Resource Description Framework (RDF) is a general framework or set of rules for describing any Internet resource, especially information available on the World Wide Web such as a website and it’s content. An RDF description is also referred to as metadata, which can include the all the information of a resource including the author of the resource, the date of creation or update, the organization of the pages on a site, information that describes the content in terms of audience or content rating, keywords that search engines look for and subject categories.

Features of the Resource Description Framework

The Resource Description Framework makes it possible for everyone to share a website and other descriptions more easily. Software developers can use the metadata to provide better search engines and directories.

RDF can also be used to describe a collection of books, or artists, or a collection of web pages as in the RSS data format which uses RDF to create machine-readable summaries of web sites.

RDF is also used in XPFE applications to define the relationships between different collections of elements, for example RDF could be used to define the relationship between the data in a database and the way that data is displayed to a user.

RDF was developed under the guidance of World Wide Web Consortium(W3C) to allow developers to build search engines that rely on the metadata and to allow Internet users to share website information more readily. RDF relies on XML as an interchange syntax, creating an ideal system for the exchange of information on the Web.

A permalink is a blogging term and used as a short for “permanent link”. A permalink is a URL that links to a specific news story or Web posting which users can then use to bookmark that particular article. Permalinks are an important part of frequently changed and updated blogs, as without a permanent link, the posts would be difficult to find later. They give a specific Web address to each posting, allowing blog entries to be bookmarked by visitors or linked to from other websites. Permalinks are usually indicated by a hash-sign (#) or the permalink at the end of the post.

A permalink is what another weblogger will use to refer to your article, or how you might send a link to your story in an e-mail message. Because others may link to your individual articles, the URL to that article shouldn’t change.

Permalinks are based around the idea that URLs are frequently visible to the people who click them, and should therefore be crafted in such a way that they make sense, and not be filled with unnecessary descriptions. The best permalinks are those that a user might modify the link text in their browser to navigate to another section or listing of the weblog.

SGML or Standard Generalized Markup Language is a standard for organizing and tagging elements of a document. SGML is not in itself a document language, but a description of how to specify one. It specifies the rules for tagging elements. These tags can then be interpreted to format elements in different ways. SGML was developed and standardized by the International Organization for Standards (ISO) in 1986.

SGML is based on the idea that documents have structural and other semantic elements that can be described without reference to how such elements should be displayed. The actual display of such a document may vary, depending on the output medium and style preferences.

SGML is used widely to manage large documents that are subject to frequent revisions and need to be printed in different formats. It is not so widely used on personal computers though as it’s a large and complex system. However, the growth of Internet, and especially the World Wide Web, is creating renewed interest in SGML because Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), is an example of an SGML-based language and the World Wide Web uses HTML, which is one way of defining and interpreting tags according to SGML rules.

Lynx is a text-only web browser used by people to navigate the World Wide Web. Lynx was used by many before the web gained its graphical face, although it is still used extensively today by the visually impaired poeple, people with limited physical abilities and those people with slow Internet connections who don’t want to take the time to load graphics.

Lynx is probably the most popular and widely used TEXT MODE browser on the Internet. It runs on a wide variety of platforms, including Unix, Macintosh and Windows and VMS(Virtual Memory Systems). Lynx is a full-featured browser, which means there is almost no content on the web that Lynx cannot retreive and display, either by itself or by calling on other software designed for the purpose.

Lynx is distributed under the GNU Public License which means it is free for all to use, modify and redistribute as long as it is kept in the public domain. Many people have tweaked Lynx and adapted it for use in their particular environment.

If you use the UNIX shell interface and your access provider offers it, Lynx may be interesting for you since it has a succinct key driven user interface.

Cyclic Redundancy Check(CRC) is a common technique for detecting data transmission errors. It’s a type of hash function which is used to produce a checksum a small, fixed number of bits against a block of data, such as a packet of network traffic or a block of a computer file. The checksum is used to detect errors after transmission or storage. Transmitted messages are divided into predetermined lengths that are divided by a fixed divisor.

According to the calculation, the remainder number is attached onto and sent with the message. When the message is received, the computer recalculates the remainder and compares it to the transmitted part to confirm that no changes occurred on transit. If the numbers do not match, an error is detected.

CRC checks happen every time you read the media. Many CD and DVD burning programs will include a read pass immediately after writing, to ensure that the data was written properly.

CRCs are popular because they are simple to implement in binary hardware, easy to analyze mathematically, and are particularly good at detecting common errors caused by noise in transmission channels.

A number of file transfer protocols, including Zmodem, use CRC in addition to checksum.

API is an abbreviation of Application Program Interface, also referred to as Application Programming Interface. API is a set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software applications. It is a specific method prescribed by a computer operating system or by an application program according to which a programmer writing an application program can make requests of the operating system or another application. A good API makes it easier to develop a program by providing all the building blocks, a programmer puts those blocks together.

An API implies that some program module is available in the computer to perform the operation or that it must be linked into the existing program to perform the tasks. Most operating environments, such as MS-Windows, provide an API so that programmers can write applications consistent with the operating environment. Although APIs are designed for programmers, they are good for users as well because they guarantee that all programs using a common API will have similar interfaces. This makes it easier for users to learn new programs.

An API can be contrasted with a graphical user interface(GUI) or a command interface (both are direct user interfaces) as interfaces to an operating system or a program.