Introduction to the Internet and World Wide Web

The Internet n A network of networks n Began in 1969 as ARPAnet (Advanced Research Projects Agency) n No central authority and thus impossible to state the precise size n The Internet is not free just because you may not pay for it

The World Wide Web n A subset of the Internet consisting of all computers with hypertext or hypermedia documents n These documents contain references (links) to other documents which may be on a different computer anywhere in the world n Began in 1991 at the European Particle Physics Laboratory (CERN) in Switzerland

A Client/Server Model n A server (Web server or Web site) is any computer that stores then downloads hypermedia documents n A client is any computer that requests then displays hypermedia documents n Every client must be able to display every document from every server and does so through a browser (e.g., Netscape or Internet Explorer)

Acronyms Abound n HTTP - HyperText Transfer Protocol is used to transmit hypermedia documents n HTTPS - A secure protocol for confidential transactions (e.g., credit cards) n HTML - HyperText Markup Language is the language used to write hypermedia documents n TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol - governs the flow of data across the Internet

URL Format n You can guess at the URL using the general form of an “ n Examples: – – – – –

My Favorite Web Page

Suggestions for Searching n Use the Search button on the Internet Explorer Toolbar n Try multiple search engines on one query n Be aware of logical operators - AND, OR, and NOT n Search on a concept; e.g., “first ladies” for “Eleanor Roosevelt” n Set bookmarks or favorites