What is Internet-cert cict

8/7/2019 What is Internet-cert cict

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Introduction to websites

Nyamu Ogakhan, A/Leceturer CBE Page 1

What is Internet?

The Internet is essentially a global network of computing resources. You can think

about the Internet as a physical collection of routers and circuits as a set of shared

resources or even as an attitude about interconnecting and intercommunication.

Internet Based Services:

Some of the basic services available to Internet users are:

y Email: A fast, easy, and inexpensive way to communicate with other Internetusers around the world.

y Telnet: Allows a user to log into a remote computer as though it were a localsystem.

y FTP: Allows a user to transfer virtually every kind of file that can be stored ona computer from one Internet-connected computer to another.

y Usenetnews: A distributed bulletin board that offers a combination newsand discussion service on thousands of topics.

y World Wide Web (WWW): A hypertext interface to Internet informationresources.

What is WWW?

This stands for World Wide Web. A technical definition of the World Wide Web is :

all the resources and users on the Internet that are using the Hyper text Transfer

Protocol (HTTP).

Or

The World Wide Web is the universe of network -accessible information, anembodiment of human knowledge.

In simple terms, The World Wide Web is a way of exchanging information betweencomputers on the Internet, tying them together into a vast collection of interactive

multimedia resources.

What is HTTP?

This stands for HyperTextTransfer Protocol. This is the protocol being used to

transfer hypertext documents thats makes the World World Wide possible.

A standard web address such as http://www.yahoo.com/ is called a URL and here

the prefix http indicates its protocol


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What is URL?

URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator, and is used to specify addresses on the

World Wide Web. A URL is the fundamental network identification f or any resource

connected to the web (e.g., hypertext pages, images, and sound files).

A URL will have the following format:

protocol://hostname/other_information

The protocol specifies how information from the link is transferred. The protocol

used for web resources is HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Other protocols

compatible with most web browsers include FTP, telnet, newsgroups, andGopher.

The protocol is followed by a colon, two slashes, and then the domain name. The

domain name is the computer on which the resource is located.

Links to particular files or subdirectories may be further specified after the domain

name. The directory names are separated by si ngle forward slashes.

What is Website?

Currently you are on our website http://cbe.ac.tzwhich is a collection of various

pages written in HTML markup language.

A web page or webpage is a document or information resource that is suitable for

the World Wide Web and can be accessed through a web browser and displayed on

a monitor or mobile device.

Or web page is any page available on the Website

home page

is the first page of any web site.

Static website

A static website contains Web pages with fixed content. Each page is coded in HTML

and displays the same information to every visitor. Static sites are the most basictype of website and are the easiest to create. Unlike dynamic websites, they do not

require any Web programming or database design. A static site can be built by

simply creating a few HTML pages and publishing them to a Web server.


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Since static Web pages contain fixed code, the content of each page does not

change unless it is manually updated by the webmaster. This works well for smallwebsites, but it can make large sites with hundreds or thousands of pages difficult to

maintain. Therefore, larger websites typically use dynamic pages, which can be

updated by simply modifying a d atabase record. Static sites that contain a lot ofpages are often designed using templates. This makes it possible to update several

pages at once, and also helps provide a consistent layout throu ghout the site.

They are edited using four broad categories of software:

y Text editors, such as Notepad or TextEdit, where content and HTML markupare manipulated directly within the editor program

y WYSIWYG offline editors, such as Microsoft FrontPage and AdobeDreamweaver (previously Macromedia Dreamweaver), with which the site is

edited using a GUI interface and the final HTML markup is generated

automatically by the editor softwarey WYSIWYG online editors which create media rich online presentation like web

pages, widgets, intro, blogs, and other documents.y Template-based editors, such as Rapidweaver and iWeb, which allow users to

quickly create and upload web pages to a web server without detailed HTMLknowledge, as they pick a suitable template from a palette and add pictures

and text to it in a desktop publishing fashion without direct manipulation of

HTML code.

