Internet Development Glossary

A

• alpha
  Pertaining to a pixel's opacity. A pixel with the maximum alpha value is opaque, one with a value of zero is transparent, and one with an intermediate value is translucent.

• alpha blending
  In computer graphics, a technique that causes a foreground image to appear partially transparent over a background image. The technique blends the background image with partially transparent pixels in the foreground image by performing a weighted average of the color components of the two images.

• alpha premultipled
  The technique of scaling the three color components of a sample by alpha before storing their values. This saves many mathematical steps when alpha blending two images. For the PMARGB32 pixel format, all color values are alpha premultiplied.

• ARGB32
  One of the two common pixel formats supported by DirectX. ARGB32 consists of uncompressed alpha, red, green, and blue.

• attached
  Physically connected to a system. A device can be installed without being attached.

• authentication data
  A scheme-specific block of data that is exchanged between the server and client during authentication. To prove its identity, the client encrypts some or all of this data with a user name and password. The client sends the encrypted data to the server, which decrypts the data and compares it to the original. If the decrypted data matches the original data, the client is authenticated.

B

• bilinear
  A rendering method used to map a source image to a target image. This method uses the weighted average of the four nearest source pixels to define a target pixel.

• binding source
  In data binding, the object from which the value is obtained.

• binding target
  In data binding, the object that consumes the value of the binding.

• block-level element
  An HTML element that, in general, begins a new line. A block-level element may include other block-level elements or inline elements.

• blog
  A frequently updated online journal or column.

C

• Canvas
  An HTML5 element that is part of the W3C HTML5 specification. This element allows dynamic scriptable rendering of pixels, bitmaps, and 2D shapes such as rectangles, polygons, and ellipses.

• certificate store
  A permanent storage where certificates, certificate revocation lists, and certificate trust lists are stored. A certificate store can also be temporary when working with session-based certificates.

• code page
  A table that relates the character codes (code point values) used by a program to keys on the keyboard or to characters on the display. This provides support for character sets and keyboard layouts for different countries or regions.

• collection
  An object that contains a set of related objects. An object's position in the collection can change whenever a change occurs in the collection; therefore, the position of any specific object in a collection may vary.

• color key
  A color used for transparent or translucent effects. An overlay surface is displayed in the region of the primary surface that contains the color key. In video production, color keys are used to combine two video signals. Also called a chroma key.

• combinator
  A method used to map a source image to a target image. This method uses the weighted average of the four nearest source pixels to define a target pixel.

• compositing
  The process of combining two images to form a new image. The most common compositing operation is an over operation, in which one image is placed over another, taking into account the alpha information of both images.

• cryptographic digest
  The result of a one-way hash function that takes a variable-length input string and converts it to a fixed-length output string. This fixed-length output string is probabilistically unique for every different input string and thus can act as a fingerprint of a file. It can be used to determine whether a file was tampered with.

D

• data binding
  The process of creating a link between a property and a source. The source can be local or external.

• data space
  A series of transforms that operate on data in a specific order.

• descent
  The pixel offset of the bottom of an element with respect to its baseline.

• device context
  A data structure that defines the graphic objects, their associated attributes, and the graphic modes that affect output on a device.

• DirectX Immediate Mode
  A rendering API in which client calls directly cause rendering of graphics objects to the display

• DirectX Retained Mode
  A COM-based scene graph API.

• dirty range
  An area in a markup container where changes have occurred.

• display pointer
  A pointer that marks a position in the markup text of an HTML document during editing in relation to the onscreen position of the rendered page. A display pointer is controlled by an GetDisplayGravity interface. Display pointers work in conjunction with markup pointers.

• dithering
  A method to display a range of colors with a limited palette. Each pixel on the source image is represented by multiple pixels (usually a 2x2 square) on the destination image. From a distance, the eye blends the multiple pixels into one color that has more shades than the original palette. The techniques results in a better visual appearance than the removal of low precision bits.

• double bang
  A double negation operator (!!), used to force a Boolean return value.

• drawing container
  In SVG, an element that groups graphics elements, used as a partial canvas.

E

• execute buffer
  A fully self-contained, independent packet of information that describes a 3-D scene. An execute buffer contains a vertex list followed by an instruction stream. The instruction stream consists of operation codes and the data that is operated on by those codes.

F

• F12 Developer Tools
  Web development tools that are accessible in Internet Explorer by pressing F12 or clicking Developer Tools on the Tools menu.

• full delegation
  A delegation in which a layout behavior requests complete control over the visual layout of elements.

• full PIDL
  A PIDL that uniquely describes an object relative to the desktop folder.

H

• hidden helper
  An input element used to store information about the state of a webpage.

• HTTP verb
  An instruction sent in a request message that notifies an HTTP server of the action to perform on the specified resource. For example, GET specifies that a resource is being retrieved from the server. Common verbs include GET, POST, and HEAD.

I

• icon overlay
  An icon that appears on top of the taskbar button icon, used to communicate alerts, notifications, and status. Icon overlays are a feature of pinned sites in Internet Explorer 9.

• inline element
  An HTML element that typically does not start a new line, such as EM, FONT, and SPAN.

• inline SVG
  SVG markup that is included in the markup for a webpage.

• item identifier list
  An ordered sequence of one or more item identifiers. Each item in the list corresponds to a namespace object.

J

• Jump List
  A customizable mini-menu with application shortcuts that rises up from the taskbar.

L

• literal content
  The content inside an element's open and closing tags. This content is not parsed or rendered by MSHTML.

