The Internet is a collection of networks connected together which offers access to information and people.
The Internet spans over 90 countries, over three million computer systems, and over 30,000,000 users. Growth on the Internet is exponential -- there are probably several more users on the Internet at this moment than when you started reading this sheet.
How did it get started?
In 1969 the Federal Government started a defense and research network called ARPANet. Unfortunately access to this network was limited to those researchers working on DARPA (U.S. Department of Defense) projects.
In 1987-1989 the National Science Foundation set up a network using regional supercomputer centers. This network was called the NSFNet, but it was very expensive and not everyone could gain access to it.
In 1990, commercial networks were allowed to connect into the NSFNet and the Internet began to grow and expand at unbelievable rates.
In 1994 the Internet was privatized and will soon include more services.
Server and Client Software
Most of the networks on the Internet are using the UNIX operating system. Until there are more menu-driven services on the Internet, you will need to learn about UNIX.
You will also need to understand software called client/server software. This is software that comes in two parts. A computer on the Internet runs the part of the software called the server. Then other computers connect to that computer by using the client software.
Two computers on the Internet can only talk to each other if one is running as a server and the other is running as a client. Common client/server programs are telnet, ftp, gopher, and archie.
Other Information Sheets
Look for sheets in this series on archie, gopher, UNIX, ftp, telnet, addresses, e-mail, newsgroups, BBSs, games, MUDs, WAIS, WWW, editors, NREN, CWIS, and mail lists.
The remainder of this sheet will provide a glossary of common Internet terms. For a more comprehensive glossary, obtain the book Internet -- Instant Reference by Paul E. Hoffman (published by SYBEX).
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addresses
morris@grand.k12.ut.us
archie -- There are millions of files on the Internet which you could obtain. The best way to find a file you want is by using an Archie.
binary -- When you obtain a file on the Internet, it may be a text file or it may be a binary file. Each of these types must be obtained differently, so be sure you know which file type you're asking for.
Campus-wide Information System -- Universities and colleges were the first major (non-defense) users on the Internet. To save management time, most institutions developed a campus-wide information system and coordinated their CWIS with other CWIS's.
electronic mail (e-mail) -- the most popular use of the Internet is the exchange of mail between users. There are many packages used to send e-mail. Some of the more popular ones are Pine, Pegasus, Imail, and the UNIX mail command.
freenet -- these are bulletin board systems on the Internet which are free and specialize in giving community computer access.
ftp -- stands for File Transfer Protocol, but it is more commonly thought of as obtaining files from other computers on the Internet. If a computer on the Internet marks its files as public, you may use ftp to obtain those files.
gopher -- this is an attempt to make many of the services of the Internet menu-driven. Since gopher is client/server software, you must connect through the Internet to a network that is running the gopher server software. Then using your gopher client software, you can use their prepared menu to navigate some of the Internet.
LAN -- Local Area Network
lynx (see WWW)
mail lists -- It is possible to add your name to a mailing list on the Internet. Then in addition to personal mail, you'll get group mail. Be sure to know what you're getting into before subscribing to a mailing list. And be sure to read the FAQ (frequently asked questions) of the group before entering your own messages.
MAN -- Metropolitan Area Network
MUD -- stands for Multiple User Dungeon or Multiple User Dimension. MUDs are interactive, multiplayer environments that are similar to the dungeon games popular in the late 1970's.
newsgroups are like online newspapers. Users post articles on systems which act as news group servers, then all users on the Internet can read those articles. To read a news group, you must use gopher or a news reader such as nn.
relay chat -- provides the ability to interactively chat (type) to other users on the Internet.
telnet -- telnet is a way to connect to another computer on the Internet. You must know the address of that computer and have a login name and password. This is also called remote login.
WAN -- Wide Area Network
WWW or W3 stands for World Wide Web. This is an attempt to "index" all the information on the Internet using a computer feature called hypertext. www access software has mostly been replaced by lynx on UNIX and by Mosaic on Macintosh and PC/MS-DOS computers.
