Web Basics

What makes the Web?

These protocols, or standards of the web are developing at an astounding pace. At it's most basic, a web page is a text document that uses HTML, the internationally recognized language of the web, to be recognized as a web page. It can be made in any word processing program--even simpletext.

Browsers, like Netscape or Internet Explorer, are applications used to recognize these pages. Advanced functions of the web (VRML, Dynamic HTML, Java and multimedia) are largely developed independently, and it is the browsers job to keep up.

Connecting the Web

The Web lets you jump or "hyperlink" from one web page to other pages on the Web, referencing the URL, or address, of that page.

In order to 'be on the web', you also need to have a server, a computer that is registered on the Internet, and is always connected. While most individuals let ISPs, Internet Service Providers, host their web site, anyone with a computer and a connection can be their own server. (more on this later)

Basic Web Terminology:

Browser: an application used to view web pages.
Server: a computer which is linked and registered on the Internet, which hosts web documents.
ISP: Internet Service Provider--a company that hosts your web site
HTML: Hyper Text Markup Language--the language used to make a web page.
URL: Universal Resource Locator--the virtual address of a web page.

In short, HTML makes a web page, which sits on a server, provided by an ISP, is viewed by a browser, and which finds it via the URL, or address.