DEFINING THE TERMS

Browser

A browser is an interactive software program that can be used to access and display WWW information. The Netscape Navigator and the Microsoft Internet Explorer are among the most popular World Wide Web browsers currently in use.

Home Page

A home page is the start-up page of a web site. It is similar to the title page of a book, and includes authoring information and a linked table of contents for other sections of the site. The home page can be used as an initial source for the "quality check" of a WWW database.

Hyperlinks

Hyperlinks are underlined / bold-faced words or graphics that have web addresses embedded in them. These allow the user to access a given web site by simply "clicking" the hyperlink with the mouse. The actual WWW address is written into the coding used to create the web page.

The Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer wording are examples of text hyperlinks.

The Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer icons are image hyperlinks.

Internet

The Internet is an international network of computer networks that communicate with each other using the same "protocols." These protocols allow an interactive exchange of ideas and the instant sharing of information. This "network of networks" ties together over 130,000 global computer networks and some 40 million host computer systems in over 170 countries. The Internet can be simultaneously accessed by over 1 million online users.

Internet Service Provider [ ISP ]

An Internet Service Provider or ISP is a company that provides Internet access to its subscribers through an existing telephone line / modem connection. For a set fee, the ISP will supply browser software, username / password, and a secure phone number that will enable the subscriber to access the Internet.

Search Engine

A search engine is an indexing tool or service that provides keyword subject access to and searching of the millions of web pages loaded on various WWW sites.

Uniform Resource Locator ( URL )

The Uniform Resource Locator is the World Wide Web address code for a specific web document, database, or location.

Web Site

A web site is a specific location found on the WWW. It can be directly accessed through its URL address code or located through a search engine.

World Wide Web

The World Wide Web (WWW) is a graphical interface that allows the user to view the multimedia content (i.e. pictures, photographs, illustrations, charts, etc.) of some 4.3 million Internet sites. It provides links to the estimated 6 billion web "pages" covering virtually any conceivable topic or area of interest.

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