In: Root » Computers and technology » Windows XP » The World Wide Web and browsers via Windows XP
Browsers and What They Do The World Wide Web (or WWW or just the Web) is a system that uses the Internet to link vast quantities of information all over the world. At times, the Web resembles a library, newspaper, bulletin board, and telephone directory all on a global scale. “The vision I have for the Web,” says its inventor, Tim Berners-Lee, “is about anything being potentially connected to anything.” Still very much a work in progress, the Web is destined to become the primary repository of human culture. This article explains all you need to know about the basics of the Web and searching the Web. You find out how to launch Internet Explorer, get to know the elements of the screen, and use the browser to begin your travels on the Web. Now boarding Internet Explorer. The next stop in cyberspace is totally up to you! ABCs of the Web To start using the World Wide Web, all you need is an Internet connection and a program called a Web browser, such as Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. A Web browser displays, as individual pages on your computer screen, the various types of information found on the Web and lets you follow the connections called hypertext links built into Web pages. Here are some basic Web concepts: - Hypertext: A type of electronic document that contains pointers or links to other documents. These links (often called hyperlinks) appear in a distinct color or are highlighted when your browser displays the document. When you click a hypertext link, your Web browser displays the document to which the link points, if the document is available. - Uniform Resource Locator (URL): The standard format used for hypertext links on the Internet, such as http://www.microsoft.com. - Web site: A collection of Web pages devoted to a single subject or organization. - Webmaster: The person in charge of a Web site. - Surfing: The art and vice of bouncing from Web page to Web page in search of whatever. Ninety-five percent of Web surfers use Internet Explorer, the Web browser that comes with Windows XP. Web browsers can handle most, but not all, types of information found on the Net. You can add software called plug-ins and ActiveX controls to extend your browser’s capabilities. Uniform Resource Locators (URLs)One of the key advances that Web technology brought to the Internet is the Uniform Resource Locator, or URL. URLs provide a single, standardized way of describing almost any type of information available in cyberspace. The URL tells you what kind of information it is (such as a Web page or an FTP file), what computer it’s stored on, and how to find that computer. URLs are typically long text strings that consist of three parts: - The document access type followed by a colon and two slashes (://) - The host name of the computer on which the information is stored - The path to the file that contains the information Common document access types include the following: - http: For hypertext (the Web) - https: For hypertext with a secure link - ftp: For File Transfer Protocol files - gopher: For Gopher files - mailto: For e-mail addresses The following list includes other mysterious things that you see in URLs: - .html or .htm: The filename extension for a hypertext document; HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language, the set of codes used to build Web pages. - index.html or default.html: The master page or home page of a Web site (the actual file name depends on the server). - .txt: A plain-text document without links or formatting. - .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .mpg, .png, and .avi: Pictures, graphics, or video. - .mp3, .mid (MIDI), .wav, .snd, and .au: Music files. You can even get a Walkman-size unit that accepts and plays these files. - .zip, .sit, .hqx, .gz, .tar, and .z: Filename extensions for files that have been compressed to save downloading time. - .class: A Java applet. - ~george: As suggested by the tilde (~) character, probably a Unix account belonging to someone with the account name of george. - www: Short for World Wide Web. Finding Your Way around the WebThe Web displays pages of information with hypertext links that take you to other pages. Browsers usually highlight the links to make them easy to spot by using a different color for the item and underlining it. By default, the color of a text hyperlink that you’ve not yet followed is blue. If you return to a page after clicking hyperlinked text, the hyperlinked text color changes from blue to purple. Some links are just areas you click inside an image or photograph. You can always tell when one of these types of graphics contains a hyperlink and when it doesn’t by passing the mouse pointer over the picture. Only graphics with hyperlinks cause your mouse pointer to assume the shape of a pointing hand. You can bring up a page on your browser in ways other than following a link: - Select a page from your browser’s list of bookmarks or favorites. - Type a URL in the address field on your browser’s screen and press Enter. - If you have the page stored as a file on a hard drive or CD-ROM on your computer, most browsers let you open it by choosing the File -> Open (or similar) command. Web page components that appear in your browser can take on other functions, such as the following: - File items containing text, pictures, movies, or sound: If your Web browser can handle the file, the browser displays or plays the file. If not, the browser just tells you about the file. If an image or element is missing, the browser displays a broken link icon. - Search query items that let you type one or more key words: A Web page displays the results of your search. - Forms you fill out: The answers are sent as a long URL when you click Done, Submit, or a similar button on the form. - Small computer programs called Java applets: You download and run them on your computer. |
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