Complete A-Z of I.T. Terminology - letters T-Z
Tandem
Tandem Computers. Now owned by HP. They produced fault tolerant computers.
TAPI
Telephony Application Programming Interface. A standard for creating software driven telephone applications.
Tapestry
"Tapestry is an open source framework (ie both a model and a set of technologies) used in the development of Java applications. The Apache Software Foundation owns Tapestry. It is attractive to application developers because it enables them to keep the user interface element of web applications decoupled from the data processing element. This makes for more maintainable software. Spring, Stripes and Struts are equivalent frameworks."
TCP/IP
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. An open standard technology used to enable computers to communicate via a network. Its roots lie with the creation of the network. The nature of TCP/IP is such that it is intelligent enough to reroute data if there are problems with a particular branch of the network.
Technical Architect
An experienced technologist that makes architectural decisions in respect of applications and infrastructure. IN respect of system development projects they are critical because they are often the only person who fully understands how the system will work once it is built. They do not always have refined interpersonal skills. See Solution Architects.
Technical Support
A generic term used in very non-technical environments to describe anyone who is involved on the technical side. As a job title it tells you nothing.
TEI
Total Economic Impact. A financial metric created by Giga Information Group to measure the benefit derived from IT investment. It is a more realistic measure than ROI.
Telematics
It refers to the transmission and storage of data using telecommunication devices. A term that encapsulates the convergence of computers and phones.
Tetra
Secure mobile transmission technology. Popular with the emergency services.
Texting
The practice of sending short text based messages via a cellular network. Popular in countries such us the UK and Japan. The popularity and revenue opportunities offered by texting were a rather pleasant surprise for the mobile phone network operators.
Thick client
"This is a model of computing whereby a significant volume of the processing is done at the client end, ie user’s computer. Also known as Fat client."
Thin client
This is a model of computing whereby almost all the processing is done at the server end. This enables low powered computers to be used by the users.
Token Ring
An old IBM invented Lan technology.
Tomcat
Tomcat is an open source web application server solution that runs under the Apache Software Foundation. Associated with Java development.
Topology
Term used to describe the layout or structure of a network. Examples include Star and Ring.
Triple Play
"A term used to refer to services associated with the convergence of telephony, the Internet and Broadcast Media."
Tru64
A 64-bit version of Unix created by Compaq and now owned by HP. Old school.
Tuxedo
A technology that supports the handling of transaction intensive applications. Owned in the past by AT&T and Novell. Old school.
TVO
"Total Value of Opportunity. A financial metric created by Gartner to measure the benefit derived from IT investment. Again like TEI, it is a more realistic measure than ROI."
Ultrix
This was DEC’s first attempt at Unix. Very old school.
UML
Unified Modeling Language. It defines the principal techniques associated with OO.
UMTS
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. Third generation mobile phone technology.
Unbundling
Local loop unbundling. A regulatory process to ensure both national and local carriers can deliver customer services from the telephone exchange. Previously the national carrier was not obliged to share access to the customer. Thus local loop unbundling provides customers with options.
Unix
"A popular family of operating systems, due to its availability on more than one hardware platform. The different versions of Unix that exist are referred to as ‘flavours’. In the commercial world, Unix can be found on servers. In the homes of technologists it can be found on PCs."
Unixware
A flavour of Unix created by Novell and AT&T. It is now maintained by SCO Group. Old school.
User interface
"The part of the application that the user interacts with. It can be a simple Dos prompt (a black screen with C:/ in the bottom left corner). This is also known as a Command Line Interface. More usually it is a GUI (Graphical user interface) allowing the user to point, click and drag icons using a mouse."
Utility computing
"An emerging theme in respect of how software services are delivered to the customer. Also known as ‘on demand’ computing. Imagine a world where computing resources were available ‘on tap’ much like water, gas and the phone. So in part you pay a fixed rate for the IT services, and in part you pay for what you use. Outsourcers are using this model to align their pricing with the needs of their customers."
VB Script
"Scripting language, based on Visual Basic, used for adding functionality to Web pages. Popular with worm writers."
VBA
"Visual Basic for Applications. A cut down version of Visual Basic that can be used with Microsoft’s Office products. It is most closely associated with MS Access, but is also popular with some Excel users."
Vendor Lock-In
"This is a term that describes a technique that some unscrupulous vendors use to make it difficult for the customer to change vendors once they have made a purchase. For example by buying a particular type of MP3 player, you are forced to buy the music from that same vendor."
Vienna
The Microsoft code name for the next version of Windows Vista. Approximate release date 2009.
Virtual Reality
A digital simulation of the real world. The most realistic form is immersed virtual reality where the user moves from being an observer to being a participant. This is a natural direction for the computer games industry to take.
Virtualisation
A term used to make many physical resources appear as one logical resource to the user. An example being data spread across several database servers presented to the users as a single screen form. It is also used to describe the partitioning of physical resources into multiple virtual resources. For example enabling more than one operating system to run on a given computer. A hot term.
