INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER: CHAPTER 8 : INTRODUCTION TO THE INTERNET

History of Internet

• IN 1969- US funded a project that develop a national computer called Advanced Research Project Agency Network (ARPANET).

• Large network that connects together smaller network all over the globe.

• Internet is a publicly available, global network of computers.

• Interconnects billions of users. For example:

Businesses
Citizens
Governments
Academic Institutions
Research Centers
Libraries

Applications of the Internet

The internet is used for a many of applications. For example:

o WWW

o Email

o Instant messaging

WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW)

n The world wide web is a sophisticated system for universal information capture and delivery

n The world wide web consortium (W3C) definition of the web: "The World Wide Web is the universe of network-accessible information, an embodiment of human knowledge"

n Provides information access in ways not previously possible

Ø Hyperlinked (Hypertext)

Ø Graphical user interface

Ø Pictorial and non-text information

Ø Information that changes rapidly

Ø Immediate access

Ø Anyone can author a web site

Ø Multi-user access to the same information (try that with a book)

Ø Easily searchable information

n The functionality of the WWW is based on 3 main standards:

Ø URL (Universal Resource Locator)

Ø HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)

Ø HTTP (Hypertext transfer Protocol)

INTERNET ADDRESS

URL = Universal Resource Locator
URL is the address window just below the toolbar buttons will usually contain the unique addres of a web page or file on the Internet.
HTTP – Hypertext Transfer Protocol (http://) is the means of communicating by using links, the clickable text or image that transport a user to the desired web site.
HTTPS – Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (https://)
HTTPS connections are often used for payment transactions and for sensitive transactions in corporat Domain name is the address of the site’s host computer.
The last part of the domain name , “com” called top-level domain and represents the purpose of organization or entity.
com is commercial,
edu is education,
gov is government,
org is organization,
net is networking center.
e information systems.

E-mail

E-mail or electronic mail is the transmission of electronic messages over the Internet.
A typical e-mail message has three basic elements : header. Message and signature.
Addresses : Addresses of the person sending, receiving, and optionally, anyone else who is to receive copies.
Subject : A line description, used to present the topic of the message. Subject lines typically are displayed when a person checks his or her mailbox.
Attachments : many e-mail programs allow you to attach files such as documents and image files.
Signature : Provides additional information about the sender. This information may include the sender’s name, address and telephone number.

WEB BROWSERS

A browser is software used to explore the Internet.
Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) is by far the most popular browser, probably because it is included with Windows
Others like Google Chrome, Netscape, Opera and Mozilla are available too.

SEARCH ENGINES

A search engine is software, usually located at its own web site, that lets a user specify search terms; the search engine then finds sites that fit those terms.
A browser usually offers links to one or more search engines, or a user can simply link to the site of a favorite search engine.
Examples : yahoo!, bing, google, msn, altavista etc.