Basic Training

What is the internet?

The internet is network of interconnected computer networks. In the beginning these were mostly telephone networks, but now we have millions of smaller domestic, academic, business, and government networks, which together carry digital data to the World Wide Web. These computer networks have evolved from being mostly copper and to fiber-obtic cables to a mix of wireless technologies (wi-fi, wi-Max, satellite, cell, microwave etc.). One of the latest methods of delivering digital data is by using our electric grid.

What is a web page?
Web page is a HTML, XHTML, XML data file that will display in a browser. In it's raw form it looks like this.

What is a web site?
A web site is a folder stored on some computer with a collection of HTML coded pages.  All linked to each other and to other web pages outside the sites.

What is a browser?
A browser is a special application program designed to read those HTML files and format the content into the web page you see. All that markup <stuff inside these brackets> tells the program how to format the web pages.  You can easily see how quickly can become very complex. This is why it takes some special knowledge and skills to create well formed pages and and websites.

How is a word processing program (i.e. Microsoft Word) like a web page?
Both use markup code to create visual features like bold type, underlining, italics etc.  Word Processing programs hide this markup from the users by inserting invisible (esc sequences) in the code.  There was a time when a secretary skilled in old versions of Word Perfect understood how to do this.  HTML code is inserted into the same way except there is no invisible codes. All is plain text.