Exploring the Internet
Session 1
Introduction to the Internet
and World Wide Web
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Internet Definitions - p. 1
Network - set of hardware and software
components that supports several people
working together and allows sharing of
hardware, software, and information
Internet - a network of networks that allows you
to communicate with people anywhere in the
world as well as access information that you
desire any time of the day or night
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Internet Definitions (cont.)
Started in the 1960s as a joint project between
education, and government (ARPANET) for
defense purposes.
World Wide Web (WWW) - easy method of
sending text, graphics, and sound has resulted
in explosive growth
Web browser - piece of software needed for
accessing WWW
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Internet
Today, mostly used for commercial purposes.
Includes many different types of resources. The
one that is most prevalent today is the World
Wide Web (WWW).
Allows millions of people from around the world
to communicate with one another.
Responsible for the fall of the iron curtain
Role in Gulf War
Totalitarian governments despise it
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Internet Connection
Necessities
Modem or network connection
Internet account
Internet Service Provider (ISP) -university,
AOL, Dave’s World, and so forth
Software Utilities
Browser software
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Internet Addresses
Account - individual that you are
communicating with
Domain
Lower domain - the name of the organization
where the account can be found
Top domain - the type of organization
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Internet Addresses
To communicate with someone, you have
to know their Internet address (everything
after “@” is the domain):
astudent@rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu
At the computer
named rs6000.cmp
This User An
(account) educational
At Illinois State University institution
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Top Domains - p. 5
.com commercial or business site
.edu educational site
.gov U.S. government site
.mil U.S. military site
.net network site
.org private or non-profit site
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Proposed Top Domains
.firm Businesses or firms
.shop Bus. offering goods for purchase
.web Web-based Entities
.arts Cultural or entertainment activities
.rec Recreational or entertainment entity
.info Information services entities
.nom Individual or personal sites
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Starting an Internet
Session
Obtain communication with your ISP
Login procedure - identifies you to the host
computer
Password - series of characters that verifies
to the computer that you are a valid user
Asterisks may appear as you enter it
Never give your password to anyone
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Internet Services
Electronic Mail
Usenet/Newsgroups
Listserv
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
Telnet
Gopher and Veronica
Internet Relay Chat
World Wide Web
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E-mail - p. 6
E-mail - ability to send and receive
messages using the computer.
Uses special software designed specifically
for this task
Pine, Elm (UNIX)
Eudora
Exchange
Single or many recipients possible
Flaming
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E-mail Etiquette - p. 7
Keep message brief and concise
Don’t send confidential or embarrassing info.
Remember, the message belongs to the org.
Don’t copy unnecessary people
Don’t use all upper case letters
Include a salutation and signature line
You may want to use shorthand (abbreviations) - Table
1.2
Emoticons help to show how you feel - Table 1.3
Avoid all gossip or impropriety using E-mail
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Usenet/Newsgroups - p. 9
Interactive discussions that can occur on
a wide variety o f subjects
Postings are E-mail messages to the
newsgroup
Information is arranged by topic or by
areas of interest
100s of group names/topics are available
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Usenet/Newsgroups
Selected group names or categories
comp computers
misc don’t fit a category
rec recreational activities or hobbies
sci scientific areas
soc social, cultural, and political
talk discussion forums for politics or
other areas with controversy
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Listserv
Listserv - consists of all e-mail messages
related to a single topic
A document containing these e-mail
messages is sent to all subscribers
All that is required to access is e-mail
software
Many times listservs are used for
conducting classes
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Agent - Newsgroup
browser
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Newsgroup Guidelines
Review the frequently asked questions (FAQ)
document for that group.
Review the last two or three weeks of the articles or
postings to get a flavor for the group.
Spend some time “lurking” examining the group
without posting.
Be careful with your first postings. If participants
feel you don’t understand elementary items, you
will probably get flamed.
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File Transfer Protocol -
p. 13
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) - method of
transferring files across the Internet
Can be done with UNIX statements
Can be done with special FTP software
May be built in browser, such as Netscape
or Intrnet Explorer
Many times referred to as anonymous FTP
because most users use anonymous as
their name when requesting files.
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FTP Client Software Utility
Your System
(where you
want to receive
the files)
Where the files
currently reside
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Telnet - p. 14
Allows you to communicate directly with
another computer
Unlike FTP, it does not allow you to
download files
Many times used to gain access to other
libraries, get weather forecasts, and so
forth
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Gopher and Veronica -
p. 14
Gopher - text-based, menu driven program
that allows you to access, view, and
download files (developed at U. of Minn.)
Precursor to WWW—not used much anymore
Veronica is the search engine for finding files
from multiple gopher sites; analogous to
Yahoo, Excite, … in the WWW.
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Internet Relay Chat
Permits you to communicate “live” with
other Internet users
Needs special software that can be
downloaded from a number of locations
Requires you to log in to a chat room
Statements that you type are visible to
other participants
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World Wide Web
(WWW or Web)
Designed in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee
Combines text, graphics, sound as a
“packet” of information
Phenomenally rapid growth
Requires the use of a software browser to
interpret the data needed for a site and
then download it to the user and
display/play properly
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World Wide Web
Terminology
Web Browser - A piece of software that can
understand and display Web documents (Netscape and
Explorer are two commonly used browsers)
Home page - The initial Web page Netscape loads
when you start the program
Uniform Resource Locator - The location of a page
on the World Wide Web
Web Document - A specially designed file for use on
the Web than can contain text, graphics, sound, and
links to other Web pages.
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URL Components
Protocol
http: (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
Host (Server address)
www.cis.usouthal.edu
Resource (file name or full path to file)
Internet.html
http://www.microsoft.com/ie
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More Web Terminology
Hyperlinks - “Jumps” to a different location in the
document, a different document on the computer, or a
different computer
http - Hypertext transfer protocol - the first four letters
in each URL - indicates that the browser can expect
text, graphic, or sound files
HTML - HyperText Markup Language - the ASCII based
language used to describe a Web page so that it can be
interpreted by the browser software for loading text,
images, or sound files.
Surfing - Navigating links of Web pages
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Web Browsers
A number of different kinds of browsers
Netscape
Internet Explorer
Mosaic
Netscape the browser selected by ISU
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Internet Explorer Screen
Menu bar
Toolbars
Address text box
Document window
Status bar
Scroll bars
Status indicator
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Web Surfing
Enter an address in the Location box
Click on a link
Pointer turns into a hand with the upraised
index finger to indicate a link
Click the link and that page is loaded
Role of the Forward and Back buttons
Favorites
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More Surfing
Printing a Web page
Saving pages
Accessing saved pages
Using the Context menu
Saving images
Images are typically GIF and JPG files
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Other Web Browser Uses
Accessing Search Engines
Search Engine
Types - Pip handout
Search Spiders
Research using the Web
E-Mail
Newsgroups
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Research Using the
Computer
Searching for information on the Web
Start with a search engine
Success depends on how the search engine
determines sites
Lots of “garbage” on the Web
Searching a library using Telnet or
Browser
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