Center for Management Development 1 Introduction to Electronic Commerce TERMS Dr. Scudder.

Center for Management Development1

Introduction to Electronic Commerce

TERMS

Dr. Scudder


Index 1

ANSI

Application

Anonymous FTP

Application Acknowledgement

ASCII

ATM

Authentication

Backbone

Bandwidth

Barcode

Bit

Broadband

Browser

Bulletin Board

Cad/Cam

Commerce

Convergence

Cross post

Critical Mass

Cyber Space

Defacto Standard

Digital Cash

Digital Signature

E-Commerce

E-mail

Edifact

EDI

Electronic Form

EFT

Electronic Publishing

Electronic Purse

Encryption

FAQ

FTP

Filter

Finger

Firewall

Flame GO to NextIndex Page


GIF

HTML

Hypertext

HTTP

Information

Superhighway

Internet

ISP

Interoperability

IP Address

JIT

List Serv

LAN

Mail bomb

Mail box

Map

Micropayment

MIME

Multimedia

Network

Newbie

Non-repudiation

Point-to-point

Point-to-multipoint

PGP

Product code

Protocol

Proxy server

PSTN

Public Domain

Quick Response

Remote Access

Remote Host

Slip

Server

SMTP

Smart Card

Snail Mail

Spamming

Stand Alone

TCP/IP

Telnet

Index 2


Text File

Trading Partner

Transmission

Trojan Horse

URL

UPC

VAN

User Friendly

Uuencode

Value Added Network

Web Page

Web Server

Web Site

World Wide Web

Protocols

Http

TCP/IP

FTP

POP

IMAP

Go Back to Previous Index

Index 3


Commerce

Defined– “Activity embracing all forms of the

purchase and sale of goods and services”

• Collins English Dictionary


Electronic Commerce

Includes business functions other than just ‘purchase of goods and services’, i.e.– ATO Electronic Lodgement Service– CHESS Australian Stock Exchange– ASC Electronic Document Lodgement– NSW Tax line - Stamp duty


Electronic Commerce

Is not about the technology itself

It is about business and how businesses use the available technology and applications to meet their business needs incl. – Improving effectiveness, efficiency, flexibility

and capacity to adapt to changing conditions


Electronic Commerce Technologies

Processor technologies

Networking technologies

Data capture technologies

Storage technologies

Display technologies

Printing technologies


Electronic Commerce Applications

Email

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)

Smart cards

EFTPOS

Electronic catalogues

Electronic directories


EC Terminology

New technology terms developed on an on-going basis

A selection of electronic commerce terms


ANSI

(American National Standards Institute)– administer a wide variety of standards in the

US including the ASCX12 EDI standard)

Application– a software program that performs a useful

task of tasks on a computer system


Anonymous FTP– an Internet tool that enables anonymous

access to a remote computer system

Application Acknowledgment– an EDI transaction set used for the

automatic acknowledgment of another transaction sent e.g. a purchase order


ASCII– American Standard Code for Information

Exchange– an 8 bit code to represent 256 characters

of the English alphabet, foreign language characters, numbers, punctuation and selected symbols


ATM – Asynchronous Transfer Mode– a technology that permits the sharing of

transmission facilities between different data types, i.e. voice, data and video by carrying the data in small fixed-sized cells (56 byte)


Authentication– method of ensuring that the party

accessing a computer system is actually the party they are claiming to be

Backbone– a network that connects other networks

and allows them to send data to one another


Bandwidth– the amount of data that can be transmitted

over a circuit or network measured in bits per second

Bar code– printed bars and spaces that represent

alpha-numeric characters that enables data to be captured automatically into computer systems


Bit– the smallest unit of information, i.e. a

binary digit equal to either a zero or one

Broadband– any transmission system that combines

multiple signals on one circuit i.e. a cable which can support video, voice and text simultaneously


Browser– a program that locates and displays HTML

documents e.g. Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mosaic, Opera, etc.

Bulletin Board (BBS)– a computer system that provides subscribers with

news and information on particular topics and usually allows posting of public and private messages by subscribers


CAD/CAM– computer aided design/computer aided

manufacturing

Client– any computer or application that requests

services or information from another computer or application


Convergence– refers to the ‘moving together’ of the

various communications, information and entertainment industries to a common interactive broadband media

Crosspost– where the same message is posted to

multiple newsgroups


Critical mass– a technology derives its value from the

extent that its use is universal amongst potential users. Critical mass is the point where the number of users of the technology is such that its use is considered to be ‘universal’


Cyberspace– a term used to describe all computers and forms

of electronic communication as an ‘environment’ that users can enter and experience e.g. over the Internet

De facto standard– a standard that is widely used by many users and

software developers without having been created or approved by an official standards body


Digital cash– funds which are held in an on-line account

which can be electronically transferred between two parties

Digital signature– a method of ensuring that a message was

actually sent by a person claiming to send it


Email– the deliver of text messages and attachments over

a network from on computer to another, generally messages created by a human and intended for one or more people

EDIFACT– Electronic Data Interchange for Administration

Trade and Transport– UN sponsored global EDI standards


Electronic Commerce– the conduct of business communication

and transactions over networks and through computers

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)– the computer application to computer

application exchange of business data between organisations in a structured and standardised format


Electronic form (eform)– an electronic form displayed on a computer screen

for completion by the user

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)– the electronic transfer of funds between bank

accounts of business partners

Electronic publishing– the electronic distribution of newsletters, journals,

white papers, research reports etc.


