what exactly is porting???

what exactly is porting of the cylinders? i am new to the tuner scene and i have heard many different things from different people/websites. i figure at least some of the people here know what they are talkin about.  

Porting is special method used to enlarge the existing holes(exhaust & intake ports of the head) inside the cylinder head for more air flow; thus, more horsepower since more air are being drawn inside the combustion chamber. I may be wrong but feel free to correct me.  
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that is what i thought but most tuner mags assume you already know everything so i was clarifying. thanks  

Nusdogg is right, the idea of porting a cylinder head(s) is to increase airflow and resistance in the exhaust and intake ports. more air/fuel in more horsepower out. porting may not give u a ton of power by itself but when an engine is built with everything in it (cam/cams, crank, oversized valves, and especially a turbo or supercharger) u will gain power. but if u r new to engine building or porting for that matter do not attempt it without some practice and expert advice because it is relatively easy to junk a cylinder head when porting if u dont know wat ur doing. and cylinder heads are not cheap.  

What you're speaking of is actually called BORING. A cylinder is first roughly bored usually .030" oversized, then a hone is used to finish up the cylinder and make a cross-hatch pattern at about a 30 degree angle. NEW PISTONS REQUIRED. GO FORGED!  

Nusdogg and WayFastRacer8 are correct.

Porting & usually polishing refers to the work done to a cylinder head to increase the flow.

If done correctly and not too big for the size of the engine usually increases the flow of the head for more power at high rpm's but usually also causes a loss of torque and power at lower rpm's.

Usually when I port a head I port the intake but don't polish it. Polishing the intake is usually done more for cosmetic than power. But I polish the exhaust as much as I can because it helps to avoid carbon build up in the exhaust port.