8.1 Understanding browsers and their functions

Internet documents are intended to be displayed in electronic form. Formatting and displaying a document on a specific computer is performed by a special program - browser (from the English word browser).

The main functions of browsers are as follows:

Establishing a connection with the web server that stores the document.

Understanding HTML tags, formatting and displaying a Web page in accordance with the capabilities of the computer on which the browser is running;

Providing means for displaying multimedia and other objects that make up Web pages.

Automate the search for Web pages and make it easier to access previously visited Web pages.

Provide access to built-in or stand-alone tools for working with other Internet services.

8.2 Working with Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer 5.0 is an example of a browser for viewing Web documents.

The program provides a unified method of access to local computer documents, corporate Intranet resources, and information available on the Internet. It provides work with the World Wide Web, provides identical tools for working with local computer folders and FTP file archives, provides access to communication facilities over the Internet.

The corresponding programs (Outtook Express and Microsoft NetMeeting) are standalone but are considered part of the Internet Explorer 5.0 package. The scheme of using the Internet through Internet Explorer is shown in Fig. 8.1.

Figure 8.1 - Organization of access to Internet resources

For start Internet Explorer browser, you can use the Internet Explorer icon on the Desktop or on the Quick Launch, as well as the Main Menu

(Start\u003e Programs InternetExplorer).

In addition, the program starts automatically when you try to open an Internet document or local HTML document. For this purpose, you can use:

Web page shortcuts,

Favorites folder

Desktop Toolbar,

Address or input field in the Run dialog box (Start\u003e Run).

8.2.1 Opening and Browsing Web Pages

The Web page being viewed is displayed in the work area of \u200b\u200bthe window. By default, all of its content opens, including graphics and embedded media.

Having an address bar autocomplete makes it easy to re-enter addresses. The entered address is automatically compared with the addresses of previously viewed Web pages.

Navigating the Internet is more often done not by entering a URL, but by using hyperlinks ... When displaying a web page on the screen, hyperlinks highlighted in color (usually blue) and underlining ... Typically, underlining is used only to highlight hyperlinks. A more reliable feature is the form mouse pointer ... When you click a hyperlink, the corresponding Web page is loaded instead of the current one. If the hyperlink points to an arbitrary file, it is downloaded via FTP.

Web pages can also contain graphic links (that is, hyperlinks represented by a picture) and map images that combine multiple links within a single image. It is convenient to use the Tab key to view links on an open Web page.

Additional options for using hyperlinks are provided by their context menu. To open a new page without closing the current one, use the command

Introduction

Today it is impossible to do without the help of a computer and, accordingly, the Internet. The emergence of the Internet begins in 1969. At that time, the ARPAnet computer network was created in the United States, which united the computer centers of the Department of Defense and a number of academic organizations. Although the real emergence of the Internet as the unification of six large US IP networks into a single scientific network NSFNET took place only in 1986. Today the NSFNET network is the backbone network in this country and plays a special role throughout the Internet, since the connection of networks of any other country cannot do without registration in it. The Internet is a network of interconnected computer systems and various computer services. This network is a collection of various components such as email, newsgroups, FTP sites, real-time chat.

World Wide Web - World Wide Web (WWW) was born in 1992. It was created by Tim Berners-Lee of the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) located in Geneva, Switzerland. By October 1993, it had over 200 active Web servers, and by June 1995, the total was over 6.5 million. There are currently over 30 million in existence.

The World Wide Web is the most famous and recognized means of accessing information resources of the Internet. In fact, it is a system of interconnected pages that represent Web sites around the world. These pages contain links that appear as highlighted text or graphics. By simply clicking on such a link, you can be taken from this page to another, and perhaps this new page will be located on a computer on the other side of the world.

The purpose of this work is to consider software for working with Internet resources and e-mail, to create a website.

Web browsing software

Browsers

Browser is a software tool for viewing web pages, a complex application for processing and displaying various components of a web page, and for providing an interface between a website and its visitor.

