INTERNET

• The word Internet is derived from two

words: interconnection and networks. Also referred to
as “the Net,”
• Internet is a worldwide system of computer networks,
that is, a network of networks, which allows the
participants (users) to share information. It consists of
thousands of separately administered networks of
various sizes and types. Each of these networks
comprises tens of thousands of computers. Moreover,
the total number of users of the Internet is known to
be in millions. This high level of connectivity
encourages an unparalleled degree of communication,
resource sharing, and information access.
 EVOLUTION
• The foundation of Internet was laid in 1969 by the
Department of Defence (DoD) of United States
of America. They wanted to create a computer
network that could continue to function in the
event of a disaster, such as a nuclear war. Even if a
part of the network was damaged or destroyed,
the rest of the system would continue to work.
• That network was known as ARPANET (Advanced
Research Projects Agency Network), which linked
US scientific and academic researchers. It was the
forerunner of today's Internet.
• Later in 1980, another agency, the National
Science Foundation (NSF), created a new
network of computers based on ARPANET,
called NSFNET, which turned out to be more
efficient and capable.
• Initially, NSFNET was designed to link five super
computers situated at the major universities of
NSF and allowed only academic research.
• Over the time, this network expanded to include
sites for business, universities, government,
etc. and finally becoming a network consisting
of millions of computers, now known as
the Internet.
• Internet really became popular in the 1990s
after the development of the World Wide
Web (WWW). Before that, it was open for a
handful of sites only.
• Internet today is a repository of every type of
information. Nowadays, an Internet user can
get all sorts of information ranging from how
to add to the design of a functional spaceship
to choosing a product for personal use
IMPORTANT TERMS
• WWW: The World Wide Web (abbreviated as
the Web or WWW) is a collection of linked documents or
pages, stored on millions of computers and distributed across
the world.
• The concept of the Web began at the European Center for
Nuclear Research, Geneva, Switzerland, in the year 1989. Since
then, WWW is the most popularly used Internet subnetwork.
• One of the main reasons that led to its popularity is that it
provides information in multimedia form, that is, in more than
one medium such as, text, graphics, video, and audio.
• Further, it provides a simple and consistent way of accessing
the information available on the Internet by
using hypertext system.
• In hypertext system, the documents are connected to other
related documents on the Internet through links.
• The Web uses a specific Internet protocol called HTTP to
support hypertext documents.
• Web Page: The hypertext documents on the
WWW are known as Web pages. A Web page
is written in a language
called HTML (hypertext markup language)
which enables to embed hypertext links in the
document. Using these hyperlinks, the user
can jump from one Web page to another.
• Note: Web pages are also known as HTML
documents.
• Web site: A Web site is a set of related Web
pages (linked through hypertext links),
published by an organization or an individual.
Typically, a Web site contains a home page
along with other additional Web pages. Each
Web site is accessed by its own address
known as URL (uniform resource locator). All
the Web sites on the Internet constitute the
WWW.
• Home Page: When you browse the WWW, you
will often see the term “home page.” A home
page (also called index page) is the starting point
or a doorway to the Web site; it refers to the Web
page that identifies a Web site and contains the
hyperlinks to other Web pages in the Web site.
• It may contain links to other Web sites also. Like
the table of contents of a book, the home page
usually provides an overview of what could be
found at the Web site. If there is not much
information, the home page may be the only page
of the Web site. However, usually you will find at
least a few other pages.
 Browser: A browser (short for Web browser) is a special
software that enables users to read/view Web pages and
jump from one Web page to another. It is the software that is
needed to find, retrieve, view, and send information over the
Internet. The most popular browsers are Microsoft Internet
Explorer and Netscape Navigator, Safari, Firefox, Chrome,
Chromium, .
• Graphical Browsers: allow retrieval of text, images, audio, and
video. Navigation is accomplished by pointing and clicking
with a mouse on highlighted words and graphics. Netscape
Navigator, Internet Explorer, and Mozilla are graphical
browsers.
• Text Browsers: provide access to the Web in text-only mode.
Navigation 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
a text-based browser
• URL: Each Web page has a unique address,
called a URL (uniform resource locator), which
identifies its location on the Internet. Usually,
the format of an URL consists of four parts:
protocol, name of the Web server (or domain
name), path, and filename. Here is an
example, http://www.xyz.com/tutor/start/main.
htm. The structure of this URL is:
• Protocol: http
• Web server name/domain name: www.xyz.com
• Path: tutor/start/
• File Name: main.htm
• The first part of the address, the part before
the colon, is the protocol. Most of the time
you see http (hypertext transfer protocol) for
accessing a Web page. Apart from http, you
could also find other protocols such as ftp (file
transfer protocol), news (news server),
and telnet(for accessing remote computers).
