Basics of Internet
Basics of Internet
By the end of 1990, the rst Web page was served. In April 1993, the World Wide Web
technology was available for anyone to use on a royalty-free basis.
Since that time, the Web has changed the world. It has perhaps become the most powerful
communication medium the world has ever known.
1.2 De nition
e World Wide Web (WWW) is an internet based service, which uses common set of rules
known as Protocols, to distribute documents across the Internet in a standard way.
e World Wide Web, or ‘Web’ is a part of the Internet. e Web is viewed through web
browser so wares such as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox etc. Using
browsers one can access the digital libraries containing innumerable articles, journals,
e-books, news, tutorials stored in the form of web pages on computers around the world
called Web Servers. Today thousands of web pages/websites are added to the WWW every
hour.
e World Wide Web, or “Web” for short, or simply Web, is a massive collection of digital
pages to access information over the Internet.
e Web uses the HTTP protocol, to transmit data and allows applications to communicate
in order to exchange business logic. e Web also uses browsers, such as Internet Explorer
Web search engines work with the help of two programs, Spider which fetches as many
documents as possible. Another program, called an indexer, reads the documents and
creates an index based on the words contained in each document. Each search engine uses
an algorithm to create its indices such that, only related results for speci ed keywords is
stored and returns a list of the documents where the keywords were found.
1. Web crawling: Web search engines work by storing information about many web
pages. ese pages are retrieved by the program known as Web crawler - which
follows every link on the site. Web crawler may also be called a Web spider.
2. Indexing: Indexing also known as web indexing, it stores data to facilitate fast and
accurate information retrieval.
3. Searching: A web search query fetches the result from the web search engine entered
by the user to meet his information needs.
Few search engines available are as follows:
2. WEB SERVERS
2.1 What is a Server?
A server is a computer that provides data to other computers. e entire structure of the
Internet is based upon a client-server model.
Web server helps to deliver web content that can be accessed through the Internet. e
most common use of web servers is to host websites, as the internet is not only used to
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fetch the information but there are other uses such as gaming, data storage or running
business applications.
Cloud Computing is distributed computing over a network, and has the ability to run a
program or application on many connected computers at the same time.
It is used, where various computing concepts that involve a large number of computers
are connected via real-time communication network such as the Internet.
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2.4 Types of Servers
1. Mail Server: Mail Servers provides a centrally-located pool of disk space for network
users to store and share various documents in the form of emails. Since, all the data is
stored in one location, administrators need only backup les from one computer.
2. Application Server: An application server acts as a set of components accessible to the
so ware developer through an API de ned by the platform itself. For Web applications,
these components are usually performed in the same running environment as its web
server(s), and their main job is to support the construction of dynamic pages.
3. File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Server: FTP uses separate control and data connections
between the client and the server. FTP users may authenticate themselves in the form
of a username and password, but can connect anonymously if the server is con gured
to allow it. For secure transmission username and password must be encrypted using
FTP and SSL.
4. Database Server: A database server is a computer program that provides database
services to other computer programs or computers using client-server model. Database
management systems frequently provide database server functionality, and some
DBMSs (e.g., MySQL) depend on the client-server model for database access.
Such a server is accessed either through a “front end” running on the user’s computer
where the request is made or the “back end” where the request is served such as data
analysis and storage.
5. Domain Name System (DNS) Server: A name server is a computer server that hosts
a network service for providing responses to queries. It maps a numeric identi cation
or addressing component. is service is performed by the server in response to a
network service protocol request.
e primary function of these DNS servers is the translation (resolution) of human-
memorable domain names and hostnames into the corresponding numeric Internet
Protocol (IP) addresses. e secondary function of DNS is to recognize a name space of the
Internet, used to identify and locate computer systems and resources on the Internet.
3. WEB SITE
3.1 De nition
e collection of web pages on the World Wide Web that is accessed by its own Internet
address is called a Web site. us, a Web site is a collection of related Web pages. Each
Web site contains a home page and contains other additional pages. Each Web site is owned
and updated by an individual, company, or an organization. Web is a dynamically moving
and changing entity, today web sites generally change on a daily or even hourly basis.
Some of the web portals are AOL, iGoogle, Yahoo and even more.
A website refers to a location or a domain name hosted on a server which is accessible via
internet. It is a collection of web pages, images, videos which are addressed relative to a
Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Websites provide content from independent resources to
speci c audience. e content of the website is generally focused & contains the material
needed to be accessed.
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❖ Colour Scheme & Text Formatting: To make the website presentable appropriate
colour scheme must be used. Always use 2 or 3 primary colours that re ect the
purpose of your site. Add contrast colours in your site, which helps the user to easily
read the text. Use fonts that are easy to read and available on most of today’s computer
systems. Keep the standard font size for paragraph text i.e. between 10 and 12 pts.