Today there are many programs for web browsing - these are Amaya, Camino, Dillo, ELinks, Epiphany, Galeon, ICab, Internet Explorer, Links, K-Meleon, Konqueror, Mosaic, Mozilla, Opera, Safari, Mozilla Firefox, Netscape other. I will describe the browser in more detail - Internet Explorer.

Windows Internet Explorer, abbreviated IE - a series of graphical browsers developed by Microsoft since 1995 and included in the line of Microsoft Windows operating systems. Internet Explorer has been the most widely used web browser since 1999; peaking at 95% usage during 2002 and 2003. Internet Explorer 7.0 is the current version of the browser that can be downloaded from the Microsoft website since October 18, 2006.

Internet Explorer is an application designed for browsing and working with web pages. This application provides the user with the opportunity to create optimal conditions for working on the Internet: setting the security and privacy of the connection, adjusting the graphic content of web pages by setting the font and its size, as well as the ability to speed up and simplify the work by placing the necessary buttons in the panel and saving the necessary links in the column "Favorites", as well as using keyboard shortcuts.

Internet Explorer has tabbed browsing, a pop-up blocker, a phishing filter, group policy, and the ability to auto-update via Windows Update.

Appendix 1 shows an example of an Internet Explorer working window.

Introduction to global networks. Basic concepts and definitions

Topic 2.1. Circuit-switched wide area networks

Topic 2.2. Packet-switched wide area networks

Topic 2.3. Global internet

Topic 2.4. Browsers - Web viewers

Topic 2.5. Email. Mail applications

Topic 2.6. FrontPage 2003

Topic 2.7. Creating a web page

Topic 2.8. Web site creation

Topic 2.9. Business on the Internet

Topic 2.10. Internet resources

WAN technologies

2.4. Browsers - Web viewers

2.4.1. Web browsers

One of the main tasks of the Internet is to store and provide (upon request) the necessary information to users. To find the information you need on the Internet, you need to know the address of the Web page (site) on which this information is located, have at least one of the Web browsing applications installed on your PC, and have access to the global network.

A program for navigating (finding information on the Internet) and viewing Web pages is called a browser. There are many browsers nowadays. The most popular are graphical browsers (two-dimensional): Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Flock (Firefox and Flock are based on Netscape code), Opera, Netscape Navigator, Google Chrome and others.

The Safari browser for Windows is gaining popularity. The first graphical browser - Viola appeared in 1992. Three-dimensional browsers are currently being developed, for example the Clara browser

Popular text browsers (console browsers) are Lynx and Links (Links2 supports graphics). Lynx and Links can be used on a variety of platforms: Unix, Macintosh, Windows and other operating systems. These browsers are advisable for weak PCs and for low-speed Internet connections.

In addition, these browsers can be used for powerful PCs and high-speed lines for navigation or Internet surfing (for quick access to the required information on sites), and it is advisable to use browsers with a graphical interface to view the required Web pages.

To work in DOS, you can use the graphical WWW browser Arachne - it is a graphical browser that supports the basic elements of modern Web design.

To work in Linux, you can use browsers: Lynx, Links (Elinks, Links2, Links Hacked), Opera, Netscape, and so on.

Browsers are a client of the World Wide Web, that is, an application that retrieves documents from Web servers on demand, interprets Web page data, and displays it on the screen.

Using a browser, you can easily search the Internet for the desired web page by typing one or more words in the address bar (search bar) of the browser and pressing Enter to start the search. Browsers provide access not only to Web servers, but also to other Internet servers (FTP servers, Gopher servers, and UseNet newsgroup servers).

One of the most popular browsers is Internet Explorer, as the Internet Explorer application is included with the Windows operating system.

The Internet Explorer browser, paging technology and working with Web pages are discussed in detail in the section

Secondwhat you need to be aware of to get started on the Internet is browser (from English browse - to view), i.e. a program for viewing web documents (sometimes these programs are called "navigators" or "viewers" or "browsers").

