Internet History

I guess you can say we can thank the military for Internet. A few decades ago there  were no desk top computers. The military computers where huge machines that filled entire rooms. Each computer had its own function. Communications between scientists posed a significant problem. The government needed a way to allow  scientists to communicate with one another and to share computer resources.

The cold war was waging and the nuclear threat added another variable to the equation. It was necessary to establish communications links between military and  university computers through a system flexible enough to withstand the rigors of war. A system had to be established that would allow data to flow even if lines were destroyed by bombs or enemy spies.

The result was ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network). It ran under the assumption connections between computers could and would disappear at any time. Part of ARPANET's success rested on the fact each  computer had multiple connections to the others and the establishment of a simple but effective communication method called packet switching.

During the early days scientists needed a way to communicate with one another, exchange computer files, and to share computing resources. These needs gave rise  to email, ftp, and telnet. Email, ftp, and telnet are really nothing more than software packages residing on the host and remote computer. The software controls the communications between the two computers and determines what activities will  transpire.

You start up your word processor when you want to type a letter, or start up solitaire when the boss or the teacher leaves the room. A UCLA scientist starts up  telnet if she wants to run an engineering simulation at MIT or launches an ftp session if she wants to download a group of files from another site. The student must select the proper tool for the task at hand.

As ARPANET grew, universities saw the advantage of the network. Rather than start a network of their own, they hooked up to ARPANET. Eventually, the term Internet was coined to describe the mix of government, university, and private  computers now on-line.

With the growth of Internet came demands for different types of information access and exchange. New software were developed to fulfill those needs. Usenet, mailing  lists, Gopher, Archie, Veronica, and many other tools were developed to help make the system more usable by a wider variety of people.

At one time a user had to know each piece of software and the associated  commands in order to be a successful researcher. Today this usually isn't necessary. In the not too distant future, web browsers such as you will use in this course, may entirely eliminate the need to launch different software for different  jobs.

Netscape, when properly configured, will either use built-in functions or will automatically launch the proper software to handle HTTP, FTP, TELNET, GOPHER, NEWSGROUPS, and even the sending of EMAIL. (There is no  receiving mail function, yet.)

The World Wide Web today is often erroneously considered to be the same as Internet. Though it has caused a user explosion and growth beyond anyone's  wildest imagination, it is actually just another piece of client-server software used for information exchange and retrieval on the net.

Using a web browser (software) such as Netscape, today's user performs a  multitude of tasks formerly associated with many packages. She may do it without even realizing it is taking place. We will be using Netscape as our door into Internet. Though it isn't necessary to learn a group of discrete software packages,  having an understanding of what those packages do will provide a better foundation for the effective use of Netscape.

Once you get comfortable with Netscape you might want to learn how to use some  of the discreet tools. As powerful as Netscape is, it can't do it all. Individual software packages often offer a number of features not offered with Netscape. For example, programs such as Fetch and Ancarchie, can be used to transfer large  groups of files. With Netscape it would be one at a time.

If you want to find out more about Internet history you can read this article.

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