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What
is the World Wide Web?
Simply,
the World Wide Web is part of the Internet. More specifically,
it is a collection of 'documents' that reside on many computers
that are connected to the Internet. These 'documents' or 'pages'
are made up not just of words. They also can contain still
images, motion pictures, sound clips, and more. And they can
be connected to each other by links (called 'hyperlinks')
that allow you to move from one page to another and back again.
These pages might be on the same computer, or on a different
computer in another country. Using WWW you can access an uncounted
wealth of knowledge and information from all areas of the
world, all while sitting at your computer. You can move around
the Web in three ways: by browsing and selecting links to
explore, by using keyword search tools, or by issuing commands
to go directly to a specific Internet resource. In order to
utilize the capabilities - especially the multimedia capabilities
- of the Web, you need a computer program called a browser.
Internet Explorer and Netscape are the most popular browsers
for exploring the internet. AOL users are advised to use either
Internet Explorer or Netscape when navigating the internet
rather than the default AOL browser.
What
can I find on World Wide Web?
Almost every resource
available on the Internet is available via the Web. Using World Wide Web,
you can access all the resources available through Gopher, WAIS, FTP, the
USENET newsgroups, or any database available via telnet. The Web provides
access both by subject and by means of protocol such as Gopher or WAIS.
How
does World Wide Web work?
When
you select a WWW item, you are actually telling a computer program to access
the data you requested. The program also creates screens of data "on
the fly" as you access different services.
What
is hypertext?
Hypertext
is stored in a non-hierarchical structure in which each piece of hypertext
is connected to one or more other pieces of hypertext by links. As more
nodes and links are added to the structure, the nodes and links form a web.
Hypertext is like a spider’s web in that there are many pathways to get
to any particular piece of information. Hypertext can be confusing at first,
but once you become used to it, it is a remarkably powerful way to retrieve
information.
What
are URLs?
A Uniform
(or Universal) Resource Locator—is a unique global Internet
identifier used by World Wide Web that allows any object on
the Internet to be described as an address. One way to think
about URLs is to use libraries and books as a metaphor, each
URL a unique call number that would give the exact location
of every book in the world, including the country, city, street,
and library shelf location. URLs are composed of several parts
including the Internet access protocol (usually http, or "hypertext
transfer protocol"), the location, and the file. http://libsys.uah.edu/capella
is an example of a URL that you should be familiar with.
URLs
have been used since 1991 as the standard way to cite Internet
resources. They are particularly valuable in that both machines
and humans can read them. All WWW browser programs allow you
to type in a URL, and the browser will then connect you to
the cited resource.
Visiting
a New Web Page
Sometimes
you'll want to look at a Web page you've read about or someone has told
you about. You can do this 'manually' (i.e., without having a link from
an existing page).
- Click
the "Open" button on the Toolbar. This will open a Windows dialog
box.
- Type
the Web site address in the space provided.
- Click
the "Open" button or press <Enter>.
Following
a Link
When
you are viewing a page, you will see highlighted (colored)
text on the page. This is a link to another Web page, ftp
site, etc. There are also graphical links. One way to tell
if text or an image is a link is to watch your cursor. When
the cursor changes from an arrow to a pointing finger, the
cursor is over a link.
- Place
the mouse pointer over the text or image.
- Click
once.
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