Currently, the most widely used browser is Internet Explorer, or IE for short, which is part of the Windows operating system. It is estimated that more than 85 percent of users use it to navigate the World Wide Web. Less common browsers are Netscape Navigator, Opera, Mozilla, and others.

All browsers have their advantages and disadvantages, which consist of the speed of work, the ability to open certain applications, compliance with security requirements when using the Internet, etc.

All modern browsers are characterized by a simplicity of the interface combined with the great possibilities they provide to users. The programs are equipped with many service functions, such as the ability to do bookmarks to important pages, automatically track the route along the Web with the ability to return. With their help, the user can simultaneously work with several different sources at once, send the pages he likes by e-mail, save the files he likes on his computer.

So, a browser running in a Windows environment has a standard window interface (with a window title, controls, toolbars and menus, a status bar, and a window in which the document is displayed - see Fig. 1)

The main difference between the browser window and the window of another program, for example, MS Word, is available to him an additional line to enter the ADDRESS of the requested server.

In order to load the main page of a web server, you need to launch Internet Explorer, then type the corresponding address in the address window and press ENTER, after which you can watch the gradual loading of the page (below, in the status line, information about the progress of this process is displayed ). In fig. 1 for an example, the view of the main page of the web server of the Russian Gazette is shown.

Note that nowadays it is usually not required to type the http: // prefix before the address, indicating the exchange protocol - modern browsers can independently determine the type of resource and use the required protocol.

Third the element, familiarity with which is necessary to start working on the Internet is HYPERLINK.

The inventor of hypertext, Vannevar Bush, a science adviser to President Roosevelt, proposed the idea back in 1945. In 1965, Ted Nelson coined the term "hypertext", defining it as "nonlinear text", and implemented the main ideas - namely, the ability to view the pages of a document in any order, not just in the "previous-next" mode. As mentioned above, the use of hypertext on the Internet has led to a revolution - instead of entering complex server addresses, it became sufficient to simply "click" on the hyperlink, and the required document will be opened in the same (or new) program window.

Any web page contains many hyperlinks. You can distinguish a hyperlink by changing the appearance of the cursor - as soon as the mouse cursor is over the hyperlink, it takes the form of a hand with an extended index finger, as if inviting to navigate in the specified direction.

Thus, we got to know addressing virtual space Internet, with programs for web browsing, and finally with the concept hyperlinks... This information is enough to get you started.

Additional materials

Basic Internet services

Services refer to individual capabilities or uses of global networks. In practical work, most of them are harmoniously intertwined into a single whole, flowing from one to another. At the same time, a novice user sometimes does not even always notice such a transition. However, at the stage of initial acquaintance with the Internet, these services should be considered separately.

E -mail - Email. The first and most used service is the Internet. Allows you to exchange text messages to which all types of files are easily attached, including graphics, tables, sound and video files. It is the main means of personal communication on the Web. A large number of free mail services are presented on the World Wide Web, the use of which does not require any special programs on the user's computer.

Usenet - a generalized name for an Internet service that provides communication for a networked community united by common interests. There are several names for this form of communication: conferences, teleconferences, discussion groups, newsgroups, interest newsgroups. The service is built on the principle of a bulletin board with the ability to respond to published messages. Each visitor, entering the server, sees a list of previously sent messages indicating the sender and the topic of the statement. Any visitor has the right to send his message or reply to an existing one. At the same time, lively discussions are often struck, in which sometimes hundreds of people from different parts of the world take part.

Usenet was popular in the first half of the 1990s. Now this service has lost its former recognition, being ousted forums on websites that do the same, do not require dedicated servers and are much easier to use and manage.

Listserv or Mailing lists - mailing lists - an Internet service that also performs the function of communication on certain issues. Technically, Listserv is designed differently: to get access to a specific list, you must first subscribe to it. After that, all correspondence sent to the address of this list will automatically go to the e-mail box of each subscriber.

ICQ (the so-called "ICQ") is a service for personal interactive communication in real time. Each participant has his own identification number, which is communicated to everyone with whom he wants to keep in touch. A dialogue is conducted, as a rule, between two or more users and its content is not available to unauthorized persons.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) - file transfer protocol - a service used to transfer large files. Using FTP, you can either "download" a file from a remote computer or send your own file to a remote machine. In this case, the type of the transferred file does not matter.

