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CCIS.net Internet
Glossary - P
Packet/Packet Switching
It is necessary for information
that travels across the Internet to be broken down into smaller chunks, called "packets".
Breaking data into packets improves network performance. These packets contain the
data being sent as well as the destination's address and the packet order (so that
these packets can be rejoined in proper sequence).
Path
A path is a trail of information
that tells where a file is located. In an Internet address, a path will begin with
a single forward slash. Each part of the path will be separated by an additional
slash. For example /pub/mac/compression indicates that the file is in the compression
folder, which is in the mac folder, which can be found in the pub folder.
Port
A port is a connection to a computer.
For example a telnet site may have a limited number of ports available for users
to connect to; some may have only two or three, while others may have hundreds. This
computer port concept is not unlike a seaport. When a ship comes in from sea, it
docks at a port. The port is then busy (and unavailable for other ships) until the
ship leaves. Computer ports work the same way. Popular telnet sites will sometimes
turn you away because they have no open ports.
Post/Posting
In a newsgroup, a post is a message,
or a reply to a message.
PPP
Point-To-Point Protocol. One type
of protocol that can be used to connect to the Internet through a dial-up phone line.
Another such type of protocol is SLIP.
Protocol
A set of rules used to facilitate
communications on the Internet. See PPP, SLIP, and TCP/IP.
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