PawPrint.net Glossary of Terms

A set of detailed rules for communication between a client and server. This protocol is the foundation of data transmission on the www

RAM is a type of computer storage whose contents can be accessed in any order. This is in contrast to sequential memory devices such as magnetic tapes, discs and drums, in which the mechanical movement of the storage medium forces the computer to access data in a fixed order. It is usually implied that RAM can be both written to and read from, in contrast to read-only memory or ROM.

Computers use RAM to hold the program code and data during execution. In the first electronic computers, RAM wa...

A compressed graphic format suited for flat color images (illustrations) and drawings. It compresses images by referencing areas of the same colour thus it is less suitable then JPEG for photographic images (where there are colour gradients)

Originally created by CompuServ it was the subject of proposed law suits and patent discussions which have largely been dropped.

ln [options] sourcename [destname]

ln [options] sourcenames destdirectory



Create pseudonyms (links) for files, allowing them to be accessed by different names. In the first form, Link sourcename to destname, where destname is usually a new filename, or (by default) the current directory. If destname is an existing file, it is overwritten; if destname is an existing directory, a Link named sourcename is created in that directory. In the second form, create links in destdirectory, each l...

A compressed graphic format suited for flat color images (illustrations) and drawings. It compresses images by referencing areas of the same colour thus it is less suitable then JPEG for photographic images (where there are colour gradients)

Originally created by CompuServ it was the subject of proposed law suits and patent discussions which have largely been dropped.

A compressed graphics format specifically designed for photographs. It´s name an acronym that stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. It works by changing the images data from colours to frequencies (that represent detail) using a FFT and then discarding some of the high detail data - the resulting image is slightly blurry but this is barely noticable by the human eye and represents a significant saving of space.