World Wide Web (World Wide Web) - at present, the basic Internet service, providing access to a gigantic amount of information in all possible forms: text, graphics, animation, sound, video. At the heart of the World Wide Web is hypertext technology. Invented in the early 1990s, the hypertext markup language - HTML (HyperText Markup Language) makes it easy to include a variety of object types in HTML documents that make up the WWW, and to link to other files, regardless of where they are are. The unit of hypertext is a web page — a minimal document that can be downloaded and read in one go. The collection of web pages constitutes a website. The transmission of data on the World Wide Web is carried out thanks to the HyperText Transmission Protocol (HTTP).

Features of displaying national (non-English) characters

For historical reasons, there is only one standard for encoding English characters. But the display of symbols of national alphabets (including Russian) is encoded in several different ways. A well-written web page always contains a special directive that tells the browser which way of coding the language was used to compose the page. Upon detecting this directive, the browser will activate the appropriate font so that the page is displayed correctly.

Unfortunately, many page authors ignore this simple rule and do not indicate the way of encoding the Russian language. In this case, the browser cannot independently determine which font to use to display the page and substitutes the one that is used by default. If the default font does not match the encoding used when creating the page, the user sees a text "gibberish" on the screen and cannot read anything.

In this case, the user can manually specify the encoding method. To do this (at least for the first time) has to be done at random, sequentially going through all possible encodings of Russian. Fortunately, there are not so many of them, and this operation does not take much time. Currently, two Russian encodings are mainly used: WIN1251 and KOI8-R... Using the IE menu command [View -\u003e Encoding], you can switch the current encoding, achieving a "readable" page view.

1.3 Exercises for independent work on the topic "Practical techniques for working with the Internet"

UPR. 1. Acquaintance with the first methods of navigation. Launch Internet Explorer browser. Enter WWW.RG.RU into the address line (navigation to the address). Once on the page, go to other pages (sites) using hyperlinks (link navigation).

UPR. 2. Using the buttons "Forward", "Back", "Home", "History" to navigate through the pages.

Explanation: the processes of moving between documents and “loading” can be controlled using the buttons on the toolbar: “ Forward", « Back ", « Stop", « Refresh ", « Home", « History".

UPR. 3. Save the current web page to floppy disk or disk. Please note that the graphics used on the page are in the form of separate files in a separate folder. Adding a page to the Favorites folder.

Explanation: A document “downloaded to a computer” can be saved (on a floppy disk, or in a folder on a hard disk), after which it becomes available for later viewing. At the same time, at the time of viewing, the computer may no longer be connected to the Internet (in the case of a session connection). When you save a document, all the pictures it contains are automatically saved.

In addition to saving a document (page), it is possible to save a link to the page you like (its URL) in the folder Favorites, so that later it would be easy to return to it (i.e., to make bookmark). When saving, you can make this page available for work offline, i.e. without a network connection.

UPR. 4. Load the web page that interests you. Try to print this page using the menu option "File" - "Preview" - "Print".

UPR. 5. Search for the desired piece of text on the page (using the CTRL + F combination, a window for entering a keyword for search is called up).

UPR.6.Change the font size on the page for a more comfortable viewing (find the appropriate option in the View menu).

Explanation: you can use the found text as a basis for a new document, for which it is most convenient to use the ability to copy the selected (using the "mouse") fragment of text to the clipboard, and then paste it from the clipboard into the Word document.

UPR.8.Opening a new document (via a hyperlink) in a new window.

Explanation: It is often convenient to keep multiple web pages open at the same time. For this, the following technique is usually used - if you press and hold the "SHIFT" key while "clicking" on a hyperlink, then the web page corresponding to this hyperlink will open in a new window.

UPR.9.Compiling a list of required addresses (URLs) in a Word document.

