This tutorial is intended to introduce the beginner to the basics of the World Wide Web, and how one makes information available there. It will first explain in simple terms what exactly happens when a Web page is accessed by a Web browser program, and then it will go on to discuss how you work with the WebCom system to make your information available in exactly the same way.

Because you are currently reading this tutorial we assume that you have at least one experience using a World Wide Web 'browser'. A Web browser is a program which accesses the Internet and is able to read pages written in a particular 'language' and convert that language into a page which has nicely formatted text, pictures, sounds, animations, etc.

There are many 'brands' of browsers, designed by different companies and organizations. For example, Netscape Navigator is a Web browser designed and sold by the Netscape Corporation, and is currently the most popular of such programs. Some Online Service companies, such as Compuserve and Prodigy, provide for their customers Web browsers built into their existing services. In both cases, these programs grab pages from the Internet and compose them for you to look at and use.

A Server is a computer which has a high-speed connection to the Internet, and is running software to make Web pages available for browsers to access. Each page has a unique 'address' on the system.

The 'language' these pages are written in is called HTML. These pages are all just plain text files, including nothing more than the words of the page and special formatting tags bookended by a "<" and a ">", and the filenames of any pictures or sound files which are to be included in the page. But essentially the HTML file, which will become a colorful graphics-rich Web page, is just a plain old text file, waiting on the server for a browser to grab it and draw it up on your screen according to the directions given in the HTML code.

Links to other pages are sometimes words which are colored and underlined, and sometimes they are pictures. Each link has associated with it the address of another Web page. What actually happens when you click on one of these links is:

1. The request for the new page is sent to the server that holds the page.
2. The server then sends the plain text file of HTML code to your browser.
3. As this plain text file is being received by your browser it renders the picture, or draws it out according to the directions in the HTML code.

They're not. Graphics and sounds are not actually stored in the Web pages itself. A graphic is stored in a separate binary graphic file ("binary" files are just files that don't have text, but rather data which can't be read directly without a program which reads the data). The HTML file just contains the name of the graphics file. When the browser downloads the page, it next makes separate requests for each graphic or sound or other object referenced in the plain text of the HTML file, and then displays it (or plays it) at that point in the page. A sound file is also stored in a separate binary sound file.

Examples of graphic files are those having names ending with ".gif" or ".jpg". Text file names often end with ".txt", and Web pages, which contain HTML, end with ".html". Examples of sound files are those having names ending with ".wav", ".ra", ".snd". You can even put video files on your Web page, just by typing the name of the video file into your HTML file.

So, given all this, then how do your pages get on the Web?

When you open an account with WebCom, you get a reserved space on our server, and your own unique 'base' address on the Web. In this space you put your plain text HTML files, along with any picture (or other binary) files which those text files call for, very similar to the way document and picture files are kept on your own PC.

There are several ways that you can get HTML files into your WebCom directory.

• Authoring tools, such as Netscape Communicator and MyBusinessPage, handle the task of uploading the files you create to the server for you. You just paint your Web page on your computer, then push the 'Publish' button! WebCom accounts are fully compatible with many such web publish products including the web's most popular authoring tool, Microsoft Front Page.
• Create simple HTML files on the server instantly by using our "Instant Site" forms.
• With your Web browser, use the plain text editor built into our WebCom File Manager to type your HTML script manually.
• Create HTML text files on your own computer (most likely using one of many HTML authoring tools to help you out) and then use FTP to transfer them to your WebCom account.

If you are not using an authoring tool which handles the transfer of binary as well as HTML files, then your picture files, and other binary (non-text) files, are transferred to the server with FTP and kept as separate files. To get the picture to show up in one of your HTML files, you then must create an inline image link in that page where you want the picture to show up.

Because HTML files are just plain text files, they can be created on either IBM compatible or Macintosh PCs. If you want the help of an HTML authoring tool however, you will have to pick one which is specific to your computer.

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