• HTML 1.0 | HTML 2.0 | HTML 3.0 | HTML
3.2 | HTML 4.01 | XHTML 1.0 | HTML5
• After the protocol, comes the domain name. The
protocol and the domain name are separated by colons
and slashes.
• A domain name is a unique name that identifies a
particular Web site and represents the name of the
server where the Web pages reside. They are the human-
readable addresses and hence are easier to remember.
• Domain names have two or more parts separated by
dots.
• The letters occurring after the dot (.) identify the domain
type.
• A domain type represents the type of organization or
countries to which the Web server (sometimes
called host computer) belongs.
• Domain Types
Some of the domains that are typical on the Internet are:
 com Commercial and for-profit organizations
 Edu Colleges and universities
(education providers)
 Gov Federal government agencies
 Mil US military sites
 Net Internet infrastructure and service
providers
 Org Miscellaneous and non-profit
organizations
 .ac.in : This domain name is used for
academic institutes in India, it represents
academic institution website in India.
• Dozens of domain types have been assigned to
identify and locate files stored on host
computers in countries across the world.
These are referred to as two-letter Internet
country codes and have been standardized by
the International Standards Organization
(ISO). For example, uk for the United
Kingdom, de for Germany, au for Australia,
and in for India.
• The last part of a URL consists of the path and
the 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.htm,

the file main.htm is located in start, which is a

subdirectory of tutor.
• Hypertext: The hypertext is a system that provides
a simple and consistent way to organize large data
(that includes text, images, pictures videos, etc.)
available on the Internet. In hypertext systems, the
documents contain links to other related
documents on the Internet. These links are
called hyperlinks, hotlink, or simply links.
• A hyperlink is used to jump to another part of the
same page or to load a different Web page. Usually
hypertext links appear in a different colour (typically
in blue and underlined) from the rest of the text.
• Producing hypertext for the Web is accomplished by
creating documents with HTML (hypertext markup
language).
• Internet Service Provider (ISP): An ISP is an
organization that connects its subscribers’
computer using modem to the Internet. The
connections can be provided by telephone
lines, cable lines, or wireless connections. In
order to use the Internet connection, the user
has to first log on to the host computer using
the username and password provided by the
ISP. Some of the well-known ISPs are America
Online (AOL), Microsoft Network (MSN),
Yahoo!, etc.
• Web Server: A server is a computer
equipped with server software, which
provides a specific kind of services to client
software running on other computers. It can
refer to a particular piece of software, for
example, a Web server, or to a machine on
which the server software is running. A Web
server receives request from the clients,
processes this request, and sends the result
back to the client. In other words, Web server
fulfils the client's (browser) requests
• Download and Upload: Download refers to the act of
transmitting data from a remote computer on the
Internet or other network to one's own computer.
When the user downloads a file, he/she is actually
copying a particular file from the remote computer and
placing it on his/her hard drive. Downloading allows a
user to save file for later use, thereby reducing the time
spent online and the corresponding charges.
• Upload is just the opposite of download. Upload refers
to the act of transmitting data from local computer to
any other computer on the Internet or network. For
example, a software company may upload a
demonstration of its new software onto the Web so
that users can then download the software.
GETTING CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET
• Modem: Apart from the previously mentioned
configuration, a computer system must have a
device called modem, which enables a computer
to transmit data over telephone lines.
• A modem (acronym for modulator–demodulator)
is a hardware, which converts digital data into
analog signals (that is, modulation) that can be
sent over an analog telephone line and convert
the analog signal back into digital data (that is,
demodulation). Thus, when the modem
receives the data from a Web server via
telephone system, it reconstitutes the analog
signal into digital form so that the computer can
understand it.
• Modems are of two types:
• Internal Modem: is a card, which is fitted
inside the computer with a lead running
directly from the computer to the telephone
socket.
• External Modem: is a small external box wired
between the computer and the telephone
socket.
 TYPES OF INTERNET CONNECTIONS
• Dial-up: A dial-up connection is the access
method that uses telephone lines to connect
to the Internet. It is the most common way for
individuals who use home computers to
connect to the Internet. To connect to the
Internet by using dial up, the user needs to
specify a username, a password, and a
telephone number. After the connection is
established, the user can start browsing sites
on the Internet.