Advantages of static websites

y Quick to developy Cheap to developy Cheap to host

Disadvantages of static websites

y Requires web development expertise to update sitey Site not as useful for the usery Content can get stagnant

Dynamic website

Dynamic websites contain Web pages that are generated in real-time. These pages

include Web scripting code, such as PHP or ASP. When a dynamic page is accessed,

the code within the page is parsed on the Web server and the resulting HTML is sent

to the client's Web browser.

Most large websites are dynamic, since they are easier to maintain than static


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websites. This is because static pages each contain unique content, meaning they

must be manually opened, edited, and published whe never a change is made.Dynamic pages, on the other hand, access information from a database. Therefore,

to alter the content of a dynamic page, the webmaster may only need to update a

database record. This is especially helpful for large sites that contain hundreds orthousands of pages. It also makes it possible for multiple users to update th e

content of a website without editing the layout of the pages.

Dynamic websites that access information from a database are also called database -

driven websites

A dynamic website is one that changes or customizes itself frequently and

automatically, based on certain criteria.

Dynamic websites can have two types of dynamic activity: Code and Content.

Dynamic code is invisible or behind the scenes and dynamic content is visible or fullydisplayed.

Dynamic code

The first type is a web page with dynamic code. The code is constructed dynamically

on the fly using active programming language instead of plain, static HTML.

A website with dynamic code refers to its construction or how it is built, and more

specifically refers to the code used to create a single web page. A dynamic web pageis generated on the fly by piecing together certain blocks of code, procedures or

routines. A dynamically-generated web page would call various bits of informationfrom a database and put them together in a pre -defined format to present thereader with a coherent page. It interacts with users in a variety of ways including by

reading cookies recognizing users' previous history, session variables, server side

variables etc., or by using direct interaction (form elements, mouse over s, etc.). A

site can display the current state of a dialogue between users, monitor a changing

situation, or provide information in some way personalized to the requirements of

the individual user.

Dynamic content

The second type is a website with dynamic content displayed in plain view. Variablecontent is displayed dynamically on the fly based on certain criteria, usually by

retrieving content stored in a database.

A website with dynamic content refers to how its messages, text, images and other

information are displayed on the web page, and more specifically how its content

changes at any given moment. The web page content varies based on certain

criteria, either pre-defined rules or variable user input. For example, a website with adatabase of news articles can use a pre-defined rule which tells it to display all news


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articles for today's date. This type of dynamic website will automatically show the

most current news articles on any given date. Another example of dynamic contentis when a retail website with a database of media products allows a user to input a

search request for the keyword Beatles. In response, the content of the web page

will spontaneously change the way it looked before, and will then display a list ofBeatles products like CD's, DVD's and books.

Advantages of dynamic websites

y Much more functional websitey Much easier to updatey New content brings people back to the site and helps in the search enginesy Can work as a system to allow staff or users to collaborate

Disadvantages of dynamic websites

y

Slower / more expensive to develop

y Hosting costs a little moreWhat is Web Server?

Every Web site sits on a computer known as a Web server. This server is always

connected to the internet. Every Web server that is connected to the Internet is

given a unique address made up of a series of four numbers between 0 and 256separated by periods.for example, 68.178.157.132 ro 68.122.35.127.

When you register a Web address, also known as a domain name, such as

cbecomputerdept.com you have to specify the IP address of the Web server that will

host the site.

Web - Server Types

There are four leading web browsers: Apache, IIS, lighttpd and Jagsaw. Now we willsee these servers in bit more detail.

Apart from these Web Servers, there are other Web Servers al so available in the

market but they are very expansive. Major ones are Netscape's iPlanet, Bea's Web

Logic and IBM's Websphere.

Apache HTTP Server

This is the most popular web server in the world developed by the Apache

Software Foundation. Apache web server is an open source software and

can be installed on almost all operating systems including Linux, Unix,Windows, FreeBSD, Mac OS X and more. About 60% of the web server

machines run the Apache Web Server.


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Internet Information Services

The Internet Information Server (IIS) is a high performance Web Server

from Microsoft. This web server runs on Windows NT/2000 and 2003platforms ( and may be on upcoming new Windows version also). IIScomes bundled with Windows NT/2000 and 2003; Because IIS i s tightly

integrated with the operating system so it is relatively easy to administer it.

lighttpd

The lighttpd, pronounced lighty is also a free web server that is distributed

with the FreeBSD operating system. This open source web server is fast,

secure and consumes much less CPU power. Lighttpd can also run onWindows, Mac OS X, Linux and Solaris operating systems.

