return to: Frequently Asked Questions

Internet Terms

Q1. What is the Internet?
A1. The Internet is actually a concept, not a physical entity.  The 
Internet is composed of many, many networks around the world which have 
been linked together. The Internet is often referred to as a "network of 
networks."  Networks are composed of multiple computers (nodes) that can 
communicate with each other. The combination of networks of computers and 
the linking of networks creates an international web of network links 
allowing the transfer of data and communications.

Q2. What is a URL?
Q2. A URL, Uniform Resource Locator, is a pointer to some type of resource 
located on the Internet.  There are several types of URLs.  Some are merely 
pointers to a  file.  Others include ftp, gopher, WAIS, telnet, and HTTP.  
For example, here is the URL for the SURAnet homepage:

http://www.sura.net/index.html

Breaking it down, http:// is the type of URL, www.sura.net is the server 
address where the resource is located, and index.html is the file 
containing the resources you will access. 

Q3. What is HTTP?
  
A3. HTTP, Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol, is simply used to signify to a WWW 
client that a file on a WWW server is being requested.  

Q4. What is HTML?
A4. HTML, Hyper-Text Markup Language, is the code imbedded within a 
document on a WWW server, that a WWW client interprets for performing 
such things as formatting of text, line drawing, receiving user input,
displaying images, and providing pointers to other resources on the 
Internet.

return to: Frequently Asked Questions