Introduction
Before you can understand how to program the web, you need a more rigorous understanding of the web itself than you likely have now. These concepts provide a more holistic understanding of the ecosystem in which you will be working and will enable you to talk intelligently with other developers about your work.
Lesson overview
This section contains a general overview of topics that you will learn in this lesson.
- Describe what the internet is.
- Describe what packets are and how they are used to transfer data.
- Understand the differences between a web page, web server, web browser and search engine.
- Briefly explain what a client is.
- Briefly explain what a server is.
- Explain what IP addresses are.
- Explain what DNS servers are.
Assignment
- Watch this BBC short for an overview of how the internet works.
- Read this Mozilla article on “How does the internet work?”.
- Watch How the Internet Works in 5 Minutes.
- Read up on the differences between a web page, a web server, and a search engine.
- Watch this Google short explaining what a web browser is. Then, use this site to find out your current web browser and version.
- Read about how different parts of the web interact with each other and read this MDN article about how a DNS request works. Alternatively, here is a video about how a DNS request works.
Knowledge check
The following questions are an opportunity to reflect on key topics in this lesson. If you can’t answer a question, click on it to review the material, but keep in mind you are not expected to memorize or master this knowledge.
- What is a web server?
- What is a network?
- What is the internet?
- What is an IP address?
- What is a router?
- What is an ISP?
- What are packets and how are they used to transfer data?
- What is a client?
- What is a server?
- What is a web page?
- What is a web browser?
- What is a search engine?
- What is a DNS request?
- Which browser are you currently using?
- In your own words, describe the process that takes place when you initiate a search on google.com in terms of what we discussed.