Sun Java System Web Server

This web server from Sun Microsystems is suited for medium and large websites. Though the server is free it is not open source. It however, runs on

Windows, Linux and Unix platforms. The Sun Java System web server

supports various languages, scripts and technologies required for Web 2.0

such as JSP, Java Servlets, PHP, Perl, Python, Ruby on Rails, ASP andColdfusion etc.

Jigsaw Server

Jigsaw (W3C's Server) comes from the World Wide Web Consortium. It is

open source and free and can run on various platforms like Linux, Unix,

Windows, Mac OS X Free BSD etc. Jigsaw has been written in Java and

can run CGI scripts and PHP programs.


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What is Web Browser?

Web Browsers are software installed on your PC. To access the Web you need a web

browsers, such as Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox.

Web - Browser Types

Web Browsers are software installed on your PC. To access the Web you need a web

browsers, such as Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox.

While developing a site, try to make it compatible to as many browsers as possible.

Specially site should be compatible to major browsers like Explorer, FireFox,

Netscape, Opera and Safari.

Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer (IE) is a product from software giant Microsoft. This is themost commonly used browser in the universe. This was introduced in 1995

along with Windows 95 launch and it has passed Netscape popularity in

1998.

Netscape

Netscape is one of the original Web browsers. This is what Microsoftdesigned Internet Explorer to compete against. Netscape and IE comprise

the major portion of the browser market. Netscape was introduced in 1994.

Mozilla

Mozilla is an open-source Web browser, designed for standards compliance,

performance and portability. The development and testing of the browser is

coordinated by providing discussion forums, software engineering tools,releases and bug tracking. Browsers based on Mozilla code is the secondlargest browser family on the Internet today, representing about 30% of the

Internet community.

Konqueror

Konqueror is an Open Source web browser with HTML 4.01 compliance,

supporting Java applets, JavaScript, CSS 1, CSS 2.1, as well as Netscape

plugins. This works as a file manager as wellIt supports basic filemanagement on local UNIX filesystems, from simple cut/copy and paste

operations to advanced remote and local network file browsing.


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Firefox

Firefox is a new browser derived from Mozilla. It was released in 2004 and

has grown to be the second most popular browser on the Internet.

Safari

Safari is a web browser developed by Apple Inc. and included in Mac OS X. It

was first released as a public beta in January 2003. Safari has very good

support for latest technologies like XHTML, CSS2 etc.

Opera

Opera is smaller and faster than most other browsers, yet it is full - featured.

Fast, user-friendly, with keyboard interface, multiple windows, zoomfunctions, and more. Java and non Java-enabled versions available. Ideal for

newcomers to the Internet, school children, handicap and as a front -end for

CD-Rom and kiosks.

Lynx

Lynx is a fully-featured World Wide Web browser for users on Unix, VMS,and other platforms running cursor-addressable, character-cell terminals or

emulators.


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What is SMTP Server?

This stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Server. This server takes care of

delivering emails from one server to another server. When you send an email to an

email address, it is delivered to its recipient by a SMTP Server.

What is ISP?

This stands for InternetService Provider. They are the companies who provide youservice in terms of internet connection to connect to the internet.

You will buy space on a Web Server from any Internet Service Prov ider. This space

will be used to host your Web site.

ISP in Tanzania includes

y Star Limited Telecom( DSM),y Africa Online ( Mwz,DSM),y Tele2 Mobitel Services( DSM),y Cats Net Ltd ( DSM,Arusha),y Arusha Node Marie Internet Society( Arusha),y Satellite Alldean Networks T Ltd( DSM),y Startel Tanzania Ltd(DSM),y Internet Africa ltd (DSM),y Africa Online Ltd (DSM,Mwanza),y Kilnet(Moshi),y Simbanet(DSM),y Benson Informatics Limited( DSM),y Earth Net Works Ltd.y Zanzinet( Zanzibar)

What is HTML?

