This page is dedicated to teaching you some simple basics of the Internet. This knowledge is essential to using this site. I have done nothing other than list words and definitions that will be needed on this site. The list is arranged so that you can read straight down the list and understand each term and it's meaning.

network

A series of workstations connected to a server. Each workstation has access to the files on the server.

workstation

A computer connected to the network for the purpose of accessing files and running programs stored on the server.

server

A computer that stores files and programs to be accessed by workstations. In the case of a web server, used to store web pages and FTP archives for access across the Internet.

Internet

A network of networks. The Internet links all the servers connected to the Internet together to form one huge network. Any computer that has Internet access, is essentially a workstation to every server connected to the 'Net, and can access all files (given that these files are allowed to be viewed over the 'Net) on any server in the world. In order to do so, many Internet programs ask for a server. This is where you type in the name of the network server that you wish to access files on. Example, if you wanted to access files on the Microsoft web server, you would type http://www.microsoft.com. If you wanted to access files on the Geocities server, you would type http://www.geocities.com. Internet is supposed to be capitalized. Also known as "The 'Net" (capitol N).

protocol

A language that computers use to communicate. As different people use different languages to communicate (English, Spanish, French, etc) computers use protocols to communicate. The most common protocols used on the Internet are HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol), FTP (File Transfer Protocol), e-mail, Usenet Newsgroups, etc. These are all ways to share and exchange information over the Internet.

HTTP

HyperText Transfer Protocol. The protocol used to exchange information in the form of web pages. You are viewing a web page using HTTP right now. The sum of all the servers using HTTP is called "The Web".

FTP

File Transfer Protocol. Used to transfer any type of file across the Internet. The contents of the file cannot be viewed until downloaded and then accessed.

download

To copy files from a remote computer or server to your own computer using the phone lines and a modem.

web server

A network server dedicated to serving computers web pages over the Internet. Web servers make use exclusively of HTTP.

website

A collection of documents for viewing over the Internet using HTTP. Synonyms: homepage, homestead, web page, etc. These all refer to the same thing. A web page is not limited to one page, or document, per say. I consider this "site" to be called "Gilpo's How To Make Links". This page that you are viewing now is called "Internet Basics". This one document of my entire site. In Geocities you can have as many pages in your site as you want, but you can only have one site in Geocities.

uploading

To transfer files from your computer to another computer via the phone lines and a modem.

modem

A device used to connect to the Internet via the phone lines. Your modem must first dial an ISP or online service to connect to the Internet.

ISP

Internet Service Provider. A company that, for a fee, allows you access to the Internet. Examples: IQuest, IBM Global Network, Netcom, Spry Net, etc.

online service

A company that not only provides Internet access, but also includes content of it's own, only accessible to members. Examples: America Online (AOL), Prodigy, CompuServe, Microsoft Network, Web TV.

client

1. Another name for a computer accessing files from a server. You are currently the client to www.geocities.com since you are accessing files from this server. 2. The software that's used to make use of an Internet Protocol. You are currently making use of the HTTP protocol to view this site. Therefore the program you are using is an HTTP client, also known as a Web Browser. If your program makes use of the FTP protocol, then you are using an FTP client. One such program is WS_FTP.

web browser

Any program that makes use of the HTTP protocol and lets you view web pages. Also known just as a "browser". Most current browsers will also make use of FTP and Usenet as well as HTTP. Examples: Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, NCSA Mosaic.

HTML

The stuff web pages are made out of. It is a special programming language to tell a browser how to display web pages. Using HTML "tags", you can tell the browser how big you want things, make links, etc.

image

A graphic image stored on a computer. Synonyms: picture, graphic. There are many different "formats" images can come in. Because images take a lot of computer disk space, they need to be compressed. The various image types are basically different compression types as well. Also, the image types refer to the kind of data that is stored with and about the image. Types include Bitmap (.bmp), Graphics Interchange Format (.gif), and Joint Photographic Experts Group (.jpg or .jpeg). These three types are the formats used most commonly for web pages. Other formats not used on the web include Encapsulated PostScript (.eps) and Tagged-Image File format (.tif). Note: No one really knows how GIF is supposed to be pronounced. Some pronounce it with a soft "G" as in "gift" or "Gilpo". Others say it with a soft "G" or "J" sound as in "Gillian" or like "Jiffy". JPEG is pronounced Jay-Peg.

cache

Pronounced: cash. When you access a web page, for the files to be viewed, they must be downloaded to your computer as you cannot directly view files over the Internet. These downloaded files are stored in a special folder on your computer called "cache". These files are deleted after the folder gets too big. The folder is called "cache" for Netscape Users and "Temporary Internet Files" for Internet Explorer users.

Java

A programming language created by Sun Microsystems. It is a variation of C++. Programmers use Java to create Java Applets which can be incorporated into web pages.

ActiveX

ActiveX Controls (similar to Java's Applets) can be written in C++ or Visual Basic. The controls are then incorporated into webpages.

JavaScript and Visual Basic Script

Two "scripting" languages for adding dynamic content to web pages. Note: JavaScript has absolutely nothing to do with Java. They have nothing in common. Don't confuse them. Java was created by Sun Microsystems, JavaScript was created by Netscape. VBScript is based on Visual Basic and is somewhat similar. It was created by Microsoft.

URL

Uniform Resource Locator. The address of a website on the Internet. These are all examples of URL's: www.geocities.com, http://www.microsoft.com, and http://www.geocities.com/~gilpo/. The URL has several parts. The http:// is the protocol identifier which states what protocol is being used. www.geocities is the hostname or domain name of the server. .com is called the Top Level Domain (TLD) which identifies what type of site it is.. Com=Commercial, net=Internet Service Provider, mil=Military Organization, org=Organization, gov=Government Agency. If the site is located in another country other than the United States, a 2 letter country identifier is added to the end of the address. au=Australia, uk=United Kingdom, no=Norway, fr=France, de=Germany, etc.

Top Level Domain (TLD)

These are used to identify a site by a particular category and also to identify sites located outside the United States. Here is a list of the current TLD's.

Seven new TLD's have been proposed and have yet to see the light of day. Look for them sometime in the future. These are:

No doubt you've seen sites ending in other things like .au or .uk. These are foreign sites. Australia is .au and the United Kingdom is .uk. For a complete list of all the county codes, click here.

path

The directory(-ies) following the root. For example, in the URL http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/6763/index.html, the root is www.geocities.com. The path is /SiliconValley/6763/. The file index.html is located in the /6763/ directory which is located in /SiliconValley/.

©1996-1999 Gilpo All rights reserved. This document may not be altered in anyway or distributed without the expressed written consent of Gilpo. All information contained herein is deemed to be accurate but is not warranted.