APCSP Internet Vocab

Computing device

A physical artifact that can run a program.

Computing system

A group of computing devices and programs working together for a common purpose.

Computer network

A group of interconnected computing devices capable of sending or receiving data.

Internet

The global network of connected computers that send and receive data using standardized communication protocols.

ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network)

The first packet-switching network and the foundation of today’s Internet.

Path

A path between two computing devices on a computer network (sender and receiver) is a sequence of directly connected computing devices that begins at the sender and ends at the receiver.

Routing

The process of finding a path from sender to receiver.

Bandwidth

The maximum amount of data that can be sent in a fixed amount of time on a computer network.

Bitrate

The number of bits of data sent per second in a connection; measures how fast data is transmitted.

Latency

The time it takes for data to travel from one point to another on a network; measures delay.

Protocol

An agreed-upon set of rules that specify the behavior of a system.

Scalability

The capacity of a system to change in size and scale to meet new demands.

Data stream

Information is passed through the Internet as a data stream.

Packets

Small chunks of data that are sent separately across the Internet and reassembled at their destination.

Redundancy

The inclusion of extra components that can be used to mitigate failure of a system if other components fail.

Fault-tolerance

When a system can support failures and still continue to function, it is called fault-tolerant.

UDP (User Datagram Protocol)

A fast but unreliable method of sending data; packets may arrive out of order or be lost.

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)

A reliable method of sending data that checks for errors and ensures packets arrive correctly.

DNS (Domain Name System)

Translates website names into IP addresses that computers use.

HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol)

The protocol used for transferring web pages and other resources over the Internet.

HTTPS

HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure is a secure version of HTTP that encrypts data using SSL/TLS for privacy and safety.

GET

A common HTTP request method used to retrieve information from a web server.

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer)

An older protocol for encrypting data sent between a web browser and a server.

TLS (Transport Layer Security)

The newer, more secure version of SSL that protects data in HTTPS connections.

WWW (World Wide Web)

The system of linked web pages and content that runs on top of the Internet.

HTML (HyperText Markup Language)

The coding language that structures the content of web pages.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)

The language that controls the design and appearance of web pages.

IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force)

The group that develops and maintains Internet standards and protocols.

The Cloud

A network of remote servers that store, manage, and process data over the Internet instead of on a local computer.

Net Neutrality

The principle that all Internet traffic should be treated equally, without favoring or blocking particular sites or services.

Cookies

Small pieces of data stored by a website on a user’s computer to remember information like login status or site preferences.