Chapter 2, Part A

It's a Wonderful World Wide Web

In This Chapterà

• A mercifully brief overview of the Internet and the World Wide Web
• Why the Web is so darned popular
• A quick Web how-to session using Netscape
• A review of a few other popular Web browsers
• A semi-comprehensive overview designed to give you the big Web picture

Before you go off half-cocked and start publishing pages willy-nilly on the World Wide Web, it helps to have a bit of background on what the Web is all about. After all, you wouldn't try to set up shop in a new country without first understanding the local geography and customs and learning a few choice phrases such as "I am sorry I insulted your sister" and "You don't buy beer, you rent it!"

This chapter introduces you to the Internet as a whole and to the World Wide Web in particular, takes you through some Web browser basics, and more.

The Internet Nitty-Gritty

Before you can appreciate how the World Wide Web works, you need to step back and look at the big picture: the Internet itself. First off, I'll get the boring definition of the Internet out of the way: the Internet is (yawn) an international collection of networks.

Okay, so what's a network?

Good question. A network is a collection of two or more computers (usually dozens or hundreds) connected via special cables so they can share stuff like files and printers. Large organizations such as universities, research labs, and corporations typically own these networks. The Internet's job, in a nutshell, is to connect these networks together using high-speed phone lines, fiber optic cables, or, occasionally, satellite links.

Hmmm. So could you say that the Internet is a connected collection of collected connections?

Well, you could say that, but you'd just make everyone's head hurt. A network of networks is probably the simplest way to look at it. If an analogy would help, think of the Net as a giant city where the houses are computers. A neighborhood where the houses are connected with side streets is like an individual network connected via cables. In turn, each neighborhood is connected to other neighborhoods via larger roads and avenues or, for longer trips, by highways and expressways. (Insert your own cheesy information- superhighway metaphor here.)

The point is that in any city you can get from your house to any other house by traveling along a particular set of streets, roads, and highways. The Internet works the same way: you can "travel" to other computers on the Net by "following" the various communications lines that make up the Net's infrastructure. (The real good news is that you can do this even if, like me, you have a lousy sense of direction. You just tell your software where you want to go, and it picks out the best route automatically, behind the scenes.)

Sounds good, but what if I don't belong to one of these big-time schools, labs, or corporations that have their networks jacked in to the Internet?

Ah, that's where the service providers come in. These are businesses that set up an Internet connection and then sell access to any Dick or Jane who needs it. You pay a fee (it's often an hourly rate, but you can get monthly or yearly fees that give you a certain number of hours per month), dial in with your modem, and start surfing.

Redefining the Internet

This dull "network of networks" definition is okay for starters, but it really doesn't describe the Internet as it exists today, or capture the diversity, the utility, or the frustration of this most complex of human creations. It also tells us nothing about why the Net holds such fascination for computer pros and amateurs alike. Here, then, is a more realistic definition of the Internet:

The Internet is a means of communication. This is the big one for my purposes in this book. Many Internet types are only interested in perusing the wonders of the World Wide Web, and the Web is (as you'll see) the most attractive way to communicate your ideas to the world at large. I'll talk more about this later in this chapter (and, indeed, throughout the rest of this book).

The Internet is an information resource. To say the least. The Internet has literally millions of computers that are jammed to the hilt with documents, books, pictures, and other information resources. Whether you're researching a thesis or just have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, the Internet has something for you. (Be forewarned: these resources are so vast and so poorly organized, the patience of a saint is a real asset when looking for things on the Net.)

The Internet is a warehouse. If you scour your own computer, you'll probably find a few hundred or even a few thousand files scattered here and there. Imagine all those files multiplied by the millions of Net computers; this gives you some idea of the massive numbers of documents, graphics, sounds, and programs stored around the Internet. Happily, there are a number of tools (some of which I describe later in this chapter) that you can use to locate and grab these files.

The Internet is a community. Behind everything you see on the Internet-the messages, the documents, the software-stands the person (or persons) who created it. Untold numbers of Net enthusiasts have spent countless hours assembling information, writing software, and answering questions. Amazingly, all this toiling in obscurity somehow managed to create a massive structure that works (most of the time) without the need for any semblance of central authority or governing body. Having said that, however, I don't want to be accused of viewing the Net through rose-colored glasses. Any endeavor that boasts millions of participants is bound to attract its fair share of bozos, buttheads, and bellyachers. Hey, that's life. Overall, though, the Net denizens you'll encounter will be surprisingly helpful and generous and only too willing to engage in random acts of senseless kindness.

An Overview of the Internet Services

Although this book concentrates primarily on the World Wide Web, I'll still need to talk about the other Internet services from time to time. Just to make sure we're always on the same page, let's review some of the available services you can use to interact with the various parts of the Internet:

• E-mail E-mail (or electronic mail) is, by far, the most widely-used Internet service. Every day, untold millions of messages are whisked around the world to digital mailboxes in just about every country on the planet. These days, you're just not "wired" (which, in the modern world, has become a synonym for "hip" or "cool") if your business card doesn't sport an e-mail address. As you'll see in Chapter 7, "Making the Jump to Hyperspace: Adding Links," it's possible to set up your Web pages to include a link that enables people to e-mail you directly from the page.
• FTP FTP (short for File Transfer Protocol) is the most common way to bring files from a particular Net locale onto your computer. You'll almost always use anonymous FTP to log in to the other computer (using the name anonymous and your e-mail address as your password).
• Usenet Usenetis a collection of topics available for discussion. These discussion groups (or newsgroups, as they're normally called) are open to all, and they cover everything from Amazon women to Zima.
• Gopher A Gopher is a system that displays Internet documents and services as menu options. You just select a menu choice, and the Gopher either displays a document or another menu, or transfers you to a different Gopher.
• Mailing Lists This is a system that sends out regular e-mail messages related to a specific topic. For example, if home beer making is your thing, then you'd definitely want to subscribe to the Homebrew mailing list to get things like recipes, how-to articles, beer festival announcements, and more. You usually subscribe by sending an e-mail message to the list's subscription address. You can also post messages to the other members of the mailing list.
• Telnet This is a program that enables you to log in to another computer on the Internet and use its resources as though they existed on your machine. For example, you can often telnet to a library's computer to use the electronic version of its card catalog.