Jargon Buster HTML5 Course

Ajax – is a group of interrelated Web development techniques used on the client-side to create asynchronous Web applications. With Ajax, Web applications can send data to, and retrieve data from, a server asynchronously (in the background) without interfering with the display and behaviour of the existing page. View tutorial for keyword

API – a set of functions and procedures that allow the creation of applications which access the features or data of an operating system, application, or other service. View tutorial for keyword

Array – An array is a composite data type that holds a collection of values. These values can then be referenced by an index number. The index number is the location of the data element in the array. Each stored value indexed is referred to as an array element. Each element is a discrete data value. An element can contain almost anything, including another array. View tutorial for keyword

Asynchronous – The term asynchronous is usually used to describe communications in which data can be transmitted intermittently rather than in a steady stream. For example, a telephone conversation is asynchronous because both parties can talk whenever they like. If the communication were synchronous, each party would be required to wait a specified interval before speaking. View tutorial for keyword

Bezier curve – A Bézier curve is a parametric curve frequently used in computer graphics and related fields. Generalizations of Bézier curves to higher dimensions are called Bézier surfaces, of which the Bézier triangle is a special case. View tutorial for keyword

Browser Capabilities – Browser Capabilities component creates a BrowserType object that determines the type, capabilities and version number of a visitor’s browser. When a browser connects to a server, a User Agent header is also sent to the server. This header contains information about the browser. View tutorial for keyword

Callback function – In computer programming, a callback is a reference to executable code, or a piece of executable code, that is passed as an argument to other code. This allows a lower-level software layer to call a subroutine (or function) defined in a higher-level layer. View tutorial for keyword

Canvas – Canvas consists of a drawable region defined in HTML code with height and width attributes. JavaScript code may access the area through a full set of drawing functions similar to those of other common 2D APIs, thus allowing for dynamically generated graphics. View tutorial for keyword

Capture phase – The event object must propagate through the target’s ancestors from the defaultView to the target’s parent. This phase is also known as the capturing phase. Event listeners registered for this phase must handle the event before it reaches its target. View tutorial for keyword

Class property – The class attribute specifies one or more class names for an element. The class attribute is mostly used to point to a class in a style sheet. However, it can also be used by a JavaScript (via the HTML DOM) to make changes to HTML elements with a specified class.

Constructor – a constructor in a class is a special type of subroutine called to create an object. It prepares the new object for use, often accepting arguments that the constructor uses to set required member variables.

Controller – A controller can send commands to the model to update the model’s state (e.g., editing a document). It can also send commands to its associated view to change the view’s presentation of the model (e.g., by scrolling through a document). View tutorial for keyword

Cookies – A message given to a Web browser by a Web server. The browser stores the message in a text file. The message is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server. The main purpose of cookies is to identify users and possibly prepare customized Web pages for them. View tutorial for keyword

CSS – Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used for describing the look and formatting of a document written in a markup language. Normally used to style page written in HTML and XHTML, the language can be applied to any kind of XML document. CSS specifies a priority to determine which style rules apply if one or more rules matches against a particular element. In this the cascade, priorities or weights are calculated and assigned to rules, so that the results are predictable. View tutorial for keyword

Declaration – A declaration introduces an identifier and describes its type, whether or not if it is a type, object, or function. A declaration is what the compiler needs to accept references to that identifier. E.g. var pi for JavaScript. View tutorial for keyword

Descendant Events – A descendant of an element could be a child, grandchild, great-grandchild, etc… of that element. These are events that have been caused by a descendant. View tutorial for keyword

DocType – The !DOCTYPE declaration must be the first thing in your HTML document and come before the html tag. The !DOCTYPE declaration is not an HTML tag; it is an instruction to the web browser about what version of HTML the page is written in. View tutorial for keyword

DOM – The Document Object Model (DOM) is an API for valid HTML and XML documents. It defines the logical structure of documents and the way a document is accessed and manipulated, With the Document Object Model. Programmers can navigate the structure of documents, and add, modify, or delete elements and content from these documents. View tutorial for keyword

Elements – A HTML element is everything from the start tag to the end tag. A HTML element starts with opening tag (<>) and finishes with a closing tag(</>). The content of the element is everything between the start and the end tag and most HTML elements can be nested (can contain other HTML elements) e.g. a paragraph element inside an un-order list element (<ul><p></p></ul>). View tutorial for keyword

Event Listener – An event listener is used to process events. For example, a graphical component like a JButton or JTextField are known as event sources. This means they can generate events. However there is a nice flexibility about event listeners in that more than one graphical component can be associated with the same event listener. It means if you have a similar set of components that are basically doing the same thing their events can all be handled by one event listener. View tutorial for keyword

Event – an event is an action or occurrence detected by the program that may be handled by the program. Typically events are handled synchronously with the program flow, that is, the program has one or more dedicated places where events are handled. Typical sources of events include the user e.g. mouse move event. View tutorial for keyword