❖ Insert Meaningful Graphics: Graphics are important, as they provide the site a legible
and interactive appearance. However, don’t use too many images and that too with
a high resolution. First, whenever user will try to download the website it will take
too long to download and secondly, too many images with less text, lose the interest
of the customer.
❖ Simplicity: Keep your site simple and allow for adequate white space. Don’t overload
your site with complex design, animation, or other e ects to impress your viewers.
❖ Relevant Content: Include relevant information along with style, to help the visitors
to make a decision.
❖ Navigation: Keep your site simple and well organized. Don’t use fancy Navigation Bar
in your website. Place all the menu items at the top of your site, or above the fold on
either side. Include Site Maps in your site to reduce the number of top level navigation
items. Every component of your site should work quickly and correctly. Broken or
poorly constructed components will frustrate the visitors. All the hyperlinks, contact
forms, should be placed appropriately.
❖ Minimal Scroll: While sur ng the sites for information users do not like scrolling
the page instead they need to see all the information on one screen. Even the Search
Engines will reward you for this behaviour.
❖ Consistent Layout: Always use a consistent layout in the whole website which will
help you to retain the theme of the site.
❖ Cross-platform/browser Compatibility: Today many open source browsers are being
used by the users. Create a website which should be platform independent.
ere are several types of Web hosting options you can choose from such as:
Search a Web Hosting Provider: ese are the links to other sites for nding a good host
for your site.
Select the type of site: Most websites are either news/information, product, or reference
sites. Each has a di erent focus. A site must have formal language, where as a personal
site can use slang and an informal tone.
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you need to test your site frequently. And you should also work on content development
on a regular basis.
Notepad++
PageBreeze
Firebug
Blue sh Editor
KompoZer
OpenBEXI
GIMP
BlueGri on
4. WEBPAGE
4.1 De nition
A Web page also known as Electronic Page, is a part of the World Wide Web. It is just
like a page in a book. e basic unit of every Web site or document on the Web is a Web
page containing the information.
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A Web page can contain an article, or a single paragraph, photographs, and it is usually
a combination of text and graphics.
A dynamic web page is a web page which needs to be refreshed every time whenever it
opens in any of the web browsers to display the updated content of the site.
5. Web Browser
A browser is a so ware that lets you view web pages, graphics and the online content.
Browser so ware is speci cally designed to convert HTML and XML into readable
documents.
e most popular web browsers are: Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari,
Opera and UC Browser.
e Tool Bar is much like the Menu Bar stretching from le to right across the top of
your screen just under the Address Bar
5.2 SSL
e Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a protocol, uses Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
and Transport Control Protocol (TCP) for managing the security of a message transmission
on the Internet. e “sockets” term refers to the sockets method of passing data back and
forth between a client and a server program in a network or between program layers in
the same computer. SSL uses the public-and-private key encryption system, which also
includes the use of a digital certi cate.
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F S
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6. BLOGS
6.1 De nition
A blog, short for ‘web log’ is a modern online writer’s column. A blog is a web site like
any other, but it is intended to o er personal opinions of people on their hobbies, interests,
commentaries, photo blogs, etc.
Initially, blogs started out as online personal diaries, but in a technology-driven world,
now they have also been taken up by businesses as an informal method of communicating
with customers and clients.
Blogs can also be used for commercial purposes, too. Absolutely anyone can start a blog,
but some people make reasonable incomes by selling advertising on their blog pages.
Social network companies also realise how popular blogs are and many o er free blog
space (e.g. MySpace).
Another feature of popularising a blog is the ability of visitors to add comments to the
stories.
1. Free blog hosting: You do not need a server to start your own blog. ere are plenty
of free, open source blogging so ware you can install. For example WordPress and
Moveable Type.
2. Paid blogging: Another way is when a company provides you a limited amount of
space or a column on their website and the blogger has to pay for the same till the
time he is using the available space.
Personal blog
By far the most popular among all types of blogs is the personal blog, a er all, blogging
started o as a way of giving words to your thoughts. A typical blogger may be keen on
posting stories about his interests.
Company blogs
Many companies run blogs to let their customers and clients know about the new products
coming up or progress being made on some project.
Micro-blogs
is is a new type of blog where you post very short comments that others can follow
and a powerful way for professionals to keep in touch with each other. Twitter is the best
example.
6.3 Bloggers
ose days are now a thing of the past when journalists had only pens and papers or
speci c websites to write on because now they have websites and blogs on which they can
express their views. A person who writes a blog is simply known as a blogger.
Associating this to social networking websites allows you to get viewers and readers who
would then promote these amongst other people.
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❖ Don’t make it boring. Avoid clichés. Keep your writing informal, if possible funny or
quirky and create a perfect balance between keeping the mood light and professional
enough to suggest you are serious about your matter.