• DSL: DSL or digital subscriber line service is
provided through an existing telephone line,
but it works differently than regular analog
modem dial-up access. DSL operates over
normal telephone lines and it can be used
simultaneously with the telephone. DSL can
increase the connection speed by as much as
ten-fold from a standard dial-up modem.
• ISDN: It stands for integrated services digital
network and is more common in business and
commercial use. It was the first high-speed
alternative to regular analog telephone modems.
ISDN involves the digitization of telephone
network so that voice, graphics, text, and other
data can be provided to users from a single
terminal over existing telephone wiring. Digital
connections have fewer errors in transmission,
which means speed of downloading graphics, Web
pages, sound, and so on is increased to four times
faster than with dial-up modems.
• Broadband: This type of access is good for remote
locations, where ISDN, cable, or DSL are not
available. It gives a decent download speed, but to
upload data, the user still needs a regular analog
modem to dial in, via a telephone line. Satellite
connection can be either a two-way service or a
one-way service. In case of two-way satellite
service, the data are transmitted via satellite to a
dish antenna at the user's house. In one-way
system, the user needs a conventional modem and
telephone link to an ISP. Satellite connection is
expensive but sometimes is the only fast option
for people who are beyond the service area of
cable and DSL providers.
• Cable Modem: A cable modem connects the user to the
Internet through a cable television line. Nowadays, many
cable companies offer Internet along with television
accessibility. A cable modem will typically have two
connections, one to the television outlet and the other to
the computer. Cable modems not only provide a faster
Internet access (10 to 100 times as fast as the dial-up
modem), but interactivity to the television also.
• Leased Line: This facility provides reliable, high-speed
Internet access ranging from 2.4 kbps to 45 Mbps. A leased
line connection is an affordable way to link two or more
sites for a fixed monthly charge. Usually leased lines facility
can be provided via a fibre optic or copper lines. Leased
line service provides a consistent amount of bandwidth and
is an excellent way to provide data, voice, and video links
between sites.
• Internet Software: To connect to the Internet,
a computer requires mainly three different
kinds of software:
1. TCP/IP: TCP/IP, or transmission control
protocol/Internet protocol, is the basic
communication protocol of the Internet. It
allows programs on user's computer to
communicate over the Internet. Usually, when
you are set up with direct access to the
Internet, your computer is provided with a copy
of the TCP/IP. Similarly, every other computer
that you may send messages to or get
information from also has a copy of TCP/IP.
• Dialler Software: This software is provided by
the ISP to instruct the modem to dial the
telephone number and to identify the user's
machine to the access provider's system for
access to the network.
• Browser: To use the Internet, a Web browser
is essential which allows the user to view the
information available on the WWW.
• The IP address is a familiar term for most
computer users. An IP address is the unique
numerical address of a device in a computer
network that uses Internet Protocol for
communication. The IP address allow you to
pinpoint a particular device from the billions of
devices on the Internet. To send you a letter,
someone needs your mailing address. In the same
sense, one computer needs the IP address of
another computer to communicate with it.
• An IP address consists of four numbers;. These
numbers are separated with a single dot (.). These
four numbers can range from 0 to 255.
• There are two types of IP address in the world
according to its format.
– IPv4 - Internet Protocol Version 4
– IPv6 - Internet Protocol Version 6

IP addresses must be unique for each computer

connected to a network.
IP address classes
SERVICES PROVIDED BY
INTERNET
 File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
• The FTP is a set of rules that enables a user to transfer files
from one system to another. It was the first service developed
for the Internet so that government and educational
institutions could easily exchange files. It allows the user to
get access to the files stored in the directory of a remote
computer that is connected to the Internet. Using FTP, one can
upload and download files from the remote computer (known
as FTP servers), if he/she has access permission on the remote
machine. Though files can be transferred using e-mail, this is
not a good choice if the file size is large or when there are
many files. FTP sites can consist of hundreds to thousands of
files with information on books, music, software, games,
images, sounds, multimedia, course ware, etc. FTP can be
done using the command prompt, browsers, and various GUI-
based FTP software such as CuteFTP and WS_FTP
 TELNET
• The word “telnet” is derived from telecommunications
and network and is a protocol that allows a user to log on
to a remote computer. Telnet is also known as remote
login, which means connecting one machine to another in
such a way that a person may interact with another
machine as if it is being used locally. It means that
someone in New Delhi could connect to a computer in the
New York City Public Library and search the card catalogue
the same way as someone located at a terminal in the
library. Once connected, the user's computer emulates the
remote computer. When the user types in commands, they
are executed on the remote computer. The user's monitor
displays what is taking place on the remote computer
during the telnet session.
 Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
• IRC or Internet Relay Chat is a service on the
Internet that allows people to communicate in real
time and carry on conversations via the computer
with one or more people. It provides the user with
the facility to engage in simultaneous
(synchronous) online “conversations” with other
users from anywhere in the world. Unlike other
forms of group communication on the Internet,
chat is an instant communication. However, both
parties must be connected to the Internet and that
too at the same time, running the right software
and actively participating in order to chat.
• Generally, the user runs a program
(called “client”) to connect to an IRC server. The
server relays information to and from other
servers on the same net. Popular IRC client
applications are mIRC, Virc, and LeafChat. Once
connected to an IRC server on an IRC network, the
user will usually join one or more “channels” (also
known as chat rooms) and converse with others
there. Each channel is devoted to a different topic.
Conversations may be public (where everyone in a
channel can see what the user types) or private
(messages between only two people, who may or
may not be on the same channel).
• Chat programs allow users on the Internet to
communicate with each other by typing in real
time. They are sometimes included as a feature of
a Web site, where users can log into chat rooms to
exchange comments and information about the
topics addressed on the site.
• Chatting has become one of the “killer
applications” of Internet and has become quite
popular with all kinds of Internet users. It is quite
cheap to chat online.
• Note that even though chatting is based on
standardized IRC system, but unlike IRC, the user
does not need to have any special software to
connect to any chat rooms.
• A variation of chat is instant messaging where
a user on the Web can contact another user
currently logged in and type a conversation. To
avail this Internet service, the user must have
software called instant messenger installed on
the system.
• Instant messaging is just as if making a text-
only telephone call over the Internet, that is,
the user is “talking” to the other person
(possibly more) instantly. There are various
products out there for instant messaging such
as MSN Messenger and Yahoo Messenger.
 Video Conferencing
• Video conferencing uses the same technology as
IRC, but also provides sound and video pictures. It
enables direct face-to-face communication across
networks. A video conferencing system has two
or more parties in different locations, which have
the ability to communicate using a combination
of video, audio, and data. A video conference can
be person to person (referred to as “point-to-
point”) or can involve more than two people
(referred to as “multipoint”), and the video
conferencing terminals are often referred to
as “endpoints”.
 Commerce through the Internet
• Today business is taking place through electronic
telecommunication media. Nowadays, various
organizations offer the facility of shopping online. This
type of business model is known as electronic
commerce or E-commerce. E-commerce refers to buying
and selling goods and services online. It integrates
communication, data management, and security
capabilities, which allow organizations to exchange
information about the sales of goods and services.
Essentially, it is the end-to-end digital exchange of
information needed to conduct business
including electronic data interchange
(EDI) and electronic funds transfer (EFT).
• EDI is the computer-to-computer exchange of
routine business transactions including
payments, information exchange, and
purchase order requests. EFT is a technology
that allows the transfer of funds from the
bank account of one person or organization to
that of another
 Newsgroups (Usenet)
• Newsgroups are international discussion groups that focus
on a particular topic and helps in gathering information
about that topic. The topics discussed here cover all the
fields such as politics, computers, technology, and many
more. The information or articles that make up the “news”
are written by people interested in a specific topic. These
articles are posted to the newsgroup so that others can
read, reply, and comment on them. To read and post
articles in a newsgroup, newsreader software such as
Microsoft Outlook Express or Netscape News is required.
Some newsgroups are devoted to current events and
headlines. However, newsgroups usually describe topical
discussion groups, not “the news” in the traditional sense.
Most newsgroups exist on a network known
as “Usenet,” which contains thousands of newsgroups.
 DATA OVER THE INTERNET
• The data, in terms of Internet, primarily
comprises the hypertext documents containing
links that connects to other documents or files.
These documents may even include
animations, and multimedia components.
Depending upon how information is displayed
in the browser, we can classify the displayed
data into two categories:
• Static Component and
• Dynamic Component.
 Static Component
• Static component includes the information
displayed on the browser that does not
interact with the user. For example, the text
written in the form of a paragraph on the Web
page is static component. Producing static
component for the Web page is accomplished
by creating documents in HTML.
 Dynamic Component
• Dynamic component imparts life to a Web
page. This component refers to a specification
by which a user can interact with a Web server.
