Backup of Introduction

Created :2006 August (08), 21 @ 06:30

Source : http://www.virtualMV.com


Reference : Verhaart,M. (2006). Introduction. Retrieved from
(C)opyright 2006 : M H Verhaart. All Rights Reserved. [URL :/vMe/vMePrn.aspx?sID=kgwaoo55cnfmezibudstyj45,1,mv&vMe=mv&TxId=58&Act=Bak]

Introduction
 

Overview
 

SnipletBy the end of this section you will be able to
  • Define the terms internet, TCP/IP
  • Describe the uses of the internet
  • Describe "web surfing"
  • Describe how information is found on the internet
  • Describe how the internet is funded and how standards are maintained.
  • Describe the software that is needed to connect to the Internet and view files on it.

SnipletBibliography
About the Internet, Web developers . Retrieved 17 July 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.stars.com/Internet/About.html
a quite good, simple introduction to the Internet, its uses and standards.
The Swiftsure Guide to the Internet, Softwords research training. Retrieved 17 July 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.swifty.com/VB/guide.html#guideindex . 24 May 1996
from the Canadian Swiftsure Project, a guide to how to use the Internet, including a tour of interesting web sites

Overview
 

SnipletDefinitions
An internet (lower case i) is a collection of separate physical networks, joined together by a common rules to form a single logical network. Networks are usually created to allow users to share information, usually in business, government or education.
The Internet (upper case I) also known as the Net, is the global network of networks connecting millions of users world wide, using a simple standard common addressing system and communications protocol called TCP/IP. The Internet works in the same way as any other network. It’s just bigger.
A term which is used to describe the Internets topology is heterarchical, where the nodes in the network are interconnected.
The connections between the different networks that make up the Internet are called gateways. These gateways serve to transfer electronic data world wide.
When you send a message over the Internet, it is broken into small pieces, called packets, which travel over many different routes between your computer and the recipient’s computer.


SnipletA short history
The Internet grew out of an experiment begun in the 1960’s by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA).
In 1969 a trial network, called ARPANET, was launched with 4 nodes or hosts, all super-computers at U.S. universities.
Although ARPANET was supposed to be used for long-distance computer research, it quickly became apparent that most of the traffic was actually made up of messages sent from researcher to researcher. While many of the messages were notes about long distance networking, such as suggestions for improving the software and hardware of the network, they also included news, gossip and discussion about hobbies.
1983 saw the US military exit from ARPANET, and a series of networks for research and education communication was created by the US National Science Foundation (NSFNET).
In 1991 NSF lifted its ban on commercial traffic on its network and Corporations began to link their own networks to NSFNET. Also in the same year Tim Berners-Lee of CERN released the hypertext system, which allowed links to be made from page to page, and images to be included in pages. This system, called the World Wide Web really took off when the first easy to use browser, called Mosaic, was released by NSCA in 1993.
SnipletPresent uses
The most popular uses of the Internet is electronic mail (email) and the World Wide Web (the hypertext system for accessing multimedia, also known as the WWW, the W3, or the Web). Hundreds of millions of people use the Internet tools. Email and the WWW however, are only a small part of what the Internet offers.
Other current popular uses of the Internet include: mailing lists, bulletin boards, newsgroups, discussion groups, text-conferencing (chat), audio and video conferencing and remote computer access (telnet), file transfer (using ftp, or file transfer protocol) and Network games.
SnipletFurther uses
Using searching tools look for specific information in vast libraries on any conceivable subject, or just explore (commonly known as "surf" or "browse") the WWW. Over just the last few years Internet-based resources and services have grown exponentially. Book and magazine publishing, audio broadcasts, online gambling, networked financial transactions and personal banking, virtual museums and art galleries, custom map generation, weather reports, shares reports, pornography and thousands of other applications.

SnipletTransmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol
TCP/IP agreed to in the 1980’s is the communications protocol used to route packets of data across the Internet. It is a standard protocol that enables computers using different operating systems to communicate with each other, such as; DOS-based PCs, PCs using the Microsoft Windows or NT, Macintosh computers, and UNIX-based systems.
SnipletClient - Server
To enable the Computers to talk to each other, a network needs to be established. TCP/IP is the protocol (or common language) that is used on the internet, so computers need software to accept and send the data to and from each other.
This server software is layered on top of the standard Operating system software. Common server software for Windows NT, 2000 and XP is Internet Information Server (IIS), and for Unix, Apache. Although there is an apache version that will also run on Windows. For Windows 9x (and Me) there is a Personal Web Server available.
Clients are computers that access the resources of a server. So the client needs the ability to connect to a server, and then the software to request or submit information from and to the server. In the simplest form this is a dial-up connection via a modem to a telephone line, then the use of a Web Browser to view the results.
SnipletHow is the Internet funded?
There is no central authority or organisation that collects fees for Internet use. Instead, everyone who uses the Internet pays for their part. Most networks get together and decide how to connect themselves and fund these interconnections.
An educational facility, government agency, or corporation pays for their connection to some regional network, which pays a national provider for its access.
A user at home pays an Internet Service Provider (ISP) like Xtra (in New Zealand) for dial-up usually on a time basis, for broadband on a per Megabyte basis.

SnipletWho decides the standards?
Committees of people collaborating online decide on the Internet Standards. In the early days of the Internet these committees were made up of volunteers, but in recent years more formal standards bodies have been set up, for example
W3C (http://www.w3c.org)
The standards may be found at numerous sites distributed throughout the world, however they are often highly technical.

SnipletConnecting
You have to be connected to the Internet to be able to view it. Many businesses and organisations, are permanently connected to the Internet, often using fibre optic cable.
Most home users have a choice of dial up or broadband to connect to the Internet through their phone lines.
  • For dial-up this is done by connecting a modem to a phone line and letting the modem dial up an Internet Service Provider (ISP) who has a permanent connection. There are many different ISPs who offer different services at different rates. When you get your modem to dial up it will make a noise as it establishes a connection, this is the sound of computers communicating.
  • For broadband you will need a jetstream connection, an ADSL router to connect your computer via a network card (or USB port) through to the phonelines, and a line filter to split your phone line into phone and internet use.
SnipletWhat is a browser?
A browser is a client program (an application) that is used to view and navigate through information on the Internet. Today’s most popular browsers are
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer,
  • Firefox
  • Netscape Navigator and
  • Opera
The address of a web site is called a URL. To access a web site you should type the URL into the location box of the browser.
SnipletEmail types
To send and receive email you need either an email client or a browser based email application. Popular email clients include Netscape Messenger, Microsoft Outlook, Novell Groupwise and Eudora. Hotmail (Microsoft) is probably the world’s largest browser based email system. Most ISP’s provide either browser based email,or a POP3 email service for use with email clients.

Information storage