Virus
Software that performs a function that is usually not in the interests of the unaware user. Viruses rely on user communication and so are often transmitted via email.
Vista
Microsoft’s desktop operating system.
Visual Basic
"A software development tool from Microsoft, designed to facilitate the development of systems with a graphical user interface. "
Visual C++
Microsoft’s version of C++. It has taken C++ and added functionality to enable developers to build a GUI interface. This capability is not available with standard C++.
Visual J ++
See J ++.
Visual C#
"Microsoft’s version of C#. It has taken C# and added functionality to enable developers to build a GUI interface. This capability is not available with standard C#, which by the way was developed by Microsoft."
Visual J#
See J Sharp.
Visual Studio
"Produced by Microsoft, this is a suite of development tools used for application development. It offers the capability of developing software using VC++, VJ#, VC#, and Visual Basic."
VM
This is an early IBM operating system. Old school.
VMWare
A subsidiary of EMC. Big in virtualisation software.
VM/ESA
This is an early IBM operating system. Old school.
VME
ICL’s proprietary server operating system. Old school.
VMS
The operating system associated with the DEC (Digital) Vax range of computers. Old school.
VoIP
Voice over Internet Protocol. A standard / technology for sending voice traffic over the Internet. A way of making long-distance calls for free.
Vortal
"Vertical portal. A portal that offers services / information, specialising in only one particular area. E.g. golf, knitting, poodles. Dotcom era speak."
VPN
Virtual Private Network. A network that makes use of the Internet but does so in a very secure manner. It offers better security than the Internet and is cheaper than leased lines.
VSE
See VSE/ESA.
VSE/ESA
Virtual System Environment/Extended System Architecture. Old school IBM operating system.
W2K
See Windows 2000.
W3C
World Wide Web Consortium. This is an organisation made up of academic institutions and industry players. They focus on promoting web-related standards.
Wan
"Wide Area Network. A network typically linking cities within and between countries, enabling connected devices (e.g. PCs) to communicate with each other. It is best to think of WAN as a network that links two or more LANs together over a large distance."
Wap
"Wireless Application Protocol. A technology designed to give users access to the web via palm tops and PDAs. Sadly this is text based and lacking in user applications. Somewhat old school, but still in use."
Waterfall
This us a reference to the traditional approach to building IT systems. See RAD and Agile for alternative approaches.
Web 2.0
A somewhat vague term used to convey that the web has become exciting again. Possibly it is suggesting the web moving from being just a big library of information to an applications superstore. See Web Services.
Web Application Server
Hardware and software that manages the delivery of web based applications to the users. Such technologies underpin e-business. Examples include WebSphere and WebLogic.
Web farm
A reference to a site that houses many servers. Often associated with large storage users such as Google. End user companies can own web farms. However a web farm can be a reference to a company that provides storage and processing services to clients.
Web server
Hardware and software that is capable of handling web page requests from browsers. Examples include Apache and MS Internet Information Server.
Web Services
"A concept that describes the delivery of applications to users via the web. Rather than buying the applications, the users rent the service so to speak. This is a hot area of IT."
Wi-fi
See WLAN.
Wiki
"An approach to sharing information and knowledge via the web. Wikis allow visitors to update the content, which gives it a community feel. However there is also the risk that knowledgeable contributors may not underpin the content."
Windows
A style of presentation associated with IT. Both applications and operating systems can have a Windows interface. These days this is seen as standard. They are graphical in nature and very much associated with the GUI concept. Whilst Microsoft did not create the concept Windows is often a reference to the MS Windows family of operating systems.
Windows 2000
Also known as Win2K. A member of the Microsoft Windows operating system family. It was developed for both the desktop and the server.
Windows 2003
A member of the Microsoft Windows operating system family. It was developed for the server only.
Windows 95
An old school member of the Microsoft Windows operating system family. Developed for the desktop. This was an important operating system for Microsoft in that it was critical to Microsoft winning the battle of the desktop operating system market.
Windows 98
"An old school member of the Microsoft Windows operating system family. It was developed as something of a knee jerk reaction to Microsoft’s late discovery that the Internet was not going to be something that it could compete with. As such it was rushed to market and in its early versions was nothing less than substandard, and so was only sold to consumers."
Windows CE
"Windows Compact Edition. A version of Microsoft Windows designed to work on non-standard computing devices such as mobile phones, TVs and fridges. "
Windows ME
Windows Millennium Edition. An old school member of the Microsoft Windows operating system family. It was developed as a successor to Windows 98.
Windows NT
Windows New Technology. A member of the Microsoft Windows operating system family. It was developed for both the desktop and the server. It is no longer new technology.
Windows Vista
A member of the Microsoft Windows operating system family. It was developed for the desktop only.
Windows XP
A member of the Microsoft Windows operating system family. It was developed for the desktop only.
WiMAX
A wireless standard associated with metropolitan area networks. Ie LANs that stretch around a city. Also known as 802.16.
