INTRODUCTION
TO THE
INTERNET
What is the Internet?
In short, the Internet is a worldwide network of smaller networks. A network is basically a group of computers agreeing to talk to each other over some son of wire, electromagnetic wave, or fiber optic cable. Physically, computers in a network are connected together by cables that allow the computers to share information. Computers can communicate with each other if all speak the same language. Computers that are "on the Internet" all use the same protocols to send information back and forth. As long as a computer uses these protocols, it doesn't matter what type of hardware or software it uses. In addition, every computer that is attached to the Internet also has an address that helps other computers locate it.
The Internet is a worldwide network of computers, and the World Wide Web is the most popular way of using the Internet to organize and link information. The Web uses hypertext to link documents with a graphical "point-and-click" interface. Other ways of using the Internet include e-mail, file transfer protocol (FTP), Telnet, and Usenet.
The Internet began as a project of U.s. Department of Defense called ARPANET. The goal of this project was to design a nationwide computer network that could withstand major disasters. If one part of the network is destroyed, the other parts would be able to stay up due to the decentralized structure of the network. At the very beginning, there were four computers in the U.S. attached to the network; today, there are millions all over the world.
In the Internet's early days (the 1960s and 70s), only government, military, and educational institutions had computers connected to the Internet. The Internet was originally intended to be used for research and scholarly communications. But as it grew, the Internet began to be used for informal communication, entertainment, and eventually commercial purposes with the connection of businesses in the 1990s. Now requests for information, such as product availability or credit status, can be made and results returned in a few seconds, even though the message may have traveled thousands of miles over the Internet.
At the center of the Internet are the servers. Servers are computers that store lots of information for other computers to download and view. When you look at a Web page, you are a client and the computer you look at is the server, sending its Web page to you over a tangle of wires, routers, and switches.
Today's Internet is a web of connectivity including telephone service providers, regional Internet Service Providers (ISPs), local ISPs, and millions of end users who access the information or post sites on the Internet via an ISP. The telephone companies or other large providers sell connectivity
What is the Internet? (Continued)
to Regional ISPs who lease part of their own connectivity to local ISPs or end users. The local ISPs then also sell pan of their connectivity to other end users. Needless (to say, this can lead to a lot of ISPs-by 1997 there were over 5,000 ISPs in the United States alone. And some of the large providers, like AOL and CompuServe, sell access directly (0 end users.
The Internet works smoothly because all the companies involved have agreed to exchange traffic (data) with one another. An end user (like a library in Alabama or a person with a home computer) is part of a local ISPs network, which is part of a regional ISPs network, which is part of an even larger U.S. network, which connects to a worldwide network and all these networks talking to each other over the globe are the Internet!
Explain the following page- the different parts of the internet
IRC stands for Instant relay chat, Sometimes have chat rooms where you can talk to several people at once.
You “chat” text, with someone on the computer, Now days they use the phone,
USENET is like a bulletin board- a board for almost any subject. Kayaking, snowboarding, mountain climbing, Child care, education, quilting Etc. You post something, someone or many others answerit.
Email – Short for electronic mail. Send to people all over the world.
FTP, Gopher and Telnet are also parts of the internet,
The World Wide Web is just part of the internet, When most people talk about the internet what they are really talking about is the World Wide Web, That is what we will be talking about today.
The backbone of the Internet are the large communications companies.
From there you Have Internet Service Providers (ISP) you pay them a monthly fee, to use their equipment and expertise.
There are different types of connections.
- Dial –up through your phone line- cannot receive phone calls when using Internet. Least cost
- DSL (Direct Service Link) still through phone line, but can still use phone. Faster connection intermediate cost
- Cable like your cable TV, faster more expensive
- Satellite- like Satellite TV. Most expensive.
Usenet
Gopher
Other Applications
World Wide Web
This illustrates how the World Wide Web is one of many Internet applications.
FTP
Telnet
THE INTERNET
ISP (like
AOL, PSI,
Compuserve)
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Compuserve) |
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AOL, PSI, |
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Compuserve) |
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AOL, PSI, |
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Compuserve) |
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ISP (like
AOL, PSI,
Compuserve)
ISP (like
AOL, PSI,
Compuserve)
ISP (like
AOL, PSI,
Compuserve)
Users
IRC
Go over each item quickly,
Internet Glossary
Browser (short for web Browser) You may get
Users
Browser
A type of software program that allows users to find and connect to Web pages. Two of the most popular browsers are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. These allow the user to move back and forth between pages through links.
E-mail (short for Electronic Mail)
The transmission of messages electronically. E-mail can be limited to a single computer system or network, or can allow much broader connectivity. Most e-mail systems allow you to send the same message to one or many people.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
A standard protocol used to send files from one computer to another on the Internet.
Home Page
The opening page of either a personal, commercial, or institutional Web site.
Hot Links (or Links)
In hypertext systems, such as the World Wide Web, links allow you to move from one document page to another. When you click a link, you access another Web document.
Hypertext
A special type of database system in which objects (text, videos, audio, graphics) are linked to one another. In a hypertext, system movements by the user are not linear or predetermined. Rather movements between objects of various forms are chosen uniquely by the user. For example, while reading a document chronicling the Seattle Mariners 1997 season, a user can click the words Ken Griffey Jr. and retrieve a graph of Junior's batting statistics for the season. The user can then click the link Home Runs and see a video of Junior's famous swing.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
The language used to create a Web document.
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
An agreed upon format (protocol) used on the World Wide Web to retrieve HTML documents. Also the first part of many URLs.