writing them is one thing, understanding them is another (How To Write A Good Internet Review)

Name: uncle_bob

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Product:	How To Write A Good Internet Review
Date:	20/08/02 (162 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: As easy as you make it

Disadvantages: Can be over peoples head

Reading around Dooyoo, at all the various opinions on various aspects of the Internet. I have noticed, and recently was brought to my attention, most are written without the novice considered.

Now this review is not about how to write them, because you don't need someone else telling you how to do it, there are loads around dooyoo already. This review is to try and help you understand them. So when you read through all the various internet opinions, you can understand the terms used, or what they are talking about, if you are a novice or maybe not clued up on all the technical stuff.

I am the same, you write your opinion on something, and get carried away, and you start using terms, and phrases, which to you, make perfect sense, but to the inexperienced, or someone maybe not in the same know as you, it is just babble.

So, I decided, to write this opinion, and list and explain as many terms I can think of you are likely to find around in the Internet category.

It is by no means a comprehensive list, and is not intended as a programming guide or anything like that. It is merely to give the novice some idea of what the heck that person is talking about.

Probably the most common one you are going to see is HTML.
What is HTML?
Well, HTML, or HyperText Mark-Up Language, is the backbone scripting language used on the Internet.
Every web page uses HTML in some form. Your browser can read this language, and then display the page how it is supposed to.
When on the Internet, if you see a page, with the extension .HTML, or .HTM, it is an HTML document, .htm is the old extension used in Windows 95 before longer extensions could be supported.
If you select to view the source of one of these pages, you will be confronted with a notepad full of what looks like random letters and symbols.
However, it is actually mostly just basic English.
The purpose of this opinion is not to teach you HTML, and so I wil
l avoid going into to much detail. The language is basically used to set out a layout. It tells the browser what to put where and how. It isn?t used to generate outcomes, It's a descriptive script if you like.

Another term you will come across is ISP.
Now I think most of you know what ISP is, but just in case here is a basic description.
ISP stands for Internet Service Provider. Basically it is a company, who offer access to Internet services. Usually actual access to the Internet. They use a server, which allows your computer to contact it, and connect to it, either via modem, or cable. Once connected to this server, your computer can then branch out around the web and contact all the other servers on the internet allowing you to view pages etc etc.
It is basically, if you like, a door into the World Wide Web. Without it, if you wanted to view say dooyoo.co.uk.. you would have to dial up and connect to the Dooyoo servers directly. And then if you wanted to go to Yahoo! You would have to disconnect from Dooyoo, and then re connect to yahoo. As you can imagine, would take the ease of the Internet away. So an ISP does all this for you, and sends you the results. In a sense.
That's a very basic description, there is more to it, but that's basically it.

Ok, Server, I keep mentioning that.
A server is a PC basically. However it isn't a computer your likely to find on your desk at home running windows 98.
A sever is specially set up to allow multiple connections from remote computers to it, and then process requests and perform tasks requested, in a sense.
Software usually used for this is either Windows NT or 2000, or a Linux system, which is the common choice.
It can handle multiple computers at once, and provides a common junction if you like in the world of communications. It's kind of like a roundabout. When you get there, you can then choose which direction to go. And people can go multiple ways
.
Again, very basic description, but it's the general idea.

Linux, Yes, I mentioned this.
Linux is an operating system, like Windows 98, or XP etc. It is based on the open source, Unix code. This means it is usually either free, or much cheaper than Windows. It performs like any operating system, but has advantages that make it better than Windows. The main one being, it isn't Microsoft!. This means it is much more stable, and much more useful as an operating system, without the limitations and bugs known in Microsoft products. It is mainly used for servers, and you will find most big web hosting services use a Linux based server. A few use Windows, but generally you should avoid them, for reasons I will come onto later I'm sure.
It's main disadvantage, which is why it isn't found on most home computers, is it is not as user friendly as Windows. Although now it is much more graphical, in the past it was a command line based system. Meaning you didn't have icons and pretty windows, it was all done with commands. This meant it could only be used by people who knew how to use it, hence gave Windows a huge advantage. However now it is much more graphical, and rivals Windows. A lot more people are switching to Linux, including myself, just to get away from the dreaded Windows.
However, software is limited for it, with most common programs not supported by Linux, but again this is being changed slowly, as it becomes more popular so more software is being written with it in mind.

FTP. This is something else, which is often mentioned, when talking about web hosts or such forth.
FTP, or to give it its full name, File Transfer Protocol, is a method used to transfer data from one computer to another.
The common place you are likely to find such a system, is on download sites, for example, AudioGalexy, or Napster.
However it is also used in the background on websites. When a website is uploaded to a remote
server it is usually always transferred using the FTP system.
2 forms are used usually, either ASCII or Binary.
ASCII stands for The American Standard Code for Information Interchange. Quite a mouthful, so ASCII is much easier. It is basically a seven-bit code used to transfer files, how it works and what it does isn?t really important, just know it does work.
Binary is the older form. If you ever see computer stuff referred to as lots of 1s and 0s, that is Binary code. Again, how it works is not important really, just know it does.

