Internet 101: Starting to use the WWW

Available Software

Those with direct access to the Internet can use a variety of browsers. There are plenty out there but a few stand out.

lynx (UNIX): Text-only Web browser, with only simple formatting and no embedded images or sounds (this makes it very fast and ideal for use over very slow modems). Probably a good bet for a school with hundreds of 2400 baud modems, but not for anyone else.
Netscape (Macintosh, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, UNIX): About 85% of those online use Netscape's browser. You can pick up a copy by visiting their website at http://www.netscape.com. The current release of the software is free for nonprofits and education institutions. Another good browser is made by Microsoft and is also available free for online downloading.
Commercial Services like America Online and CompuServe will soon offer both Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Netscape's browser. At the time of this writing, subscribers to these services currently have to use the browser provided by the the commercial service.

Connecting

Each page on the Web appears as a complex document that integrates styled text, images, sounds, and animations. Such page may also contain hyperlinks to other Web documents such that clicking on these hyperlinks jumps you to a new page on the same or different Web server.

Basic Concepts

World Wide Web, WWW: The online collection of documents that are interconnected by hyperlinks, forming a virtual web that spans the Internet.
A Page: Any document on the Web.
Home Page: The document that provides a starting point or organizational center for any collection of documents.
Personal Home Page: A document that describes the owner, such as interests, activities, and more. Such a page often has links to other pages of interest.
HyperText: Any text that contains hyperlinks to other documents.
HyperLink: A word or phrase that is identifiable from surrounding text. Clicking on such text will bring up the destination document that it is "linked" to. Standard hypertext appears a underlined text, in either Blue (untraversed) or Red (traversed).
HotLink: When a user finds a document that contains interesting or useful data, he can save the information to find that document again into a special list of hyperlinks known as hotlinks.
HyperText Markup Language, HTML: Documents placed onto the Web are created using HTML, a language which describes the layout, contents, and links of such documents. HTML files are simple text files with embedded style tags. Visit your local computer store for programs that will convert regular text files to html files.
HyperText Transport Protocol, HTTP: A network communications protocol for identifying, sending, and receiving Web documents. This is the annoying string of letters that identifies all websites. (http://)
Browser: Client software for viewing Web documents and navigating hyperlinks to other documents. You're using one now!
Helper Application: If a browser does not support an embedded image or sound format, it may use a second software package to open and view the embedded file. For example, to hear a sound, you might need to run an additional program besides your browser.
Uniform Resource Locator, URL: These provide a uniform naming convention to a wide array of Internet services such as Electronic Mail, Network News, Gopher, and WWW.

Basic Browsing and Posting

1. Select A someone's homepage that's a good starting point for you. Many people choose Yahoo.
2. Create a directory on your software.
3. Create your own homepage
To make a personal home page that's part of the Web, start by creating a directory in your SILS account. Create a directory "~/Public/HTML", and in that directory create a file "HomePage.html" by completing the following template (using any text file editor):

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>My Home Page</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<H1>My Home Page</H1>
<H2>Basic Introduction</H2>
<!--Enter in some personal information such as your name, program, and year.
You can also discuss some personal or academic history or career goals.-->
I am currently a graduate student at the University of Michigan, and in my
first year of study in the School of Information and Library Studies, or
<A HREF="http://www.sils.umich.edu/">SILS</A>, program. Last year
I graduated from the U of M with my Bachelor's Degree, and when I have
completed school I plan on becoming an Information Specialist for a major
corporation. <P>

<H2>Current Projects</H2>
<!--Describe some of the things you are working on, for work or school or
even on your own.-->
I work for the University's Grad Library stacking collecting books and
stacking shelves. (<I>Do I need to say its boring?</I>) <P>

I am taking 4 classes right now, but my most favorite is 529, where I am
learning HTML by creating cool pages like this one. <P>

I also spend the rest of my free time by collecting donations for various
local charities. <P>

<H2>Interests and Hobbies</H2>
<!--Here is a chance to talk about the things you like to do and more.-->
I <B>really</B> enjoy the Ann Arbor night life during the 
summer. I regularly attend the "Top of the Park" celebrations, and I live
the Art Fair. I am a movie buff and I like to play Euchre with my
roommates (because I usually win). I like classic rock and roll music,
but I also have <B>every</B> Phil Collins album on CD. <P>

<H2>Places to Go</H2>
<!--Often users want to share a list of of links to their favorite Web
documents, such as things relevant to their work or interests.
Feel free to replace these with your own favorites.-->
<UL>
<LI><A HREF="http://oneworld.wa.com/htmldev/devpage/dev-page.html"><B>
WWW &amp; HTML Developer's JumpStation</B></A>
<LI><A HREF="http://hypatia.gsfc.nasa.gov/NASA_homepage.html"><B>
NASA Home Page</B></A>
<LI><A HREF="http://www.cosy.sbg.ac.at/rec/startrek/index.html"><B>
Star Trek Home Page</B></A>
</UL>
<HR>
<!--Add your E-mail address and today's date...-->
<ADDRESS> username@umich.edu - 1/10/95 </ADDRESS>
</BODY>
</HTML>

