HTML Class - Fall 2002

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WWW Introduction



What is the World Wide Web?

  • The Web is a network of computers all over the world.
  • All the computers in the Web can communicate with each other.
  • All the computers use a communication standard called HTTP.

How does the WWW work?

  • Web information is stored in documents called web pages
  • Web pages are files stored on computers called web servers.
  • Computers reading the web pages are called web clients.
  • Web clients view the pages with a program called a web browser.
  • Popular browsers are Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.

How does a Browser Fetch a Web Page?

  • A browser fetches a page from a web server by a request.
  • A request is a standard HTTP request containing a page address.
  • An address may looks like this: http://www.someone.com/page.htm.

How does a Browser Display a Web Page?

  • All web pages contain instructions for display
  • The browser displays the page by reading these instructions.
  • The most common display instructions are called HTML tags.
  • HTML tags look like this <p>This is a Paragraph</p>.

What is a Web Server?

  • The collection of all your web pages is called your web site.
  • To let others view your work, you must publish your web site.
  • To publish your work, you must copy your site to a web server.
  • Your own PC can act as a web server if it is connected to a network.
  • Most common is to use an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

What is an Internet Service Provider?

  • ISP is a shortcut for Internet Service Provider.
  • An ISP provides Internet services.
  • A common Internet service is web hosting.
  • Web hosting means storing your web site on a public server.
  • Web hosting normally includes email services.
  • Web hosting often includes domain name registration.

Summary

If you want other people to view your web site, you must copy your site to a public server. Even if you can use your own PC as a web server, it is more common to let an Internet Service Provider (ISP) host your site.

Included in a Web hosting solution you can expect to find domain name registration and standard email services.





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