yeah, an EP is a smaller selection of tracks. between 4 and 8. They are usually done by artists starting out because they have a smaller budget, or by larger artists to fill in a gap between albums
EP's came from punk bands, with small songs. Which made it difficult to fill an LP so they're released in EP format.
Nowadays though, they're released by any band who's music is too long for a single but too short for an album.