E-commerce Glossary - T

T-1

A dedicated phone connection supporting data rates of 1.544Mbits per second. A T-1 line actually consists of 24 individual channels, each of which supports 64Kbits per second. Each 64Kokbit/second channel can be configured to carry voice or data traffic.

Tag

A code within a data structure that gives instructions for formatting or other actions. HTML documents are set up using HTML tags, which serve various functions, such as controlling the styling of text and placement of graphic elements and providing links to interactive programs and scripts.

Tag Line

A line of copy used in an ad that captures the theme of the advertisement or broader campaign and is placed prominently within it.

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)

Acronym for Transmission Control Protocol. A standard communications process for moving information over a network. A process of sending information or data in packets from one computer to another that reassembles it. Uses IP to send the packets over the Internet and Intranets.

TCP/IP (Transmission Control /Internet Protocol)

Acronym for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, the suite of communications protocols used to connect hosts on the Internet. TCP/IP uses several protocols, the two main ones being TCP and IP. TCP/IP is built into the UNIX operating system and is used by the Internet, making it the de facto standard for transmitting data over networks. Even network operating systems that have their own protocols, such as Netware, also support TCP/IP.

Telnet

A method of logging onto remote computer systems using a terminal program or other applications using the Telnet protocol. You can use the Telnet application to run commands and programs on a remote computer.

Terminal

A device that allows you to send commands to a computer somewhere else. At a minimum, this usually means a keyboard and a display screen and some simple circuitry. Usually you will use terminal software in a personal computer--the software pretends to be ("emulates") a physical terminal and allows you to type commands to a computer somewhere else.

The World Portal Navigation System

A top to bottom Internet domain hierarchy structure intended to advance the Internet into 21st Century capability and allow the use of more physical world strategies and characteristics. Comprised of functional units and nodes to advance the use of the Internet at various levels of geographic areas and markets.

Thin Client

A simple client program (not required to know how to interpret and display objects much more complex than menus and plain text ) or hardware device that relies on most of the function of the system being in the server.

TLD (Top Level Domain)

Acronym for Top Level Domain. Denotes a primary Internet domain. Examples: .com, .net. .org, etc. Issued by ICANN in a effort to stabilize the Internet, encourage competition, protect trade name infringements, and satisfy the demand for effective domain names for organizations.

Trading Partner

Any entity that does transactions with a company or business, for example, suppliers, distributors, transportation providers, financial institutions, etc.

Traffic

The amount of information being passed around the Internet.

Transaction Fee

A charge for each credit card transaction, collected by the MAP (merchant account provider) or ISO. Transaction fees usually fall between $0.20 and $1 ( U.S.).

Turnkey

An e-business solution in which the provider assumes total responsibility from design through completion of the project. For example, you can have a turnkey Web site (a complete site built according to your specifications), a turnkey e-commerce solution (which would include all the software and merchant accounts required to enable an e-store to accept credit cards), or a turnkey search engine submission service (which writes your keywords and submits your site to search engines and directories for you). Many consulting firms refer to themselves as turnkey solution providers, meaning that they can assess your needs and do all the coding required to build an entire e-commerce capable Web site.

Turnkey Application

Software that requires little or no modification when inserted into a Web site. In e-commerce, many MAPs ( merchant account providers) and ISOs offer turnkey applications for processing credit card orders online.