Creating Documents Using HTML

Once you have set up a simple home page, you can learn how to create your own documents and place them online. It is important to know the the SILS Web server assumes the files you wish to make available must reside in the "~/Public/HTML" directory in your account. To create or edit files for the Web, you must learn HTML. HTML files are simply text files where sections of the text are identified by "Tags" that specify the function of the enclosed text (not the format or appearance, as in most text editors). Most tags are composed of two parts that bracket the specified text, such as the bold tag some old text. The first tag identifies the beginning of bold emphasis, and the second the end of such emphasis. Also, certain tags may stand alone, such as the paragraph end tag or the graphic image tag, or have special formats such as the list elements. Tags may also be nested to a certain degree, but browsers are not required to handle complex nesting. Finally, since certain characters are used to identify tags, these characters must be "escaped" so that they can be drawn normally by the browser rather than interpreted as commands. Here is a summary of basic tags that you may find or use:

Basic Tags (2 parts)

text: Text with bold emphasis.
text: Text with italicized emphasis.
text: Text with underlined emphasis.
<TT>text</TT>: Fixed width (typewriter) font.
<Hn>text</Hn>: Heading levels 1 through 6.
<A NAME="name">text</A>: Document anchor point with the specified name.
<A HREF="url">text</A>: Text hyperlinked to the specified URL.
<PRE>text</PRE>: Preformatted text with accurate whitespace and returns.

Embedded Elements (1 part)

: Paragraph end tag.
: Commented text (not visible to the user).
<IMG SRC="url">: Embedded image that is specified by the URL

List Structures (Many parts)

<LI>: Line start for any of the following list types.
<OL>multiple lines</OL>: Numbered list.
<UL>multiple lines</UL>: Unnumbered (usually bulleted) list.
<DL>multiple lines</DL>: Descriptive list.

Special Characters (1 part)

<: '<' - Left angle bracket symbol.
>: '>' - Right angle bracket symbol.
&: '&' - Ampersand symbol.

Other Notes

URL's - As described above, these provide a mechanism for identifying and linking remote files and services to your document. Hyperlinks and embedded images use URL's to locate the desired file whereever it may be located, and access it transparently to the user. A URL is divided into its type (http (Web), gopher, ftp, telnet, mail, or news), its host (an internet host name or address) and path or command sequence. Some typical ones may look like:
- file:filename.html: A link to the indicated file on the current Web server you are using. This creates a relative pathname to the document, so that a collection of related files can be relocated without modification to their interconnecting links.
- file://hostname/filename.html: A link to the indicated file to the indicated Web server you are using. The "file" tag acts the the same as the ftp tag.
- http://www.sils.umich.edu/: A Web link to the SILS home page. The service is identified by "http" or the Web, and the host is the standard Web server for SILS. Note that most Web servers have a default page (typically the home page) for URL's that do not specify a path.
- http://www.cosy.sbg.ac.at/rec/startrek/index.html: Another Web link to a document stored at a remote site identified by its host "www.cosy.sbg.ac.at". The rest specifies where the desired file is located on that server.
- gopher://downwind.sprl.umich.edu/: A gopher link to the indicated server. Additional items may be added to specify the menu selections which bring the user to a given point, but the gopher URL specification is very complex and not significant enough for this discussion.
- ftp://mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu/pub/info-mac/Compress-Translate/stuffit-expander-352.hqx: A link to the University's archives of Mac software, for downloading the identified file automatically using FTP. A file name indicates a document to download, but a directory name indicates that its contents be listed.
- telnet://sils.umich.edu/: This link establishes a telnet session with the indicated host. Some client software lets you encode subsequent commands into the URL.
- mailto:atkins@umich.edu: Sets up an electronic mail message to the indicated user at that site. You are then free to complete the message and send it. Note: many browsers do not support this service.
- news:rec.gardening: A simple link to acquaint the user with the indicated network newsgroup. No host name is required, because most systems have a default news server.
As you can see, a URL can specify a wide range of Internet services by type, host, and other information. In addition, different forms of URL's are under construction so that more services can be described.
Embedded Files: Because an HTML file can be composed of more than text, there must be some mechanism for handling these elements. Images, movies, and sounds must be of the specified formats so that browser software can accept or pass off (to helper applications) the indicated elements. Each element is stored as a separate file (not necessarily on the same server as the original document) of one of the following formats:
- GIF: A simple and comman image file format used widely across the internet. Primarily used for basic images and graphic elements (colored bars, etc) in documents.
- JPEG: A compressed format that stores high quality images in relatively small files. Newer than GIF and not as prevalent, they are useful for information rich images.
- MPEG: A motion image format for displaying images and sound.
- Sun Audio (AU): A popular sound file format.
These files are specified using the same URL mechanisms that identify other Web and Internet services.

This document was created at the University of Michigan School of Information and Library Studies (SILS), but it has been designed for public use. Permission is hereby granted for unlimited print and electronic redistribution. Your feedback is appreciated. This document was updated and modified by Impact Online.

fprefect@umich.edu - 12/17/94

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