Explanation: Sometimes you might want to print or mail a list of useful web sites or web pages to a colleague. To do this, you can use the following technique - copy the hyperlink (or address) to the clipboard, then paste it into a Word document with the necessary explanations. Explore this opportunity by selecting the desired link, pointing at it with the mouse cursor and pressing the right key to call the context menu (with the options "Copy" and "Copy link")

1.4 Test questions for self-control to the topic "Practical techniques for working with the Internet"

Note: below are only the wording of the questions, while the answer options in the printed version of the guidance methods are omitted. Multiple choice questions are included in the Self-Checking e-Test on the CD and on the program website.

1. What was the name of the first telecommunications network?

2. Which definition best reflects the essence of the Internet? (further in the test - definition variants)

3. The World Wide Web (WWW) is ...?

4. Work on the creation of the Internet was started thanks to ...?

5. What is a browser?

6. What was the name of the first GUI browser?

7. What is the most probable number of Internet users in the world?

8. What is a domain?

9. What is the DNS system for?

10. There is a list of web addresses - find among them those that are incorrect from the point of view of the rules for generating domain addresses

To work in the WWW on a computer, you must have a special program - a browser. Browseris an application program that interacts with the WWW and allows you to receive various documents from the network, view and edit their content. Browsers provide the ability to work with documents containing text and multimedia information. In addition, they support all the previously discussed methods and protocols for accessing the Internet.

On the WWW, documents usually contain hypertext (text with hyperlinks). Unlike ordinary text, documents on the web contain commands that define their structure, including links to other documents. This allows the browser to format the document for display on the screen according to the capabilities of a particular computer. Since the Internet uses heterogeneous hardware and software, a universal hypertext markup language - HTML (HyperText Markup Language) was adopted for the development of Web pages.

HTML includes a set of commands used to describe the structure of a document. HTML is used to break the document into the appropriate logical components: paragraphs, headings, lists, etc. The specific formatting attributes of the document (body text and highlighted components) when viewed are determined by the browser used.

The most common browsers are:

Mosaic for Windows;

cello program;

linx program;

• Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE)

  Netscape Communicator.

Let's briefly consider their purpose and main features. The main focus will be on MSIE as one of the most popular browsers out there. Its latest version 4.0 is distributed on the Internet by Microsoft for free and is included with Windows 98.

Mosaic for Windows- one of the first viewers. It has a very simple graphical user interface and allows you to display formatted Web documents on the screen. Its disadvantage is the need to install additional software for working with graphic files, audio and video images, which is not included in the standard browser.

Program Cellowas developed as an alternative to Mosaic. Directly provides access to HTTP-, Gopher-, FTP-servers, UseNet newsgroups, and also supports Telnet when using external client programs. The program has a very simple interface that allows you to quickly learn how to work with it. The inconvenience of working with the browser is the small number of buttons on the control panel, so you constantly have to work with drop-down menus.

Program Linxis a text-based browser. Hypertext links are highlighted on the screen in a different color or by inverting the background and text colors. The advantage of this browser is the ability to quickly find textual information on the WWW using hypertext links. The pages viewed can be marked using bookmarks, which can be created while working with the browser.

Browser EINet WinWebdiffers for the better in a small amount of main memory occupied during operation, good support for interactive forms, stable and reliable operation. The navigation mechanism is simple and user-friendly. There is a built-in tool for searching documents by keywords. Browser customization gives you the ability to choose fonts and colors used when displaying documents and highlighting hyperlinks.

Browser Internet Worksallows you to work not only with WWW, but also with FTP and Gopher servers. The documents with which the user works can be presented at three levels. In this case, the transition from page to page can occur both within one level, and between them, using the buttons on the toolbar and the ability to work in multi-window mode. Viewing a text document can occur while loading multimedia files in the background. It is possible to customize the interface by the user.

Recognized as the leader in Web document viewing and editing, Netscape Communicator and Microsoft Internet Explorer are the most user-friendly and feature-rich browsers. They allow any document created in any operating environment and on any computer configured to work on a network to be displayed on the screen.