Key Terms

Don't let unfamiliar terms discourage you from learning all you can about creating Web pages. If you don't completely understand what one of these words means, flip to the indicated page, read the full definition there, and find techniques related to that term .

Alpha channel

Data saved with an image for reuse when needed, such as selections, masks, and creator information. Page 251

Attribute

A modification of an HTML tag that lets you choose options over how that tag should be usedfor example, by choosing a font to display on a web page. 24

Blog

A website that is in diary-like format, in which there are a series of short, dated entries. Many blogs also allow for readers to post comments on the site. 53

Canvas

The working area of an image, as defined by the image's outer dimensions. 331

Cascading Style Sheets ( CSS )

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a language related to HTML that the browser can read to impart visual styles to HTML pages. In web development, you might hear that best practice is to separate content from visual presentation. This allows your page to be very flexible in how it appears. You can have the same information that is presented for a web browser on a computer, a cellular telephone, a kiosk, an Internet-equipped television, or who knows what. The only thing that would have to change is the style sheet that tells the device how to show the same information differently (suited to each medium). 158

Character entity

Special characters that are not represented in the HTML code as regular characters , but that can be added to a page with small blocks of code. For example, the & symbol won't show up in the page if you add it from the keyboard as you do in a word processor. Instead, if you type & in your HTML, the browser displays that as a regular ampersand when the page is viewed . 162

Closing tag

A tag that tells a browser to stop displaying text in a certain way, or to stop displaying an element on a web page. 21

Color depth

The number of colors a computer is set to display. Older computers only display 256 colors or lesscalled 8-bit color. If your visitors come to your site and only can view 256 colors but your images use more, they will see images that are grainy or dithered. 128

DNS (Domain Naming Service) server An Internet server that translates web addresses such as

www.samspublishing.com to 63.240.93.138. When you type in a web address, the request is first sent to a DNS server that translates the address into an IP address. Your computer then uses the IP address to contact the website you want to visit. 5

Dutch auction

An auction in which multiple items are up for sale. All the winning bidders on the items in a Dutch auction pay the same price for the items, the lowest successful bid. Page 420

eBay store

An online storefront on eBay where you can sell your goods, and customize the way the store looks and how the items are displayed and organized. 516

eBay Toolbar

An add-in to Internet Explorer that lets you track your auctions, search for auctions, and bid on auctions from right within Internet Explorer. 546

Empty tag

An HTML tag that does not get a closing tag, and that will not accept a closing tag. 22

Escrow services

A service that acts as a go-between in an auction, holding the buyer's money until he receives the items in good order. 471

Final value fee

The fee you pay only if your item sells on eBay. If the item doesn't sell, you're not charged this fee. 405

FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

A web protocol much like HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) that moves information around the Web. The difference between the two is that HTTP opens a connection between the server and the browser, downloads the information (like a web page), and then closes the connection so that other browsers can access the server. FTP creates a connection and then leaves that connection open for a time to allow files to move to and from the server. This forces the server to focus on fewer dedicated connections at one time than an HTTP server. 222

GIF and JPEG

GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format and JPEG for Joint Photographic Experts Group. Both are graphics standards that use compression to keep image sizes small but still retain enough detail so the image is of a high quality. JPEG does a better job on photographs and is the format you should generally use when posting pictures to eBay. GIF is better for line art and logos. 440

Grayscale picture

A black-and-white picture that has gradations of gray in it. 237

Hexadecimal

A numbering system that uses 16 unique symbols: the numbers 0 through 9, and the letters A through F. These symbols are used individually, or combined. So, for example, the number 15 is represented in the decimal system by F. 40

Hosting service

A service that will let you post your pages to it, and keep all your pages on its server, so that people can visit it. 45