ok, i hate it when internet nerds try to make stuff sound more complex than it really is for the sole purpose of confusing and sounding cool.

so here is my break-down of internet slang and terminology:

1.) CSS
Lets you define universal website styles throughout a site in one place (fonts, colors, etc.) Does not really separate programming from design in a website. Makes all websites look the same.

2.) XML
The latest buzzword. Definition: HTML that can store data. Will never replace databases. Serves as an intermediate source between systems that do not cooperate.

3.) RSS
I had the hardest time understanding this. Every single website had pages and pages on what this does. Here is is folks ... ::drumroll::

RSS is XML with a specific parser pre-built. The confusing thing is that XML in its very nature is for syndication, which is why I was confused with RSS.

4.) PHP
A templating engine. What I don't understand is why someone would build a templating engine (Smarty) on top of PHP.

Ok, that's it.