SitePoint

SitePoint Glossary

Cache

Cache, pronounced "cash", refers to a stored copy of (or pointers to) previously accessed data. The main implementation in computer architecture is to use a small area of very fast memory (SRAM) to store copies of recently accessed information from your main memory (RAM) or hard drive, which are a lot slower. In web browsers, page data is cached on the local hard drive to speed site access while reducing bandwidth demands. Alternatively, 'site templating engines' such as Smarty(PHP), Velocity(Java) and Cheetah(Python) use caching to speed up the delivery of dynamically generated content while reducing server demands.

Client-side code

Client-Side code is sent to web browser and executed by the browser's rendering engine. JavaScript is by far the most widely supported client side scripting language, although VB script is supported on the Windows Platform.

CMS

A CMS, or Content Management System, is an application designed to store, format, reproduce and manage Web/intranet data. The CMS usually uses a database to store the content and a server-side scripting language to recall and present the data.

Co-Located Hosting

Co-located hosting involves the Webmaster providing their own server, which is typically housed in a data center or facility that links it to the Internet. The Webmaster usually pays the data center a fee to house the server. This can be a cheaper arrangement than dedicated hosting for sites that receive a lot of traffic.

ColdFusion

Cold Fusion is Adobe's (and before that Macromedia's and then Allaire's) server-side scripting technology. It supports a range of databases including MS Access, dBASE, FoxPro, and Paradox.

Cookie

Cookies are small files sent to a Web user's computer by a Website. The cookies allow the site's tracking programs to identify that computer. In this way, site owners can collect information about a user's movement among the site's pages, if and when the user returns to the site, and other similar data. Cookies can also allow site owners to serve particular users specific information, based on their previous interaction with the site. Amazon's "Your Favorites" is an example of this functionality.

CSS

Cascading Style Sheets for a set of formatting rules interpreted by the Web browser (or other client) that may contain the styling and formatting information intended for the presentation of a Web page. The W3C recommends the use of CSS to help keep Web content (HTML/XHTML) separate from its formatting information.