INTRODUCTION TO THE INTERNET PART2
Basics of the internet - Part 2
Evolution of the internet
The internet has not always been the way you see it today. It has gradually evolved over time. The internet came into existence in 1969 when the US Department of Defense sponsored a project, Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET). The purpose of the network was to connect the computers located at different universities and research labs across the US.
ARPANET was started with few computers but it expanded rapidly. In the mid-80s, National Science Foundations created a new network called National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET), which was more capable than ARPANET. However, NSFNET was created only for academic research and not for business. Therefore, many private companies created their own networks, which were then interconnected with ARPANET and NSFNET to form the internet.
Need of the internet
The internet is a powerful source of information. If has made everyone's life easier as you can perform multiple tasks with the convenience of sitting in your room. You can shop online, book a ticket and make online transactions. The internet has provided ease to the people. You, no longer, need to wait in long queues for booking tickets, making payments and transferring funds. The internet has minimized the distance among people by providing communication services. You can talk to your family or friend residing far away from you easily with the feeling that the person is sitting next to you. The internet is also an important tool in the field of education. Online learning is gaining rapid popularity as an alternate way of learning. Also, it helps in making the learners self-dependent by providing various kinds of educational material online.
Overall, the internet has become an important part of everyone's life.
Connecting to the internet
Do you want to connect to the internet and avail the various services that it provides? If yes, this is what you need.
- A computer : The first thing that you need to connect to the internet is a computer, such as a notepad, laptop or desktop computer. You can also connect to the internet by using handheld devices, such as smartphones and tablets.
- As internet services provider (ISP) subscription : Once you have a computer, you need a subscription for the internet connection from an ISP. An ISP is an organization that provides internet access for personal and business needs. An ISP maintains cabling and network services to provide internet access to its subscribers. Some ISPs in India are Airtel, Jio. BSNL and Vodafone.
- A modem : A modem is a device that acts like a translator. Your computer accepts and receives digital signals. However, the cables/lines that connec your home to the ISP carry analogue signals.
A modem helps you to translate :
- Digital signals from a computer into analogue signals that can travel over telephone lines/cables to an ISP.
- Analogue signals from an ISP to digital signals that your computer can receive.
- Communication software : It refers to the web browser that you can use to browser the internet. A web browser is software that enables you to access the information available over the internet. Some common examples of web browsers are Apple Safari, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer.
Where does the internet get information from?
The internet allows you to access information from around the world. Have you ever wondered where does this information come from?
This information comes from the World Wide Web (WWW). The WWW is a system of interlinked documents maintained on various computers on the internet. These documents are called web pages.
Where do these web page reside?
Each web page resides in a website. A website is a collection of interconnected web pages displaying related information on a particular subject.
A web page resides in a website. Then, where do website reside?
Website reside on specific computers on the internet. These computers are not regular computers. Instead, they are computers that are built to host (provide) websites. These computers are called web server. A web server can be referred to as a computer that helps to deliver the web content through the internet. A web server works on the client-server architecture.
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The end-user's computers is called the client computers.
In a client-server architecture, a client computer sends the request to a web server for particular information. The server receives the request and responds to the client with the required information.
There are millions of web servers on the internet. Each web server is assigned a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address, such as 192.168.3.85.
An IP address is a unique number that is generated to uniquely identify a particular machine on the internet. It is made up of four sets of numbers ranging from 0 to 255, which are separated by three dots. For example, 198.168.3.65.
Do I need to remember the complex numerical address of each web server to access a website?
Memorising the IP address of each web server is not required. You can access a website by using another form of address, such as https://www.w3schools.com/, which is easy to remember. This address is called Uniform Resource Locator (URL). To access a particular website, you need to specify the URL of the website in the address bar of your web browser.
A website consists of many web pages. Which web page is displayed when you open a particular website?
A special web page, which is designed as the home page, is displayed when you open a particular website. However, if you want to open a different web page, you can do so by providing the complete URL of the web page. For example, you can specify the URL,
https://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp, to open the default.asp file in the html folder of the W3schools website.
A website consists of interlinked web pages. To view all the web pages in the website, you need to navigate through the web pages. You can navigate from one web page to another by using hyperlinks. Hyperlinks are the highlighted or underlined text on a web page. Images can also act as hyperlinks. Each hyperlink is associated with a web page. When you move the mouse pointer to a hyperlink, the pointer changes to a pointing hand. When you click a hyperlink, the associated web page opens in a web browser.
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