Notes by $ Phiri

The Internet

Cookies
Cookies are small text files. They are stored on a user’s computer by a web browser, at
the request of the web server. A cookie is limited to a small amount of data and can only
be read by the website that created it. Written inside each cookie are pairs of values,
consisting of a keyword and some associated data. To avoid the size limitations
of cookies, some websites will store a unique identification code in a cookie, and the
remainder of the data in their own databases.
Cookies are generally used to:
 Store and maintain user preferences for a website
 Determine who are new and returning visitors
 Track user behaviour (analytics)
 Store items in shopping baskets
 Store log-in details
 Help advertisers show relevant targeted website adverts
Cookies are not programs. They cannot perform any operations; they are
not viruses or malware. Cookies can be disabled in your browser settings; however this
could make some websites unusable (e.g. e-commerce).
Digital Currencies (Cryptocurrencies)
What is a digital currency?
A digital currency is one that only exists electronically. This means there are no tangible
coins or notes you can hold onto or carry around. Why would someone want to use a
digital currency instead of normal money? There are numerous reasons why people are
turning to digital (crypto) currencies.
 Some people are dissatisfied that “real money” can just be printed by central
banks and is no longer linked to a tangible asset, such as gold. This means the
value of your money erodes over time as there is no theoretical limit to how much
new money can be put into circulation
 Some digital currencies are created to have absolute limits to the amount of
supply, for example Bitcoin is capped at 21 million Bitcoins. This stops inflation
from occurring, which keeps your purchasing power strong over time
 Some people believe that currencies should be decentralised and payments
should be direct (therefore not at the mercy of any banks or financial institutions)
 Some people like the potential privacy that a digital currency may allow, although
this is becoming more difficult to achieve due to regulation and interference from
Governments

Internet Service Provider

An Internet Service Provider (ISP) is a company that provides users with access to the
internet. It would be impractical and costly for individuals and most companies to

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connect to the internet infrastructure directly, hence the importance of ISPs who give
them access at an affordable monthly price. ISPs often provide additional services to
their customers too, such as email addresses, web hosting and the supply / loan of
equipment. Examples of internet service providers:
 ZAMREN
 ZAMTEL
 CEC LIQUID TELECOM

Uniform Resource Locator (URL)

A uniform resource locator (URL) is the address that is used in the web browser to request
a resource (web page) from the world wide web. E.g. http://www.bbc.co.uk/index.html
It can be broken down into three mains parts:

Access Protocol http://

Domain Name
www.bbc.co.uk
(Web Server)

Filename /index.html

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)

HTTP is a protocol (set of rules) used when transmitting files (data) over the world wide
web. When you browse the WWW using a web browser, you are using the HTTP
protocol. Often, you will now see the HTTPS protocol used instead of HTTP. HTTPS is
an encrypted and secure version of HTTP.

Web Browser

The role of a web browser

A web browser is a software program which allows the user to request and retrieve web
pages (and other resources) from a webserver on the world wide web. Web browsers
interpret (convert) the HTML code from the retrieved webpage and display it to the user
in a format they can understand. The browser has to manage a range of protocols to do
this.

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Typical features of a web browser
 Bookmarks – to save the address of your favourite websites
 Back button – to go back to the previous page you viewed
 History – to access a list of pages you historically visited
 Multiple tabs/windows – the ability to view multiple pages at once in different tabs
 Page refresh – make the page refresh by reloading it
 Home page – the ability to choose the initial website that loads when you open
the browser
 Address bar – a place to directly type in the URL, if you know it
Examples of web browser software
 Google Chrome
 Microsoft Edge
 Mozilla Firefox
 Opera
 Safari
 Internet Explorer

Web Server

A web server is a computer dedicated to storing web pages securely and delivering them
to users when requested. A website developer would upload their website to a web server
using FTP. Web servers are switched on 24 hours a day, ensuring the stored web pages
and resources are always available. To ensure web pages are served to multiple
simultaneous users as fast as possible, web servers have very fast/dedicated internet
access. Like all devices connected to the internet, a web server will have an IP address.

HTML Structure and Presentation

Web pages are typically created using three components, HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

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HTML Provides the content and structure of each page
CSS A presentation language used to style the HTML
content
JavaScript A scripting language used to provide
additional functionality, interactivity and behaviours

There is a special relationship between HTML and CSS. HTML can exist without CSS,
but CSS is pointless without any HTML to style.

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

HTML is markup language used to create web pages. HTML pages are interpreted by
a web browser. HTML tags are added to each element of content in order to provide
meaning and context. Further HTML tags can be used to divide a page into logical
sections (divisions), making different layouts possible when combined with CSS. Images,
tables and hyperlinks are also included using HTML. Although it is entirely possible to
make a website just using HTML, it would look bland and unappealing. To create web
pages that are visually stunning and easy to use, we need to use another language called
CSS.
Example of HTML
<p>This is a very short paragraph.</p>

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

CSS is a presentation language. Its purpose is to provide a web browser with styling
instructions for the HTML. CSS can be included directly in the HTML tags, in the head
section of the HTML, or in an entirely separate document (CSS style sheet). CSS is a
very powerful tool, enabling very complex and unique designs to be made possible.
Example of CSS
p {color: blue}