❖ Knowing your topic is good but not enough. You need to express it in a right way
and communicate properly to your readers. Write crisp, short, active sentences with
powerful verbs. Ensure that your content is error-free, proofread and edit your work
meticulously and only when you are satis ed with it, hit the publish button.
❖ e title is the crux of any content. Your best quality content will hold no meaning
if the title itself is not catchy. e rst thing readers notice is the headline. You have
to tempt them to open the link and leave satis ed but still wanting to know more
about other blogs. is eventually increases tra c to your site!
Advantages of Blogging:
1. We can work on blog anytime and anywhere in the world, all you need is your laptop
or a desktop computer and wireless internet services.
2. You are your own employee. When blogging, you can blog any time you want to
whenever you think of something that is relevant to your blog.
3. As a blogger, you are exible and can choose to write about anything in the world
as long as it bene ts you and be ts your opinions and thought process.
4. Very quick and easy to set up, do not need much technical knowledge.
5. Easy and quick to update or add new posts. People can leave comments on your blog
and you can comment on other persons’ blogs, too.
Disadvantages of Blogging:
1. You need to be patient because you don’t start earning in a single day. Readership
takes time to develop within people.
2. Blogging is time-consuming. You need to be disciplined. Finding time to write regular
updates can become a chore.
3. You need to be very active as a blogger so that people can read your blog posts. If,
for example, you fall ill, you won’t be able to blog and this would result in losing
followers.
4. As you know the public to everyone, you need to put a check on your language.
5. ere are many very dull blogs around. You may have to look at many before you
nd some worth reading.
Format of a URL:
Protocol://site address/path/ lename
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In above URL speci es an image le hardware.gif located in the images directory, under
domain name www.developers.com.
If we want to include the image le hardware.gif stored in the images directory of www.
developers.com domain on this page.
For example:
If we want to include the image file hardware.gif stored in the images directory of
www.developers.com domain on this page using an absolute URL.
7.3 Protocols
De nition
When we have to communicate with anyone, then we need to follow the same language,
so that communication can be done in an e ective manner. In the same way ,whenever
there is need to exchange data or information among di erent or same type of networks
on internet, they need to follow same set of rules.
e most popular protocols used on internet are the World Wide Web, FTP, Telnet,
Gopherspace, instant messaging, and email.
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A. Mul ple Choice Ques ons:
1. ARPANET stands for-
(a) Advanced Real Projects Air Network
(b) Advanced Research Prepara on Agency Network
(c) Advanced Recruitment Process Agency Network
(d) Advanced Research Projects Agency Network
2. In 1990s, the internetworking of which three networks resulted into Internet?
(a) WWW, GPS and other private networks
(b) ARPANET, NSFnet and other private networks
(c) ARPANET, NSFnet and other public networks
(d) ARPANET, GPS and NSFnet
3. Web search engines works with the help of two programs. Which are they?
(a) Web crawler and Cascading Style Sheet
(b) Spider and Indexer
(c) Web server and web crawler
(d) None of the above
4. Web Site is a collec on of ______________.
(a) Audio and video les
(b) Pictures
(c) Web pages
(d) All of the above
5. AOL, iGoogle, Yahoo are examples of ______________.
(a) Web Site
(b) Web Page
(c) Web Portal
(d) None of the above
6. ______________is distributed compu ng over a network, and involve a large number of
computers connected via real- me communica on network such as the Internet.
(a) Cloud Compu ng
(b) Thin Client Compu ng
(c) Fat Client Compu ng
(d) Dumb terminal Compu ng
7. A ______________ is a web site like any other, but it is intended to o er personal opinions
of people on their hobbies, interests, commentaries, photo, etc.
(a) Protocol (b) Blog
(c) Webpage (d) Journals
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8. ______________ protocol de nes how messages are forma ed and transmi ed, and
what ac ons Web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands.
(a) FTP (b) TCP/IP
(c) HTTP (d) SMTP
9. URLs are of two types:
(a) Absolute & Rela ve (b) Sta c & Dynamic
(c) Absolute & Dynamic (d) None of the above
10. DNS is an acronym for ______________.
(a) Domain Name Security (b) Domain Number System
(c) Document Name System (d) Domain Name System
C. Lab Session
Q.1. List the URLs of all the commercial and non-commercial websites and nd out their
domain names, servers and protocols.
Q.2. Name all the websites related to e-commerce.
Q.3. Create your e-group on a social networking site and share your opinions and views on
environment.
Q.4. Name all the personal types of blogging sites.
Q.5. List all the popular search engines in the market.
Q.6. Write the names of all the newsgroups that you can join on internet.
Q.7. Make a list of IP addresses of a few of your favourite sites using any search engine of
your choice.
Q.8. Make a collage depic ng all the logos of web browsers and list their compara ve
features.
Q.9. Iden fy the category of these sites and complete the table.
t Category
www.olx.in
www.facebook.com
www.icicibank.com
www.irctc.co.in
www.merriam-webster.com
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