COMM 3353: Communication Web Technologies I

Chapter 1b, /Cont/: Introduction to the Internet and the World Wide Web
www.class.uh.edu/comm/classes/comm3353/ppt/_Pres1_b.html

The Internet and the World Wide Web, Continued

History of the Internet History of the World Wide Web How do they work? Connecting to the Internet Navigation Selecting a Browser Online Services

History of the Internet and the World Wide Web

I nternet vs. i nternet
An internet (small i) refers to any network of computers

The Internet (large I) is a specific name

Given to the communication network comprised of hundreds of thousands of inter-connected networks

History of the Internet and the World Wide Web /cont./

The Internet is not a new development
Conceptualized in the early 1960s
Rand Corp. (Paul Baran) envisioned email Outlined proposal to US Govt. regarding the need for a communications network in case of a nuclear attack against the US.

ARPAnet (Advanced Research Projects Agency) was created to facilitate network research

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History of the Internet and the World Wide Web /cont./

1970s brought about Stanford Universitys testing and development of early internet protocols
Vinton Cerf -- Father of the Internet

1980s & National Science Foundation

NSF obtained control of network for government and educational use

History of the Internet and the World Wide Web /cont./

Also in the 1980s:
Tim Berners-Lee of CERN (European Laboratory of Particle Physics) began working on WWW
Software for world-wide interconnectivity Berners-Lee -- Father of WWW
Developed the Web as a means of sharing scientific information

Written as an Internet-based hypermedia initiative for global information sharing.

History of the Internet and the World Wide Web /cont./

Internet surfing -- pre-browser era
Before the Web, information retrieval was accomplished through a number of complicated steps and commands
Difficult Time consuming Required greater-than-normal understanding of computing in order to operate

Private until 1993 with the birth of Mosaic

How the Internet and the Web work

The internet as a Packet-Switched network
Bundles of data are broken up, transmitted, and reassembled at the other end Transmitted data are mixed together with all the other data on the internet until it reaches it final destination

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How the Internet and the Web work /cont./

Data flows through the internet via many interconnected computers Clients, Servers, and Routers
Clients: Originating Users Computer Server: Powerful, Continuous Internet Access Router: Computers that link networks together

How the Internet and the Web work /cont./

TCP/IP
Sets definitions for how data transmission takes place. TCP (Transmission Control Protocols)
Defines how computers communicate with each other

IP (Internet Protocols)
Tells routers how to reassemble data packets

How the Internet and the Web work /cont./

Several types of Internet Protocols:
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
WWW Documents

WAIS (Wide Area Info System Protocol)

Rules for accessing text-only file indices

FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

Data transfer from one computer to another

Telnet (Terminal Emulation Protocol)

Used when logging into another system

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Connecting to the Internet

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
Flashnet, EV1, PDQ.net

A company that provides the connection between remote locations and the internet The two most important ISP Services:
Fast, reliable service with no busy signals Reliable email delivery in less than 5 minutes

Individuals pay a monthly subscription rate for permission to dial-in to their server

Connecting to the Internet /cont./

Online Services
AOL, CompuServe, Prodigy

ISPs on steroids Provide extra services in addition to the plain net connection
On-line databases Govt. and Commercial information Search engines Many Online Services provide their own browsers

Connecting to the Internet /cont./

Internet Addresses
InterNIC
Domain Name registration Sets rules Assigns IP Addresses Organizes participant categories
Universities, Businesses Networks, Organizations Military, Government

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Connecting to the Internet /cont./

First-Level Domain Extender
a.k.a. Top-Level Domain
Thee letter code added to each address (e.g.: .COM) Com = commercial Edu = education (university) Gov = Government Mil = Military Net = Network support company Org = nonprofit, nongov. organization

Connecting to the Internet /cont./

Every person given access to the internet is assigned an IP Address
Unique to each user Serves as a locator
When a request is sent from a client to a location on the internet, the reply is made by recognizing the IP Address

Connecting to the Internet /cont./

Internet Addresses (aka Canonical Addresses) are associated with the IP Address
Registered at the same time Also called DNS (Domain Name System)
Username@host.subdomain
(e.g.: smccombs@uh.edu)

Navigating the World Wide Web

Net Browsers
Mosaic Netscape Internet Explorer

Present online information in a readable format to the user.

Done by interpretation of a web programming language called HTML

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Navigating the World Wide Web /cont./

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
World Wide Web Programming Language
Consists of a series of commands that tell browsers how to read and present data to the user. Uses tags to accomplish page formatting

Not actually a programming language

Lacks compiling ability

Navigating the World Wide Web /cont./

Making Web Pages Dynamic
Scripting
Web Programming using JAVA or VBScript

Used in conjunction with HTML

HTML = Static SCRIPTING = Dynamic

JavaScript, VBScript
programming code written within HTML Document that causes interactivity

Navigating the World Wide Web /cont./

Moving around the web: Two Methods
Hot Links and Buttons
Links are hidden HTML commands that, when activated, can take a user to another web site

URL
The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the HTMLs specific web address URL by Bookmarking or Favorites

Web Browser Selection

Personal Preference
Although some determining factors:
Security Size of browser Cost
Not really an issue any more

Compatibility

The Internet and the World Wide Web

End Chapter 1 Presentation