Internet Terminology

Some of the commonly used terminologies in the Internet are listed below.


TCP/IP

TCP/IP (The Transmission Control Protocol /Internet Protocol) is the protocol suite that is designed specially for the Internet.Basically ,the TCP/IP handles network communication between network nodes (computers connected to each other over the Internet).The suite is actually composed of several protocols including IP,which handles the movement of data between host computers and TCP which manages the movement of data between applications.

URL

A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of a resource accessible on the Internet.The type of resource depends on the Internet application Protocol.Using the World Wide Web's protocol -the Hypertext Transfer Protocol(HTTP)-the resource can be an HTML page,an image file,a program such as java applet ,or any other file supported by HTTP.The URL contains the name of the protocol required to access the resource , domain name that identifies a specific computer on the Internet,and a hierarchical description of a file location on that computer. Here is an example of URL:http://www.dreamtechpress.com/ According to the above-mentioned URL , a web page needs to be accessed by using HTTP (a protocol) that is located on a computer named WWW.dreamtechpress.com It must be remembered here that a URL can be for any web page,not just a home page or any individual file.

HTTP

Hyper Text Transfer Protocol is a protocol used by the World Wide Web.The main web of HTTP is deals with the message's format and transmission and what actions web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands.For example,when you enter a URL in your browser,this actually sends an HTTP command to the web sever( computer where web pages reside) directing it to fetch and transmit the requested web page.The other main standard that controls how the World Wide Web works is HTML,which deals with how web pages are formatted and displayed.

Modem

Modem is a device that is used to transmit data over the Internet .Your computer sends data in binary code to you modem which converts the binary data into an analog signal.This data then travels along the telephone network.When the data reaches the destination computer ,the modem connected to that computer converts the analog signal back into binary coded data which can be read by your computer.

Network

A networks a group of interconnected systems sharing services and interacting by means of a shared communications link.A network ,therefore,requires two or more individual systems with something to share(data).The individual System must be connected through a physical pathway(called the transmission medium).All systems on the physical pathway must follow a set of communications rules for data to arrive at its intended destination and for sending and receiving systems to understand each other.The rules that govern computer communication are called protocols.

Web Page

The world wide web consists of files , called pages or web pages , which contain information and links to resources throughout the internet.A web pages is an electronic document written in a computer language called HTML(hypertexts markup Language).These web pages are linked together through a system of connections (called hypertext links , hyper links or links), which enable the user to jump from one web page to another by clicking on a link .On the web , the user navigates through these pages of information in accordance of his/her interests.

Website

A website is a set of related (linked through hypertext links) web page, published by an organization or individual .Normally a website contains a home page along with other additional web pages.Each website is owned and updated by an individual , company or organization .It is an area on the web ,which is accessed by its own address (known as URL or the Uniform Resource Locator) . Note that,the quality,detail and style of websites vary enormously ,depending on how it is designed.

Home Page

When you browse the world wide web ,you will often see the term 'home page' .A home page is the starting point or a doorway to the website.Like the table of contents of a book,the home page usually provides an overview of what could be found at the website.If there is not much information ,the home page may be the only page of the website.However,usually you will find at least a few other pages.

Browser

A browser (short for web browser) is a computer program that accesses web pages and display them on the computer screen.It is the basic software that is needed to find ,retrieve ,view , and send information over the internet.In fact,the world wide web,the user requires a web browser.

.The most popular browsers allow are MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER , NETSCAPE NAV
IGATOR ,MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER AND MOZILLA FIREFOX



Browsers are of two types:

1.Graphical Browser:Graphical Browser allow retrieval of text,images,audio and video.Navigation is accomplished by pointing and clicking with a mouse on highlighted words and graphics.Both Netscape Navigator and Internet explorer are graphical browsers.

2.Text Browser:Text browser provide access to the web in the text- only mode.Navigator is accomplished by highlighting emphasized words on the screen with the arrow up and down keys and then pressing the enter key to follow the link.Lynx is an example of text-based browser.

Web browser features:

There are many browser s available having different features.However,every browser shares some of the basics features mentioned below:

• A browser handles requests for HTML files,interprets links, and deals with embedded images ,audio and video elements.
• A browser keeps the history of the websites visited.
• A browser lets a user to save a collection of pages , allowing for later retrieval.
• A browser provides a row of buttons at the top of the browser window for browsing the Internet conveniently .
• A browser connects to a e-mail program for importing favorites/bookmarks and sending and receiving e-mails from the most commonly used applications and formats.
• A browser supports web standards currently in use such as HTML,HTTP,JavaScript and Unicode.
• A browser supports multimedia data in three ways:

1. Native Support: A browser supports some of the image formats natively .In the other words , a browser presents the image as a part of the web page int the browser window.
2. Plug-ins: A plug -ins is a program that adds functions to the web browser ,such as an audio player or a compression utility .A plug-in is a set-up within the browser through which it functions properly and correctly.
3. Helper Programs:Helper Programs are the external applications launched by a web browser or internet client program to view non-native file formats and data types.These programs are not integrated with the browser.
   