Electronic purse– a card with stored value that can be

‘loaded’ with digital cash at banks or from ‘electronic wallets’ and spent using “point-of-sale’ devices

Encryption– the disguising of a message to obscure its

meaning


FAQ– a list of frequently asked questions about a

topic with answersFTP (File transfer protocol)– a tool which allows users to transfer files

from remote hosts to their computerFilter– a utility that disposes of unwanted input

according to pre-defined specifications


Finger– a tool that allows a user to obtain a list of

all users currently logged on to a specific host

Firewall– a computer system, router or pair of

routers between the Internet and a private network to prevent unauthorised users from accessing the private network


Flame– an angry or often insulting message

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)

– a file format that supports the transmission of graphics files

HTML– HyperText Mark-up Language– the document language used for creating

WWW pages


HTTP Hyper Text Transfer Protocol

HyperText (or hot links)– links to other sections of the same document or

other documents over the WWWInformation Superhighway– the global information infrastructure, including the

Internet, PSTN (public switched telephone network), the cable network etc.


Internet– a global network of “Inter”connected

computer “net”works

Internet Service Provider (ISP)– provides connections to the Internet


Interoperability– the ability to integrate products from different

vendors into functional systems without developing custom software, hardware or tools, and without using gateways between the products

IP address– a 32 bit number that uniquely identifies the

connection between the Internet and each host computer or IP router


Just-in-time– a process designed to minimise the amount of

inventory held and requires the delivery of goods from suppliers ‘just-in-time’ when they are needed. Used in the supply of goods for manufacturing and in the retail sector when usage or sale can be programmed.

LAN– local area network- a network typically found in a

limited geographic area or devoted to a specific department or organization.


Listserv– a mailing list that automatically distributes

messages sent to it

Mail bomb– filling other Internet users email box with

unwanted messages


Mailbox– a logical storage area for incoming email

messages which await a specified user

Map– Translation from one format to another. In

EDI, the translation of EDI data from one EDI format to another or between an EDI format and the format of another system


Micropayment– a very small payment (fraction of a cent)

MIME– multi-purpose Internet mail extension– a standard for sending multimedia non-

ASCII messages over the Internet


Multimedia– documents that combine multiple data

types, e.g. text, graphics, scanned images, audio and video

Network– the hardware and software that permits

multiple computers to communicate with each other


Newbie– a new Internet user

Non-repudiation– assurance to either party in an electronic

transaction that the other cannot later deny having agreed to or sent the transaction. The assurance is generally provided by means of a digital signature


Point to point– a mode of communication in which two

parties communicate with each other, e.g. telephone calls

Point to multipoint– a mode of communication in which one

party communicates with many


PGP– pretty good privacy– an encryption program freely distributed on

the Internet for assuring privacy of email messages

Product code– an alphanumeric code that uniquely

identifies a product


Protocol– a description of rules and guidelines that

determine how computers and other devices on a network communicate with each other

Proxy server– a server which relays requests for service on

behalf of clients. It may also provide a firewall security between the Internet and a private network by examining the content of packets before forwarding them


PSTN– public switched telephone network

Public domain– a program or document not protected by

copyright, patents or trade secrets that may be copied, modified or resold, for any purpose without any obligation to the originator


Quick response (QR)– a strategy to improve response to

customer demand by using various technologies to share point-of-sale information between retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers and suppliers

Remote access– dial-up access to a network or computer

system


Remote host– a host (computer) accessed over a network

using telnet, FTP, or some other client application

Slip– a standard for TCP/IP point-to-point

connections over serial lines


Server– a computer or software program that

provides services to clients over a network upon request

SMTP– the worldwide de-facto electronic

messaging standard. Whilst it facilitates mail between the Internet and other networks, it is limited to ASCII characters


Smart card– a credit card sized device implanted with

either computer memory chips or computer processors

Snail mail– mail delivered by the traditional postal

service


Spamming– the mass distribution of unwanted

information (usually commercial) to Internet users and newsgroups

Stand-alone– an adjective used to describe a computer

system that completely performs its function without the need to connect to another computer system


TCP/IP– transmission control protocol/Internet

protocol

Telnet– the standard Internet Terminal emulation

protocol that permits clients to log-on to remote computers


Text file– a file that only contains ASCII characters

which can be read on a screen by a human

Trading partner– any company or organisation that regularly

transacts business


Transmission– the transfer of information from one

location to another by electronic, electromagnetic or optical means

Trojan horse– a seemingly benign computer program

which contains software designed to disrupt the computer it runs on and possible destroy data


URL (uniform resource locator)

– a standardised method of identifying any document or resource on the Internet e.g. http://www.buseco.monash.edu.au/

UPC (universal product code)

– a numeric code for retail goods that identifies a particular product (6 digits to identify the manufacturer and 6 digits assigned by the manufacturer to uniquely identify the product)

VAN Value Added Network – Network provider of

business services such as EDI


User-friendly– easily used by a user, particularly one who

is not familiar with the application or with computers and software in general

Uuencode– a Unix program that encodes a binary file

into ASCII so that it can be transmitted over Internet mail. The recipient uses the uudecode program to decode the file


Value Added Network (VAN)– a network that offers special services such

as protocol conversion and data store and forward

Web page– text and graphics sent to a web browser by

a web server which may or may not fill more than one computer screen but all of which can be viewed by scrolling


Web server– a server supporting one or more web sites

which supplies web pages to web browsers upon request

Web site– one or more interlinked web pages

controlled by a single organisation and linked to a single home page


World Wide Web (WWW)– a set of Internet servers that provide

hypertext services to clients running WWW browsers


Sample Protocols– HTTP – Hypertext Transfer Protocol– TCP/IP – Transmission Control

Protocol/Internet Protocol– FTP – File Transfer Protocol– POP – Post Office Protocol– IMAP –Internet Mail Access Protocol

Center for Management Development 1 Introduction to Electronic Commerce TERMS Dr. Scudder.

Documents

management development

application slide

computer system slide

byte slide

scudder slide

index page slide

purchase order slide

computer systems