This stands for HyperTextMarkup Language. This is the language in which we write

web pages for any Website. Even the page you are reading right now is written in

HTML.

This is a subset of Standard Generalized Mark -Up Language (SGML) for electronic

publishing, the specific standard used for the World Wide Web.

What is Hyperlink?

A hyperlink or simply a link is a selectable element in an electronic document that

serves as an access point to other electronic resources. Typically, you click the

hyperlink to access the linked resource. Familiar hyperlinks include buttons, icons,image maps, and clickable text links.


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What is DNS ?

DNS stands for Domain Name System. When someone types in your domain name,

www.example.com, your browser will ask the Domain Name System to find the IP

that hosts your site. When you register your domain name, your IP address should

be put in a DNS along with your domain name. Without doing it your domain namewill not be functioning properly.

Web - How it works ?

On the simplest level, the Web physically consists of following components:

y Your personal computer - This is the PC at which you sit to see the web.y A Web browser - A software installed on your PC which helps you to browse

the Web.

y An internet connection - This is provided by an ISP and connects you tothe internet to reach to any Web site.y A Web server - This is the computer on which a web site is hosted.y Routers & Switches - They are the combination of software and hardware

who take your request and pass to appropriate Web server.

The Web is known as a client-server system. Your computer is the client and the

remote computers that store electronic files are the servers.

Here's how web works:

When you enter something like http://www.google.com, the reque st goes to one ofmany special computers on the Internet known as Domain Name Servers (DNS). All

these requests are routed through various routers and switches. The domain nameservers keep tables of machine names and their IP addresses, so when you type i n

http://www.google.com, it gets translated into a number, which identifies the

computers that serve the Google Web site to you.

When you want to view any page on the Web, you must initiate the activity byrequesting a page using your browser. The browser asks a domain name server to

translate the domain name you requested into an IP address. The browser thensends a request to that server for the page you want, using a standard calledHypertext Transfer Protocol or HTTP.

The server should constantly be connected to the Internet.ready to serve pages tovisitors. When it receives a request, it looks for the requested document and returns

it to the Web browser. When a request is made, the server usually logs the client's


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IP address, the document requested, and the date and time it was requested. This

information varies server to server.

An average Web page actually requires the Web browser to request more than onefile from the Web server and not just the HTML / XHTML page, but also any images,style sheets, and other resources used in the web page. Each of these files including

the main page needs a URL to identify each item. Then each item is sent by the Webserver to the Web browser and Web browser collects all this information anddisplays them in the form of Web page.

In short:

We have seen how a Web client - server interaction happens. We can summaries

these steps as follows:

y A user enters a URL into a browser (for example, http://www.google.com).This request is passed to a domain name server.

y The domain name server returns an IP address for the server that hosts theWeb site (for example, 68.178.157.132).

y The browser requests the page from the Web server using the IP addressspecified by the domain name server.

y The Web server returns the page to the IP ad dress specified by the browserrequesting the page. The page may also contain links to other files on the

same server, such as images, which the browser will also request.

y The browser collects all the information and displays to your computer in theform of Web page.

Web - Domain Names

A domain name is the part of your Internet address that comes after "www". For

example, in www.tutorialspoint.com the domain name is tutorialspoint.com.

A domain name becomes your Business Address so care should be taken to select a

domain name. Your domain name should be easy to remember and easy to type.

How to get a domain name ?

When you plan to put a site online, this is one of the important steps to buy a

domain name. This is always not necessary that whatever domain name you are

looking that is available so in that case you will have to opt for any other good

domain name.


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Avoid buying long, and confusing domain names. May people separate the words in

their domain names using dashes or hyphen. In the past the domain name itself wasa significant ranking factor but now search engines have advanced it is not very

significant factor anymore.

Keep two to three words in your domain name it will be more memorable. Some of

the most memorable web sites do a great job of branding by creating their ownword. Few examples are eBay, Yahoo!, Expedia, Slashdot, Fark, Wikipedia, Google...

You should be able to say it over the telephone once and the other person shouldknow how to spell it and they should know what you sell. If you can do that AND

work keywords in there, good for you. If you can't, skip the keywords.