So speaking of transfer protocols, HTTP.
This is HyperText Transfer Protocol. It is basically used to transfer data which includes links to other sources, be it WebPages, downloads etc. It is the common form in which web pages are transferred to your web browser. Look at your browser and you will notice dooyoo's URL is http://www,dooyoo.co.uk. The HTTP at the start is what told your browser to look out because it's going to be receiving information via the HTTP protocol.
HTTP comes in other forms now, HTTPS being another one you may see. This is basically a secure version of HTTP, using encryption, which protects against unlawful interception of the data. Usually used for credit card verification etc.

I mentioned URL.
Again, I guess most of you know what this is, but since I am on the subject, here's a basic idea. URL or Uniform Resource Locator is a method in which a computers location on a network can be determined. Kind of like a computers home address I suppose.

Ok, since we are on about locations, IP address should be mentioned.
IP is Internet Protocol. It is used to determine how information will be transferred over the Internet. Doesn't define what will be done with it, just how it will get there.
Every computer on the Internet or any network for that matter, has an IP address usually made up from a string of numbers something like 255.212.323.108
r>Ok, on a roll now, next up, JAVA
Java is a programming language that can be integrated into WebPages. Not to be confused with Java language, used to write programs. This is an interactive scripting language, which can be used to produce outcomes beyond the capabilities of HTML
A Java Applet can perform actions like animations, or effects on pages. Because most browsers support java it is a common method used, although IE6 users may find they have been subjected to the Microsoft scam, and find your browser wont run java applets, however you can download java plug-ins for IE6, which will allow you to.

Coming with Java is DHTML
Dynamic HyperText Mark-up Language. It is basically used to make a page more dynamic, hence the name. Where as HTML is pretty basic, and can't be changed once the page has loaded, DHTML allows the layout or content to change after the page has loaded. Things like text, images, and effects etc, all things that can change after it has been loaded. It is tied in with java, as JavaScript is the common language used when using DHTML VBScript is also used, which is basically another form of java.

CGI, what?s this all about?
CGI - Common Gateway Interface. To try and explain it would just make things more complicated. It is basically a method in which the server can be called to perform various tasks. The thing about CGI is it sounds hard, but in actual fact is very simple, I think this site quoted it best by saying "CGI is easy the same way cooking is easy: anyone can toast a muffin or poach an egg. It's only when you want a Hollandaise sauce that things start to get complicated"
To learn more I would suggest you check out http://www.oreilly.com/openbook/cgi/

Unfortunately, just to make things more complicated, along with CGI comes Perl
"Perl is an interpreted language optimised for scanning arbitrary text files, extracting information from those text files, and printing repor
ts based on that information."
Confused? Yeah so was I. Basically, it is a scripting language most commonly used with CGI. CGI provides the gateway, Perl does the work. It is used to manipulate data in some form and give out various results depending on defined defaults and user input. Perl needs modules installed on the server in order to work, so is usually not supported on free web hosts. You wont find perl normally on free homepages. But is used extensively on company sites, even Dooyoo I'm sure have a number of perl scripts working away in the background.

Another form is PHP
This name was given because when it was invented in 1994 by Rasmus Lerdorf it was called "Personal Home Page tools" what happened to the T I don't know, but it is basically another scripting language to provide interactive content on a web page
PHP needs to also have modules installed to work, and again wont usually be supported on free web hosts. It is somewhat more simplified, I think, compared to perl, but it is used in applications that sometimes perl wont support, but is more down to a matter of personal opinion. I?m sure other people could explain these scripting languages much better than me, but I am not a programmer, I just modify and install them, I cant actually write one from start to finish.

Are you still with me?

Something else I have seen mentioned around is MySQL.
This is a database system basically. It can be linked directly to scripts and used in conjunction with them. Dooyoo for instance might use it, for storing all your usernames, passwords, etc. it then allows the scripts to access this information and use as they want. It basically is the preferred method of storing and organising large amounts of information for future use on the page. It's more secure than just having a text file with the information in it, but is more complicated to maintain.
Again, not found on free web hosts usually.


SSI
Server Side Includes. If you ever go to a website, and it has a page which has .SHTML extension then they are using SSI. It basically allows a page to access server information. Usually used with time systems, like if you want to display the correct time, you can use SSI to access your severs clock and print that.
Some scripts such as access counters require you to have this capability.

I read in some comments earlier, someone asking about Plug-ins, and what they are?
Well, a plug in is basically a piece of software written by various people, which can be installed into other software. In this case into Internet Explorer or Netscape.
The plug-ins can be used for a number of things, such as allowing IE6 to display Java applets, or software that allows Wave files to be played.
Most are already installed in your browser when you install it, but you often find aftermarket ones, not built by your browser manufacturer, but designed to integrate into it to make it support various forms, common one being Macromedia Shockwave, or flash plug-ins like that.

Well I think that about covers most things your likely to see reading around Internet opinions. I will add to it as more pops up.
If you know something I have missed, or want explained then feel free to email it or leave it in the comments section, and if I understand it myself I will add it to this opinion.
Look at it as a kind of Internet category FAQ page.
I?m sure a lot of you have probably left more confused than when you arrived mind you, sorry?.
I'll see how well this one does, if it works well, I might do more for other categories.

:Bobber:

Copyright 2002 uncle_bob.