• local registration authority
  An intermediary between a software publisher and a CA. The local registration authority can, for example, verify a publisher's credentials before sending them to the CA.

M

• markup container
  The staging area for editing an HTML document or HTML fragments.

• master element
  An element in a parent document to which a child document is attached. Examples of master elements are input, frame, iframe, or elements created by an element behavior.

• Multi Line Mode
  A text box mode that allows data entry on multiple lines.

N

• natural sizing
  The default layout and sizing of a collection of elements, as determined by MSHTML.

• nearest neighbor
  A rendering method used to map a source image to a target image. This method uses only the nearest source pixel to define a target pixel.

O

• one-off address
  A rendering method used to map a source image to a target image. This method uses only the nearest source pixel to define a target pixel.

P

• palettized surface
  A surface in which each pixel color is represented by a number that indexes into a color palette.

• PIDL
  A pointer to an item identifier list. In the Shell API, namespace objects are usually identified by a PIDL.

• pinned site
  A website that's pinned to the taskbar on the Windows desktop, which provides one-click access to the website.

• pixel format
  The size and arrangement of pixel color components. The format is specified by the total number of bits used per pixel and the number of bits used to store the red, green, blue, and alpha components of the color of the pixel.

• PKCS #7
  The Cryptographic Message Syntax Standard. It is a general syntax, developed and maintained by RSA Data Security, Inc., for data to which cryptography may be applied, such as digital signatures and encryption. It also provides a syntax for disseminating certificates or certificate revocation lists.

• PMARGB32
  One of the two common pixel formats supported by DirectX. PMARG32 uses 8-bit values for alpha, red, green, and blue, for a total of 32-bits per pixel. Each color is alpha premultiplied, which makes alpha blending operations more efficient.

• posterizing
  A lookup table operation that reduces the number of colors used in an image.

• procedural surface
  A surface with pixel RGB color and alpha values defined dynamically. Only the procedure used to compute the surface is stored in memory.

• pseudo-class
  A class used by CSS selectors to allow information that is external to the HTML source, such as whether a link has been visited, to classify elements.

• pseudo-element
  An element used by CSS selectors to style typographical rather than structural elements.

R

• relative PIDL
  A PIDL that is relative to a root object in the shell namespace other than the desktop folder. This is commonly the parent folder of the item.

• render
  To display video, audio, or text content from a file or stream using a software program, such as Windows Media Player.

S

• sample
  An indivisible element of an image that is stored in computer memory. The terms pixel and sample are often used interchangeably.

• sample runmap
  An array of sample runs that make up an entire image.

• Scalable Vector Graphics
  An XML-based language for device-independent description of two-dimensional graphics. SVG images maintain their appearance when printed or when viewed with different screen sizes and resolutions. SVG is a recommendation of the W3C.

• selection anchor
  The point at which a selection operation was initiated. This point might be at the visual beginning or end of the selection, depending on how the user made the selection. For example, if the user makes a text selection by moving the mouse pointer from the end of a sentence to its beginning, the selection anchor will be at the end of that sentence.

• selection end
  The point at which a selection operation ends. This point might be at the visual beginning or end of the selection, depending on how the user made the selection. For example, if the user makes a text selection by moving the mouse pointer from the end of a sentence to its beginning, the selection end will be at the beginning of that sentence.

• semantic layout
  Markup that is based on meaning or intention, as opposed to direct specification of style.

• simple PIDL
  A PIDL that is parsed without disk verification.

• site selectable
  Capable of being selected as a whole element in the editor. Any element with a height or width attribute, either implicitly or explicitly defined, is site selectable.

• Software Publishing Certificate
  A PKCS #7 signed-data object containing X.509 certificates. The certificate contains the verifiable public key of a trusted software publisher.

• storage
  A logical grouping of data or objects within a compound file that can contain streams or other subordinate storages. The relationship between storages and streams in a compound file is similar to that of folders and files.

• stream
  An abstraction of a sequence of bytes, such as a file, an I/O device, an inter-process communication pipe, a TCP/IP socket, or a spooled print job. The relationship between streams and storages in a compound file is similar to that of files and folders.

• surface picking
  The process of choosing which input surface contributes most to the output surface at a certain position on the output. Surface picking is often used with mouse operations to choose different actions in code that depend on which image you select. In cases where several images are alpha blended on the output point, the transform can use the alpha channel of each input sample to choose the input surface.

• SVG
  An XML-based language for device-independent description of two-dimensional graphics. SVG images maintain their appearance when printed or when viewed with different screen sizes and resolutions. SVG is a recommendation of the W3C.

T

• task manager
  A generic service used to schedule and run caller-defined tasks. A task manager automatically breaks a transform task into threads and manages their completion, which improves the efficiency of the transform

• threshold filtering
  The process of reducing a full-color image to an eight-color image. This is done by setting a value for a threshold, which is the cutoff value for each color component of a sample.

• thumbnail toolbar
  A toolbar control that is embedded in a window?s thumbnail preview. Thumbnail toolbars are a feature of pinned sites in Internet Explorer 9.

• ticket
  A set of identification data for a security principle, issued by a domain controller for purposes of user authentication.

V

• viewport
  A virtual window, used for controls that display content, through which all or part of the content is visible. A viewport is typically used to display a particular portion of content when all of the content will not fit in the available display space. Compare to the extent size, which is the total width and height of the content.

X

• x-ua-compatible header
  An HTML header in which the HTTP-EQUIV property has a value of x-ua-compatible, which allows content to specify the document compatibility modes supported by the webpage.