Page 19 - DCAP408_WEB_PROGRAMMING

Unit 1: Internet Fundamentals

6. Web browsers consist of software that runs on your computer and displays Notes
…………………… on the Web.
7. The Web server should include support for creating local discussion groups for a single
server using the ………………. protocol.

1.3 Web Pages

The Internet has evolved as a power tool, user friendly and most commercially popular
technology. Anyone with Personal Computer (PC) connected to the Internet, a browser
(a program designed to search for and bring in internet resources) and few plugs-ins (specialized
program) can surf the unique representation of an enterprise products or services on the Internet.
The worldwide web is also known as the ‘www’ or the ‘web’. It is an architectural framework of
information system fully implemented in 1994 on the Internet. It contains millions of electronic
documents called Web Pages. A web page contains text and graphics (drawings) which are
linked to related information. The name ‘web’ is based on the fact that the text, pictures, animation,
sound and information that make up a document may come from anywhere in the world. Thus,
a single document can be perceived to stretch ‘web like’ throughout the world.
The Web is not internet. At times, people confuse the two terms that are related but not identical
in meaning. The internet evolved from the military ARPANET in 1960s with the purpose of’
creating a network that would continue to work as a whole, when parts of it collapse’. The
Internet means a network infrastructure that is built on certain standards, which are followed by
all participants to connect to each other. The Internet Protocol (IP) defines how the flow of
information is organised. But it does not specify the types of information or services to be
exchanged. World Wide Web lays down the specifications of information and services to be
exchanged with its Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Thus, the web offers the exchange of
documents via HTTP.
Besides the www, there are other protocols that enable people to communicate via e-mail
(POP3, SMTP, IMAP), chat online (IRC) or participate in newsgroups (NNTP). The www is thus
one of the numerous services offered on the internet. It does not specify if a certain web page is
available in the internet intranet or extranet. The World Wide Web provides a simple-to-use
web interface that allows people with very little knowledge in computing to access web services
all over the Internet. The web services include content products and services, which can be
viewed or ordered through the web browser. It may be noted that the web browser allows
customers to self-service themselves over the web.

Notes Note that when you are on the Web, you are on the Internet but not the other way
round.

Example: Those sending e-mail are not on the Web, unless they are sending e-mail via a
Web browser.

The beginning of the Internet dates back to the late 1960s, when the Advanced Research Projects
Agency (ARPA) of the Department of Defense (DOD) formed ARPANET. The agency was
established in the late 1950s to develop information technologies to help the United States to
counter the Soviet launch of Sputnik. Consequently, the early ARPANET consisted primarily of
research universities and military contractors with computers linked by telephone lines leased
from AT&T. The chronological development of the ARPANET and the milestones leading to the
Internet reflect a history of top-down government sponsored initiatives.

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