Glossary

Access.log - This is the file that contains the current set of page requests since the last rotation.  The file is actively being written to with each page request.  When data is rotated its contents are deleted and it begins recording new requests.  (see Access.log)

Apache - The typical web server on which the JDC runs. (see Pre-installation Steps)

Archive - This is the dataset data that has been stored and is available to the Pro Processor for download. (see Archive Window)

CGI-Bin - The directory location  of the script that handles data collection. (see ctasp-server.cgi)

ClickTracks_Config - The main configuration file that defines the structure of a dataset. (see ClickTracks_config.xml)

ClickTracks Professional - The Windows application that processes and analyzes data from the JDC to produce reports. (see ClickTracks Professional Processor)

Cluster - Multiple JDCs joined together by a load balancer for high-volume data collection. (see Data Center)

Cookie Tracking - Tracking unique visitor IDs that have been set in cookies in order to track past visits. (see Cookie Tracking Files)

ctasp-server.cgi - The central script that handles the actual data collection (see ctasp-server.cgi)

CTC - The extension for files that track visitor cookies. (see Cookie Tracking Files)

Data Center - A high-bandwidth, secured facility that specializes in running high-volume, mission-critical web servers.  (see Data Center).

Dataset - The complete set of data, including configuration files, .NLF files, .CTC files, and index files that constitute all the raw material from which reports can be generated for a contiguous set of web pages. (see Datasets)

Digital Certificate - Public key technology that attests to the identity of the owner of a website based on the endorsement of a known certificate authority.  (see Pre-installation Steps)

DOM - Document Object Model - The structure of HTML or XML documents.  JavaScript can extract data from the DOM to be used in web analytics. (see JavaScript Snippet)

JDC - JavaScript Data Collector.  This is the name of the application that collects website visitor traffic and converts the clickstream data into a dataset for use by the ClickTracks Professional web analytics program.

IIS - Internet Information Server.  Microsoft's web server.  The JDC does not run on this web server.  (see Pre-Installation Steps)

JavaScript Snippet - A small piece of JavaScript code that calls the data collection script on the JDC, causing a record of the page request to be logged.

Load Balancer - A software application that controls the activity of multiple servers so that the servers share the job of data collection.  (see Data Center)

Mod_Perl - A module for the Apache web server that embeds a Perl interpreter into Apache in order to handle Perl scripts without having to launch the Perl interpreter.  (see Pre-installation Steps)

NLF - Normalized Log File.  This is the highly structured and compressed form of clickstream data.  It is the equivalent of a logfile, except that the data has been cleaned and compressed.  (see Normalized Logfiles)

OEM Viewer - A ClickTracks client application that can download datasets directly from the JDC and analyze them locally. (see End-user Experience)

P3P Privacy Policy - Platform for Privacy Preferences - a protocol allowing Websites to declare their intended use of information they collect in cookies. (see Post-installation Steps)

Redhat Linux - A leading distribution of Linux.  This is recommended platform for the JDC. (see Pre-installation Steps)

Revisit Tracking - Keeping track of visitors past visits through their unique visitor ID cookie.  (see Revisit Tracking)

Reporting Engine - A component of the Pro Processor that serves reports to the Pro Client application, web browsers, or email. (see ClickTracks Professional Processor)

Rotation - The process of moving data from the raw Access.log and into .NLF and .CTC files (See Rotation)

Sub-domain - A defined subset of a dataset.  A dataset may consist of multiple sub-domains. (see Sub-domains)

Third-party cookies - Cookies that are set by a server other than the one serving the main HTML document. (see Advanced Setup)

URL Pruning - Removing parts of a URL in order to collapse apparently different URLs into the same one.  (see URL Pruning)

Virtual Private Server (VPS) - A web server that is shared among various parties.  These are not recommended.  (see Data Center)