network that provides traveling workers or remote office locations access to an organization's central network via the internet. VPNs typically require remote user authentication, and data is often secured with encryption technologies to prevent disclosure of private information to unauthorized users.
VoIP
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is the routing of voice calls over the Internet, or through any other IP-based network. Basically, this technology converts normal voice into a digital signal — much like a CD recording — and then wraps that digital signal with a set of IP header information, allowing it to travel across the Internet. The digital signal is reconverted back to a normal voice signal at its destination.
VLAN
A VLAN is a group of devices on one or more LANs that are configured so that they can communicate as if they were attached to the same wire, when in fact they are located on a number of different LAN segments.
Visual Basic
Visual Basic is programming language developed by Microsoft, in which developers can design programs and applications that use a graphical user interface (or GUI).
Vendor neutral certification
A vendor neutral certification is an IT credential that validates your knowledge and skills in concepts spanning numerous vendor-technologies. For example, CompTIA A+ proves you can troubleshoot and repair operating systems from multiple vendors including Microsoft, Apple, Novell and Linux.
SSRS
SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) is a component of the Microsoft SQL Server database software that provides a full range of ready-to-use tools and services to help you create, deploy, and manage business intelligence reports for your organization, as well as programming features that enable you to extend and customize your reporting functionality.
SSIS
SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) is a component of the Microsoft SQL Server database software which can be used to perform a broad range of data migration tasks. SSIS is a platform for data integration and workflow applications. It features a fast and flexible data warehousing tool used for data extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL). The tool may also be used to automate maintenance of SQL Server databases and updates to multidimensional cube data.
SSAS
SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) is a component of the Microsoft SQL Server database software that delivers online analytical processing (OLAP) and data mining functionality for business intelligence applications. Analysis Services supports OLAP by letting you design, create, and manage multidimensional structures that contain data aggregated from other data sources, such as relational databases. For data mining applications, Analysis Services lets you design, create, and visualize data mining models that are constructed from other data sources by using a wide variety of industry-standard data mining algorithms.