Glossary

Ajax

Acronym for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. This is a group of interrelated Web development tools used for creating interactive or rich Internet applications. With Ajax, Web programs can access data without interfering with the display and behavior of the page on the screen.

A lgorithm

Procedure or formula for solving a problem.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

The study and design of machines that can operate like the human mind.

Atomic phrase

A phrase that can elicit the most specific, single-idea result.

Beta

Software that is released to the public on a trial basis to work out any imperfections before the official version is released. A software program that remains in development.

Blog

Short for Web log, or a string of journal entries posted on a Web page.

Bot

Short for robot, a program that automatically searches the Internet looking for information. Google uses two versions of search bots, the Deepbot and Freshbot. Deepbot tries to crawl every link on the Web and index as many pages as possible, whereas Freshbot seeks newly available and updated content and websites.

Captchas

An acronym for completely automated public Turing test to tell computers and humans apart. Wavy, distorted text used as a security test to thwart mass registration of e-mail accounts (for sending spam mail) and other Web abuses.

Chrome

Software lingo for toolbars and task bars that characterize most computer programs. Google named its Internet browser Chrome, after these ...

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