Page 16 - DCAP408_WEB_PROGRAMMING

Web Programming

Notes before the file begins to play. The RealPlayer plug-in plays streaming audio and video files.
Extensive files such as interviews, speeches and hearings work very well with the RealPlayer.
The RealPlayer is also ideal for the broadcast of real-time events. These may include press
conferences, live radio and television broadcasts, concerts, etc. A list of sites that make use of the
RealPlayer is available at http://www.albany.edu/library/internet/net_info/realaudio.html.
The Windows Media Player is another streaming media player.

Notes A list of sites that make use of this player is available at http://wmg.
netcastnetwork.com/. Many sites offer the option to use one player or the other.
Shockwave presents another multimedia experience. Shockwave allows for the creation and
implementation of an entire multimedia display combining graphics, animation and sound.

Sound files, including music, may also be heard on the Web. It is not uncommon to visit a Web
page and hear background music. Sound files are also available for downloading independent
of Web page visits. Sound files of many types are supported by the Web with the appropriate
helper applications.
Live cams are another aspect of the multimedia experience available on the Web. Live cams are
video cameras that send their data in real time to a Web server. These cams may appear in all
kinds of locations, both serious and whimsical: an office, on top of a building, a scenic locale, a
special event, and so on.

1.2.1 How does a Web Browser Work?

Web browsers consist of software that runs on your computer and displays home pages on the
Web. There are clients for PC, Macintosh and UNIX computers. A Web browser displays information
on your computer, by interpreting the Hypertext Markup language (HTML) that is used to build
home pages on the Web. Home pages usually display graphics, sound and multimedia files as
well as links to other pages, files that can be downloaded and other lnternet resources.

Figure 1.3: WWW Browser

The coding in the HTML files tells your browser how to display the text, graphics, links, and
multimedia files on the home page. The HTML file that your browser loads to display the home
page does not actually have the graphics, sound, multimedia files, and other resources on it.
Instead, it contains HTML references to those graphics and files. Your browser uses those
references to find the files on the server and then display them on the home page. The Web

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