Function – In programming, a named section of a program that performs a specific task. In this sense, a function is a type of procedure or routine. Some programming languages make a distinction between a function, which returns a value, and a procedure, which performs some operation but does not return a value. View tutorial for keyword

Geolocation API – The W3C Geolocation API is an effort by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to standardize an interface to retrieve the geographical location information for a client-side device. It defines a set of objects, ECMA Script standard compliant, that executing in the client application give the client’s device location through the consulting of Location Information Servers, which are transparent for the application programming interface (API). View tutorial for keyword

Global variables – In computer programming, a global variable is a variable with global scope, meaning that it is visible (hence accessible) throughout the program, unless shadowed. The set of all global variables is known as the global environment or global state. View tutorial for keyword

Handler – A function or method containing program statements that are executed in response to an event. An event handler typically is a software routine that processes actions such as keystrokes and mouse movements. With Web sites, event handlers make Web content dynamic. View tutorial for keyword

HTML – Hypertext Markup Language is a standard system for tagging text files to achieve font, colour, graphic, and hyperlink effects on World Wide Web (WWW) pages. HTML defines the structure and layout of a Web document by using a mixture of tags and attributes. The correct structure for an HTML document starts with a head section and then below this a body section. View tutorial for keyword

HTTP – Short for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol, HTTP is the underlying protocol used by the World Wide Web. HTTP defines how messages are formatted and transmitted, and what actions Web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands. For example, when you enter a URL in your browser, this actually sends an HTTP command to the Web server directing it to fetch and transmit the requested Web page. View tutorial for keyword

Inheritance – inheritance is when an object or class is based on another object or class, using the same implementation (inheriting from a class) or specifying implementation to maintain the same behaviour, It is a mechanism for code reuse and to allow independent extensions of the original software via public classes and interfaces. View tutorial for keyword

JavaScript – A scripting language developed by Netscape to enable Web authors to design interactive sites. JavaScript can interact with HTML source code, allowing websites to spice up their sites with dynamic content. View tutorial for keyword

jQuery – jQuery is a JavaScript library that allows web developers to add extra functionality to their websites. It is open source and provided for free under the MIT license. In recent years, jQuery has become the most popular JavaScript library used in web development. View tutorial for keyword

JSON – JavaScript Object Notation, is an open standard format that uses human-readable text to transmit data objects consisting of attribute–value pairs. It is used primarily to transmit data between a server and web application, as an alternative to XML. View tutorial for keyword

Local storage – A catch-all term referring to any of several mechanisms for storing data on a client machine (typically within a web browser). Data placed in local storage is isolated for use only by the domain that stored it and persists after the browser is closed. Examples of local storage include cookies, userData, local databases, and the localStorage object. View tutorial for keyword

Long Polling – Long polling is itself not a true push; long polling is a variation of the traditional polling technique, but it allows emulating a push mechanism under circumstances where a real push is not possible, such as sites with security policies that require rejection of incoming HTTP/S Requests. With long polling, the client requests information from the server exactly as in normal polling, except it issues its HTTP/S requests (polls) at a much slower frequency. View tutorial for keyword

Method – In object-oriented programming, a procedure that is executed when an object receives a message. A method is really the same as a procedure, function , or routine in procedural programming languages. The only difference is that in object-oriented programming, a method is always associated with a class. View tutorial for keyword

MIME – Short for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, a specification for formatting non-ASCII messages so that they can be sent over the Internet. Many e-mail clients now support MIME, which enables them to send and receive graphics, audio, and video files via the Internet mail system. View tutorial for keyword

Model – A model notifies its associated views and controllers when there has been a change in its state. This notification allows the views to produce updated output, and the controllers to change the available set of commands. In some cases an MVC implementation might instead be “passive,” so that other components must poll the model for updates rather than being notified. View tutorial for keyword

Node.js – Node.js is a cross-platform runtime environment for server-side and networking applications. Node.js applications are written in JavaScript, Node.js applications are designed to maximize throughput and efficiency, using non-blocking I/O and asynchronous events. It is commonly used for real-time applications due to its asynchronous nature. View tutorial for keyword

Object – an object is a location in memory having a value and possibly referenced by an identifier. An object can be a variable, function, or data structure. In the object-oriented programming paradigm, “object” refers to a particular instance of a class where the object can be a combination of variables, functions, and data structures. An object has state (data) and behaviour (code). Objects correspond to things found in the real world. So for example, a graphics program will have objects such as circle, square, menu. View tutorial for keyword

OOP – Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm that represents the concept of “objects” that have data fields and associated functions known as methods. Objects, which are usually instances of classes, are used to interact with one another to design applications and computer programs. Objects sometimes correspond to things found in the real world. For example in a library system there would be an object called book etc… View tutorial for keyword