What are Sub Domains:

You can divide your domain into many sub domains based on your requirement. If

you are doing multiple business using the same domain then its worth to use subdomain for every business. Following are examples of sub domains

You must have seen http://www.google.com as a main domain but google has

created many subdomains based on their business. Few of them are as follows:

y http://adwords.google.com - This sub domain is being used for GoogleAdwords.

y http://groups.google.com - Thissub domain isbeing used for Google Groups.y http://images.google.com - Thissub domain isbeing used for Google Images.

Thisway you can presentyour differentbusinesssectionsin a very good segregated

way. Thisisnota bigthingto create a sub domain. If you already have registered adomain your registrar willprovide you away to create your sub domains. You may

need totalk toyour registrar for more detail.

Website Advantages

1. Gain a larger clientele base

Everyday more people turn tothe internet for their businesssolutions. Whether itisto researchpotentialcontractors, lawyers, or anew product, the internetintroduces

consumerstobusinessesthey never would have heard of. Now people in Europe can

learn aboutservicesacompany in Seattle offersby the click ofamouse. Havingawebsite introducesabusinesstonew consumersand helps retain themasaclient.


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2. Educate consumers about your business

Many consumers research services and products online before purchasing. By having

a website, you can inform potential customers of your services or products and what

separates your business from your competitors. A website will familiarize consumers

with your business and make them feel comfortable doing business with you.

3. Increase customer confidence

Customers can tell a lot about a company from the design of their website. An

unorganized, unappealing website is a major turnoff to consumers. On the other

hand, a professional looking website lets consumers know your business is serious

and dedicated to their needs.

4. Cost effective promotion and marketing

A website is a lowcost, effective way to market your business. Television and

magazine ads are great ways to publicize, but are often too expensive and do notalways provide enough information. A website does not have a page or time

constraint, so there is no rush to get the required information across.

Search engines allow businesses to target a marketing group more effectively than

any other advertising strategy. Consumers that utilize search engines know whatthey are in need of and show a stronger desi re in that product or service. Having

high ranking search engine results, your business web traffic will dramatically

increase and provide you with more customers than any other source of marketing.

5. 24 hour global presence

Consumers need information 24 hours a day. The internet is always active, and

consumers around the world can look up information and conduct business at their

convenience. A website allows a business to always be there for their customersregardless of the time of day.

6. Keep your clients updated

Consumers feel more comfortable doing business with companies of which they are

familiar. It is important for a business to keep clients updated with their latest news,services and products. A website is the be st way to inform clients of specials or salesthat a business is offering. This will help increase a business revenue.

7. Improve communication with customers

A website enhances communication between consumers and businesses. A lot of the

time consumers are interested in something on a website, but feel awkward or are


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too lazy to call for more information. Websites that are equipped with email forms

allows consumers to ask their question in a moments notice. That is just one featurewebsites utilize to make communication easy. Other features are message boards,

blogs, contact information and other web forms.

8. Keep the edge on competitorsThe popularity of the internet and understanding of the value of a website increases

everyday. Businesses that have a website are already at a huge advantage over their

competitors. In addition to having a wider clientele base, their business looks more

professional and established. That also goes for the design of the website. When a

consumer visits a clean well structured website and an average website that offersthe same services, it is a nobrainer which business they will choose.

9. Provide convenient support for your customers

24hour phone support is great, but many companies do not have the funding toprovide such a service. A website is a way to help support a customers needs whenphone support is unavailable. Many websites have a frequently asked questions page

that answers many customer concerns. Businesses can also provide common lessons

and tutorials on their website that will help customers accomplish their goals. Ifcustomers still have support issues, a website can allow them to submit their

problem via web form which will allow a business to provide an appropriate solution

in a timely manner.

10. Improve business to customer relationships

Websites can improve businesstocustomer relationships in more ways than just viacommunication, support and uptodate general information. A website can also

inform a user of their projects status, account information or balance.

The convenience of a website helps increase productivity, performance and speed.

Producing a reliable product or completing a particular service in less time than

expected always makes a customer satisfied. It takes months to gain a good

customer, but seconds to lose one, and it is hard to lose a satisfied customer.

What is Internet-cert cict

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