Uniform Resource Locator(URL)

Each web page has a unique address , called a uniform resource locator (URL) that identifies its location on the internet.Web browsers utilize the URL to retrieve a file from the computer on which it resides .Usually , the format of an URL consists of four parts: protocol , sever (or domain) , path and filename.Here is an example,http://www.xyz.com/tutor/start/main.html.

The structure of this URL is

• Protocol:http
• Host Computer Name : www
• Domain Name: com
• Path : tutor/start/
• File Name :main.html

The first part of the address , the part before the colon ,is the access method.Most of the time when you see http (hyper transfer protocol) , you are accessing a web page.Apart from http ,you could also find other protocols such as ftp(File transfer Protocol) , news (news server) , mailto(mail server,used for accessing a e-mail server) and telnet (for accessing remote computers ) . The protocol is separated by colons and slashes.After the slashes , the host computer's name is displayed , that is ,an indicator such as www.which stands for World Wide Web.Next comes the name of the computer where the information is located.Note that it is not necessary that all addresses contain www.Although most Internet addresses include a WWW, a web page can reside on the part of the internet that is not found on the world wide web.

After the domain name the domain type is displayed such as com . A domain name is a unique and case sensitive human-readable name for a host on the internet . A domain name type represents the type of organisation or country to which the host belongs.

In addition ,dozens of domain types have been assigned to identify and locate files stored on host computers in countries around the world.These are referred to as two-letter internet country codes , and the have been standardised by the International Standards Organisation (ISO) .For example,uk for united Kingdom , de for Germany au for Australia ,and in for India.The last part of a URL consists of the path and file name .Path name specifies the hierarchic location of the said file on the computer.For instance , in http ://www.xyz.com/tutor/start/main.html is located in start , which is subdirectory of tutor.

Internet Service Provider( ISP )

An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organisation that provides the required software , which is used to connect to the Internet.For a monthly fee, the ISP provides the user software package , username , password , and access phone number(s) . Equipped a modem , the user can then log on to the internet and browse the web.

While choosing an ISP, many factors involved should be kept in mind for subscribing g.First , the user should check the speed and consistency of the internet access. User should also check ISP's reliability , that is, whether the ISP provides consistent access to the internet or does it have frequent down times. Apart from these two criteria , the price of the ISP and other additional services provided by it should also considered .For example , many ISP's provide free web space so that users can create their own website , free e-mail address , and much more.Last but not the least , the user should also check whether the ISP provides a round-the-clock technical assistance.

Web Server

A server is a computer equipped with server software, which provides a specific kind of service to client software running on other computers. The term can refer to a particular piece of software.,for example, a web server ,or to the machine on which the software is running.A web server is a computer that answers requests form user's computers .It serves images and static content , such as web pages , to fill client's ( browser ) requests.Web servers can run on any hardware platform and operating system and store documents in HTML.

To view a website, the browser sends a request to the server.On receiving the request , the server
sends the appropriate web page to the client 's machine .The client's machine (browser) receives the information in the form of HTML commands .The browser interprets the HTML , finds all the pictures (or other types of media) , and displays the information onto the user's screen.

Download and Upload

Download refers to the activity of moving or copying a document , program or other data from the internet or other interconnected computer to one's computer.It si the process of "pulling" information from one computer onto another.For example , while accessing a website , the HTML code and graphics must be downloaded from remote server onto the user's computer , before viewing the website. There are certain files ,which the user downloads a file , he/she is actually copying a particular fiel from the web and placing it on his/her hard drive.

Upload is just opposite to the download .In case of uploading , the user moves or copies a document , program or other data from his./her computer to the internet.Upload refers to the act of moving data from one computer to another , usually to a server or remote computer. For example, a software company may upload a demonstration of its new software onto the web so that users can then download the software onto their individual computers.

Online and Offline

The term online is commonly referred to as connected to the world wide web via internet.When you connect to the internet ,you are online or live.Being online is also used to refer to materials stored on to a computer or to a device like printer that is ready to accept commands from a computer .Hence , any activity undertaken while the computer is connected to another computer or network is said to be online .

Offline is just the opposite of online and it refers to the actions performed when the user is not connected , via telecommunications , to another computer or a network like the internet.Hence , offline means that the user is no longer connected to a remote computer .If a printer or other peripheral is not ready to receive data from the computer ,it is also considered offline,