The Internet or ‘Net’ as it is termed, is composed of a vast number of computers across the globe that are all connected together. The Net doesn’t have a central point but is simply the sum of its parts. Anyone with a computer, a modem, a telephone line and some suitable software can connect to the Net. The most well known part of the Net is the World Wide Web, this is the relatively new part and the one most people connect to, to view information. Another popular part of the Net is E-mail, this can be used to send and receive electronic mail. E-mail has been with us for over thirty years. Chat programs that let you communicate with others in real time similar to a written phone call and newsgroups where people converse on any subject, are other popular uses of the Net.

How did it start?
In the late 60’s the US government wanted to develop a means to keep communication lines open in the event of a nuclear attack. This led to the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) setting up a computer network that didn’t have a central point and was therefore ‘bomb proof’. The first version of this network was named ARPANET, and was built in 1969 to connect four universities. The network, which first arrived in London in 1973 was eventually split into two parts in 1983, these were the military and ‘public’ networks used mainly by the universities. In 1986 the US National Science Foundation created high-speed links between several American universities, this in turn fuelled a massive increase in the use of the Internet as it was now being termed. By 1990 the term ARPANET had been dropped and due to the vast number of connections no-one could tell where the Internet started or ended.

In 1991 the commercialisation of the Net began with the development of the World Wide Web and in 1994 the first graphical Web browser, MOSAIC was further developed and used as the basis for Netscape Navigator. The Net is now growing at a phenomenal rate, with access being made possible via TV and mobile phones and at much higher speeds than have been capable before. It is estimated that at present there are 300 million people now utilising the Net.

Here is a list of terminology used in the web industry . . . .

Applet – A small Java program that can be embedded in an HTML page.
ASCII – American Standard Code for Information Interchange, the world standard for the code numbers used by computers to represent all the Latin letters etc. There are 128 standard codes each of which can be represented by a 7 digit binary code.
Attachment – A separate file sent with an e-mail message.
Bandwidth – How much information you can send through a connection, usually measured in bits-per-second.
Browser – A software program such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer, that allows access to various Internet resources.
Cache – A folder on the hard disk used to save text and graphics by a browser. The next time you access the same web page it only has to upload the parts that have changed since last time, the parts that are unchanged load from the cache.
CGI – Common Gateway Interface, a small program that takes data from a web server and allows for instance the content of a form to be put into an e-mail message.
Cookie – A piece of information sent by a web server to a browser which in turn is expected to be sent back when a further request from the browser is made. Cookies may contain information such as login or registration details, user preferences etc.
Domain Name – A unique name that identifies an Internet site eg. Site2c.co.uk
E-mail – Electronic Mail, usually text messages sent via computer to another person’s computer.
Encryption – A means of scrambling up data so that only the indended recipient can decipher it.
FAQ’s – Frequently Asked Questions, usually lists of the most asked questions on a given subject. This can be both helpful to website visitors and save the author answering the same questions over and over. You can visit the Site2c FAQ page.
FTP – File Transfer Protocol, a common method of transferring files between two Internet sites.
GIF – Graphic Interchange Format, a common format for image files.
Hit – One ‘hit’ on a website means a single request from a web browser for a single item from a web server.
Homepage – The usual meaning is the main page of a website or the page your browser is set to open when turned on.
HTML – Hyper Text Markup Language, the coding that is used to create Hypertext documents for use on the World Wide Web.
HTTP – Hyper Text Transfer Protocol, the protocol for moving hypertext files across the Internet.
Hypertext – Text that contains links to other documents.
Intranet – A private network within an organisation similar to the Internet but content can only be seen by those within the organisation.
IP Number – Internet Protocol Number, every machine on the Internet has a unique IP number which looks something like 123.456.789.0
IRC – Internet Relay Chat, a facility that allows many people to type messages about a subject. Messages can be seen by all the others connected to that channel.
ISDN – Integrated Services Digital Network, a system that can allow the transfer of data through phone lines at speeds of up to 128000 bits-per-second.
ISP – Internet Service Provider, an organisation or business that provides
access to the Internet either free or for money.
Java – A programming language used to create a multitude of effects within web pages – see Applet.
Jpeg – Joint Photographic Experts Group, a common format for image files.
Kilobyte – A thousand bytes, eg. one letter = 1 byte. Files ending with the tag '.jpg' are jpeg files.
LAN – Local Area Network, a computer network limited to the immediate area such as a building.
Leased Line – A phone line that is rented for exclusive 24 hour, 7 days a week access. The highest speed connections require leased lines.
Login – Entering into a computer system usually with an account name.
Megabyte – A million bytes or 1000 kilobytes.
Macs – (short for Macintosh) A type of computer manufactured by Apple (ie. iMacs, ibooks, PowerMacs). Uses the Mac OS operating system rather than Windows. Industry standard in graphic design. Favoured by creative industry.
Modem – Modulator, DEModulator, a device that allows the computer to talk to other computers via the phone system.
Network – Two or more computers connected together to enable them to share resources.
Newsgroup – The name given to discussion groups on USENET.
PC – Personal computer. Sometimes used as a term to differentiate between computers with Microsoft Windows (PCs) and Apple Macintosh computers (Macs).
Plug-in – A small piece of software that enhances the browser, such as RealPlayer or Shockwave that allow you to play video clips or hear sound.
POP – Post office protocol, the protocol used by e-mail programs to retrieve messages from an ISP.
Portal – An expression used to describe a website that is intended to be the first place people see when using the web. A typical example would be YAHOO.
PPP – Point to Point Protocol, the protocol that allows a computer to use a phone line and a modem to make TCP/IP connections.
Security Certificate – A piece of information used to establish a secure connection. Information about who it belongs to, who it was issued by, a unique identification number, valid dates and an encrypted ‘fingerprint’ can all be contained within the certificate. In order for a secure connection to be made both parties must have a valid certificate. (see SSL).
Server – A computer that provides information to other computers. Web sites are stored on web servers, sometimes if it takes a long time for a site to download , it may be because the server is very busy.
Site2c – A very good web design company.
SMTP – Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, the main protocol for exchanging e-mail on the Internet.
Spam – Large quantities of unsolicited messages sent via e-mail. The term may have come from the Monty Python sketch which repeated the word spam.
SSL – Secure Sockets Layer, a protocol designed to enable secure encrypted authenticated communications across the Internet. (see Security Certificate).
TCP/IP – Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, these are the protocols that allow computers to be on the Internet. TCP/IP protocols define the Internet.
URL – Uniform Resource Locator, another way of saying this would be ‘’what is your web site address?’ eg. http://www.site2c.co.uk
Usenet – This is the name given to the network of newsgroups.
WWW – The usual abbreviation for World Wide Web.