For example, when a user fills a form on the
Web page, the text filled in various fields is
sent back to the originating point of the Web
page. This way a user is able to interact with
the server hosting that Web page. To impart
dynamism, a special program (often called
scripts) is written in any programming language
including Perl, VBScript, JavaScript, and so on.
• Perl: Web server uses external programs,
called CGI scripts or CGI program, usually
written in Perl to communicate with other
programs such as database and mail running on
the server. CGI programs are generally used to
process the information from an interactive
form on a Web page. A typical application
would be to search a database. For example, a
user might search for the word “white papers”
on a Web site. The server receives the request,
passes it to the CGI script, which looks up a
database, and responds with the appropriate
result formatted in HTML.
• JavaScript and JScript: JavaScript is a programming
language, which runs on the browser. It was developed
by Sun Microsystems and was first implemented in
Version 2 of the Netscape browser. JScript is
Microsoft's implementation of JavaScript for the
Internet Explorer.
• JavaScript runs on the browser (client) and does not
require any server software. Therefore, it is often
called client-side scripting language. As all execution
takes place on the browser, JavaScript is responsible
for most of the interactivity on a Web page. Effects like
changing of images, text colours, and other things can
be made possible through JavaScript. The language has
also been widely used for basic form validation.
• VBScript: Like JavaScript, VBScript is also a client-
based language that has been developed by
Microsoft and it runs only on the Internet Explorer.
Although JavaScript runs on both Netscape and
Internet Explorer, VBScript is easier to code when
developing active server pages.
• Active Server Pages (ASP): ASP is a technology
promoted by Microsoft. It uses some special tags,
which can be embedded in the HTML code to
generate dynamic Web pages. ASP scripts run on
the server side. A typical user can use VBScript,
JavaScript/ Jscript, or a combination of both to write
ASP pages. The great advantage in using ASP is the
ease of maintenance of the Web site.
• PHP: PHP is an open-source development
environment to develop dynamic Web pages.
PHP works almost like an ASP, but it is more
secure and handles databases more easily. PHP
code is embedded inside the HTML and can be
linked to databases for generating dynamic
content. PHP-Hypertext preprocessor.
• XML (eXtensible Markup Language): XML is a
markup language that enables programmers to
create customized tags. These tags can provide
the much-needed functionality presently
unavailable with HTML. XML documents can be
accessed using ASP, PHP, and so on.
• Java: Java is a very powerful and object-
oriented language developed by Sun
Microsystems. Web-based Java applications
are generally in the form of “Java applets.”
They are small programs written in Java, which
are called by an HTML page from a Web server
and run on a Java-compatible Web browser.
 INTRANET
• Intranet is a computer network system in which a specific
organizational systems share information, computing
services and operating systems with each other by using
an Internet (IP )Technology. This term basically refers to
the network of a specific organization. you can also says it
a private network. Authenticated users of the organization
can access the database system, search engines, directory
and can distribute documents and workflow. Employees
can makes interactive communication in shape of
chatting, audio and videoconferencing, groupware and
teleconferencing. The benefits of Intranet is that low
development and maintenance cost arises on this setup. It
is also a means of friendly environment and speedily
sharing of secret information on time.
 EXTRANET
• The term Extranet is linked with Intranet. Extranet is a kind
of computer network that allows the outside users to
access the Intranet of organization. This network system is
basically used for business to business (B2B) purposes. This
system basically allows the outside users of an
organization, like partners, suppliers, vendors and other
stakeholders to remain in touch with the activities of
organization. Information and data access performed
through a proper account or link system. This is a best
network system to keep in touch with market position and
share a large amount of data to partners in a timely
manner. Moreover, conducting new training programs and
discussing the products catalogs with partners can be
easily done without bearing too much cost of travelling.
Differences between Internet, Intranet and
Extranet.
• First difference between all is a matter of availability. Internet is a global
network system and is available to all while Intranet and Extranet are
available to limited inside and outside users of the organization.
• Intranet and Extranet are more secure than Internet because having
Intranet or Extranet network system means organization has created a
firewall against outsiders. Accessing any information on Internet is not
much difficult today.
• General public is the user of Internet so it can be called as public network
while business persons and organization are the users of Intranet and
Extranet and can be called as private networks.
• Internet can be access through without having user account. While user
account is the first important condition in case of Intranet and Extranet.
• Internet has no hard and fast policies while there is a complete
organization policy behind the setup of Intranet and Extranet.