Download Lecture Slides on Introduction to Information Technology | CPSC 1105 and more Study notes Computer Science in PDF only on Docsity! What Is the Internet? Early networks connected a collection of computers. Rather soon, it became obvious that there were too many computers for one network. The decision was to have a large number of networks and connect those networks. An internet is a connected set of networks. What is a Protocol? A protocol is a way of organizing information so that it can be easily understood. Example: The mail envelope protocol. Other protocols involve the way in which information is exchanged. Example: Telephone conversations. I answer and say “Hello”. You say “Hello”. The Client Server Configuration The Internet is an example of a client–server configuration. In this configuration, a server computer will always be on line and provide services to client computers. Often the server will provide data as requested by the client, but there are other uses. Your Internet browser (such as Internet Explorer or Firefox) is an example of a client program. There are two types of clients: thin clients and thick clients. A thin client does not contain much software and relies on the server program to do most of the work. An Internet browser is considered a thin client. The reason for this is that almost all computers come configured with a browser. A thick client receives packets from the server and processes them further before display to the user. Examples: Thick and Thin E–Mail: A thin client e–mail program will display the results and allow interaction through a standard web browser. The e–mail messages are stored on the server. Microsoft Outlook is a good example of a thick client. The e–mail messages are copied from the server to the client. The program provides considerable functionality in addition to retrieving, displaying, and sending e–mail messages. NOTE: The Internet is not the same as the World Wide Web (WWW). The global Internet is a physical collection of networks. The World Wide Web is just an application that uses the Internet.
