The Internet, as we currently recognize it, has come a long way since its roots back in the beginning of the 20th Century. Originally just a piece designed for military purposes, a network designed to survive in the scenario of a nuclear attack, Today the Internet has approximately 542 million servers and 1.3 billion users. Furthermore, of the estimated 3 billion mobile phones in use, roughly 15 percent are Internet-enabled, adding 450 million devices to the Internet. It has developed to allow communication, collaboration, development of technology and resources. It has dwarfed other forms of communication in the past decade and made it possible for global communication.

This module describes the origin and evolution of Internet. It also describes the concept and use of semantic web.

Markup languages have had a huge impact on the development of the World Wide Web, and essentially constitute what we see when we look at a web page nowadays. The evolution of markup languages can be seen as a parallel to the development of the Internet. As the Internet approached the functionality that would ultimately make it a global system in the 1990s, Tim Berners Lee would develop the Hypertext Markup Language and according protocol which would make the World Wide Web a reality and markup languages have continued to develop since, with the aim of making the World Wide Web even more accessible and more robust. In this section of the module, we will be looking at the concept of markup in programming and examining some examples of markup in languages.

The client-server architecture is an essential part of the functioning of the World Wide Web. Indeed, any computer which uses a web browser is a client connecting to a remote network, which is a server. The client part of the client-server architecture will be a simple computer, but could be a “fat”, “thin” or “hybrid” client. The server part of the client-server architecture will be a large-capacity computer with a large amount of data and functionality stored on it. In this chapter, we will look at how these architectures work and what each goes into making an effective client-server architecture model.

The use of databases is a necessity in the use of many software applications at present. Databases are used for the transformation of data into information. And the storage, organization and management of this data is paramount to any effective application or website. Nowadays, the term database is synonymous with Database Management Systems and the associated terms which influence it. It is important to have an understanding of databases as a means to storing information, and also making it accesible. In this section of the module, we will look at how these database management systems are used and the different types of database models available. 

WEB 2.0 has become a ubiquitous term now associated with the World Wide Web. Indeed, for many, the services offered by web 2.0 are the main appeal in using the Internet. Social networking sites such as facebook and friendfinder, wikis such as Wikipedia, blogs, RSS feeds and podcasting are, for many, the most attractive tools available. Furthermore, the concept of mass collaboration has now become a fully-implemented reality. In this section of the module, we will look at how the concept of web 2.0 and the tools and ideas associated with it and how these work.

Communication protocols refer to the way in which a computer communicates with another computer across a network. This involves such factors as data transfer, authentication, encryption, and other elements which facilitate the transfer of information between 2 computers. If we were to take communication between people, as opposed to between computers, an example of a communication protocols would be Morse code - it deals with the encryption, signaling, and transfer of information between 2 points. In its simplest form, a communication protocol is the syntax, semantics and synchronization of communication. In this section of the module, we will look at how the concept of the OSI model and the common communication protocols.

Nowadays, more organizations store information (both business and personal information) on computers than ever before. Indeed, many businesses which exist nowadays are often based solely on the information which is stored in these computers. Information such as names, addresses, client lists, bank account information, could all be accessible from a single database. Naturally, much or all of this information should not be available for public viewing - so effective protection of this information is essential. In this section of the module, we will look at how the concept of the web security and concepts such as the Public Key Infrastructure scheme.