Wintel
This is a reference to computing devices that run Microsoft Windows and are powered by an Intel processor. It is usually a reference to a computer based on IBM’s original PC specification.
WLAN
Wireless Local Area Network. This is a short range wireless networking technology. In essence it is a wireless version of Ethernet. Also known as 802.11(a-z). See Wi-Fi.
WML
Wireless Markup Language. A formatting language for text based wirelessly delivered web pages. See Wap.
Workstation
A general term referring to computers normally found on the user’s desk.
Worm
A self-replicating virus that eventually leads to the infected computer crashing.
World Wide Web
A library of interconnected information (not necessarily accurate) stored on pages on servers sprinkled across the Internet. See also Web 2.0.
World Wide Web Consortium
See W3C.
X - Windows
This is a model of computing based on Unix. Originally Unix was designed to work with dumb terminals. X –Windows was an approach to enable users to have a GUI interface. To enable this the dumb terminals had to be replaced with X-terminals. Essentially this is an old school example of what is today known as thin client.
X.25
An old networking standard created within the Telecoms industry. It is usually associated with WANs.
X.400
A networking standard associated with email / message handling.
X.500
"A networking standard associated with directory services, which are used to manage people and technology resources over a network."
XA
Extended Architecture - One of several variants on IBM’s MVS operating system. Old school.
Xbox
"A gaming device created by Microsoft. Ultimately Microsoft is looking to turn your television into a web access device, and so is looking beyond the gaming industry."
Xeon
Name given to a range of Intel processors.
XHTML
A version of HTML that includes XML. The combination of these technologies will accelerate the growth of comparative shopping.
XML
eXxtensible Markup Language. This is an approach to developing data dictionaries. This is important in respect of systems integration where different systems are more likely to integrate together if they have the same data definitions for each data item involved.
XP
See Windows XP.
XP
See Extreme Programming.
XSL
EXtensible Stylesheet Language. A web page development language associated with XML that handles how XML data is presente dto the user.
XSLT
XSL Transformation. This is an extension of XSL. It enables conversion (transformation) of an XML web page in one format into another format. It can be thought of as a mechanism for swapping between stylesheets.
Y2K
Year 2000. A cause of excitement for IT departments as a result of all the legacy date manipulation software that required changing before the big night. Most users think this was a con job created by the IT industry to increase IT spend.
Yahoo!
A major player in the search engine marketplace.
YouTube
A major player in the world of video sharing. Now owned by Google.
yottabyte
A rather large number of bytes. 10 to the power of 24 to be precise. People who use this term in conversation are likely to be very insecure.
Z
A formal language used (very rarely) to specify functional requirements. It was designed to specify systems where there was a need to prove mathematically that the system would perform as specified.
ZENworks
A desktop/network/server management package from Novell.
zettabyte
A rather large number of bytes. 10 to the power of 21 to be precise. People who use this term in conversation are likely to be quite insecure.
Zipdrive
A technology for storing compressed data onto a portable external drive.
1GL
First generation programming language. Also known as machine code. Essentially this is programming in binary. Fortunately this is no longer a skill required in the IT industry. Ultra old school.
1st Line Support
"When the user reports a problem, this is the point where the IT department first attempts to resolve the problem. Some help desks endeavour to provide first line support. Some are simply call loggers."
24x7
A term used to mean all-day and everyday. Usually used in the context of service availability.
2GL
Second generation programming language. Also known as assembler. Considered as very low level and old school. Assembler programmers can be found in the world of real-time development.
2nd Line Support
"If 1st line support cannot solve a user’s problem, it is handed to 2nd line support. These people usually work within the IT department."
2½G
"Not quite 3G. A term used to describe wireless cellular technology that offers Web access, but without offering the full functionality of 3G. Eg. GPRS. Used with email reading devices such as the Blackberry."
3G
Wireless broadband. Third generation mobile telephony providing full multimedia to the palm top device. It is a regulated technology and so service providers need to acquire 3G licences.
3GL
"Third Generation programming Language. A type of programming language that is characterised by the use of English words like IF, THEN, ELSE and GOTO. Very powerful but poor on the user interface and database access side of things. Created in an era before the arrival of PCs with good-looking GUI interfaces. "
3rd Line Support
"If the problem cannot be solved by 2nd line support it will go to 3rd line support. If 3rd line cannot solve the problem, it cannot be solved."
4G
"Broadly speaking it is 3G only faster. However it embraces IP networking and places great emphasis on quality of service, security and cost."
4GL
"Fourth Generation programming Language. Similar to 3GLs but have better capability regarding GUI development and database access. e.g. Visual Basic, Visual C++."
5GL
Fifth Generation programming Language. These languages promised a future underpinned by artificial intelligence and robotics. Their window of opportunity has now closed so they are only of historical interest today. Examples of 5GLs include Prolog and Lisp.
802.11
See WLAN.
802.16
See WiMAX.
802.3
See Ethernet.