Opacity – Refers to being “opaque,” which means to prevent light from shining through. For example, in an image editing program, the opacity level for some function might range from completely transparent (0) to completely opaque (100). View tutorial for keyword

Polling – A communications technique that determines when a terminal is ready to send data. The computer continually interrogates its connected terminals in a round robin sequence. If a terminal has data to send, it sends back an acknowledgment and the transmission begins. View tutorial for keyword

Property – In CSS, a property is like a tag in HTML. These are the items that define how the styles should look on the Web page or elsewhere. E.g. margin, font-family, border-colour. View tutorial for keyword

Protocol – An agreed-upon format for transmitting data between two devices. The protocol determines the following: the type of error checking to be used, data compression method, if any, how the sending device will indicate that it has finished sending a message, how the receiving device will indicate that it has received a message. View tutorial for keyword

Prototype – The prototype property allows you to add properties and methods to an object. All objects inherit methods and properties from Object.prototype, although they may be overridden; Changes to the Object prototype object are propagated to all objects unless the properties and methods subject to those changes are overridden further along the prototype chain. View tutorial for keyword

Scale – image scaling is the process of resizing a digital image. Scaling is a non-trivial process that involves a trade-off between efficiency, smoothness and sharpness. With bitmap graphics, as the size of an image is reduced or enlarged, the pixels that form the image become increasingly visible, making the image appear “soft” if pixels are averaged, or jagged if not. With vector graphics the trade-off may be in processing power for re-rendering the image, which may be noticeable as slow re-rendering with still graphics, or slower frame rate and frame skipping in computer animation. View tutorial for keyword

Sematic Tags – Semantic HTML is the use of HTML markup to reinforce the semantics, or meaning, of the information in webpages rather than merely to define its presentation or look. Semantic HTML is processed by regular web browsers as well as by many other user agents. CSS is used to suggest its presentation to human users. View tutorial for keyword

Session storage – sessionStorage is an attribute of DOM defined in HTML 5. It is used as a global object in JavaScript or as a sub-object of window, or of an instance of window when several one are opened. sessionStorage is an object of type Storage that represents a storage space defined as an attribute of each window. View tutorial for keyword

Style – The style tag is used to define style information for an HTML document. Inside the style element you specify how HTML elements should render in a browser. Each HTML document can contain multiple style tags. View tutorial for keyword

SVG – Short for Scalable Vector Graphics, a vector graphics file format that enables two-dimensional images to be displayed in XML pages on the Web. Vector images are created through text-based commands formatted to comply with XML specifications. SVG images are scalable to the size of the viewing window and will adjust in size and resolution according to the window in which it is displayed. View tutorial for keyword

Target phase – The event object must arrive at the event object’s event target. This phase is also known as the at-target phase. Event listeners registered for this phase must handle the event once it has reached its target. If the event type indicates that the event must not bubble, the event object must halt after completion of this phase. View tutorial for keyword

Thread – A thread of execution is the smallest sequence of programmed instructions that can be managed independently by a scheduler (typically as part of an operating system). The implementation of threads and processes differs from one operating system to another, but in most cases, a thread is a component of a process. Multiple threads can exist within the same process and share resources such as memory, while different processes do not share these resources. View tutorial for keyword

Transition – A transition is the merging between two different states of an element to come together to create a single effect for that element during an action from the first state to the last state. View tutorial for keyword

Translation – A translation is the effect caused when changing between 2 states of an element e.g. An Image moving 2 unit to the right; normally expressed through matrices. View tutorial for keyword

UI – A user interface, also called a “UI” or simply an “interface,” is the means in which a person controls a software application or hardware device. A good user interface provides a “user-friendly” experience, allowing the user to interact with the software or hardware in a natural and intuitive way. View tutorial for keyword

Validation – ensure that the data entered is sensible and reasonable.

Vendor-specific – In order to accommodate the release of vendor-specific extensions, the CSS specifications define a specific format that vendors should follow. They may do this for a number of reasons, such as adding new features for users, or for experiments and debugging. Most often, though, the extensions are used to release and test browser features that have been developed. View tutorial for keyword

View – A view requests information from the model that it uses to generate an output representation to the user. View tutorial for keyword

Web Sockets – WebSocket is a protocol providing full-duplex communications channels over a single TCP connection. WebSocket is designed to be implemented in web browsers and web servers, but it can be used by any client or server application. The WebSocket Protocol is an independent TCP-based protocol. Its only relationship to HTTP is that its handshake is interpreted by HTTP servers as an Upgrade request. View tutorial for keyword

WOFF – The Web Open Font Format (WOFF) is a font format for use in web pages. It was developed during 2009 and is now a World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Recommendation. View tutorial for keyword

XML – Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language that defines a set of rules for encoding documents in aformat that is both human-readable and machine-readable. The design goals of XML emphasize simplicity, generality, and usability over the Internet. It is a textual data format with strong support via Unicode for different human languages. View tutorial for keyword