* Internet communication protocols
o Computers connected to the internet communicate by using Internet Protocol (IP).
o IP slices information into packets and routes them to their destination.
o IP uses dynamic routing, so that even if one part of the network is knocked out, packets can
o Along with IP, most computers on the internet communicate with TCP.
* Internet hosts
o Each computer on the internet is called a host computer or host.
o Computers on the internet are connected by cables, phone lines and satellite connections.
o They include large mainframe, smaller mini computers and PCs.
* IP Address
o Each host computer on the internet has a unique number called its IP address.
o IP addresses identify the host computers, so that packets reach the correct computer.
o If we use dial-up account, ISP assigns your computer an IP address each time you connect.
o Computers on LAN usually have IP addresses that are reserved for use on LAN.
o The most common IP assignment server is called DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration
* Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
o It is an organization that provides Internet accounts.
o The other features provided by the Internet account are Email mailboxes, Web server
* Types of Internet Connections
o To connect to the internet we have different types of connections. They are:
Dial-Up connections
o This works over an ordinary phone line.
o It uses the point-to-point protocol. A modem is needed.
Ø DSL connections
- Digital Subscriber Line is a digital, high-speed line that uses the normal phone wires with
- The line is asymmetric, because it has more capacity for data received by the computer than
- With DSL line we can connect the computer to the internet and talk on the phone at the same
- DSL modems connect to the computer through an Ethernet or other network card in the
Ø ISDN Connections
o Integrated Services Digital Network is an upgraded phone line that can be used for faster
o Using one line, we can talk on the phone and surf the web.
o For residential use ISDN provides BRI. On one line, BRI provides two 64-Kbps channels, or
o D channel is used for signaling. The two B channels are combined for to use the internet.
o An ISDN adapter is needed to connect the computer to an ISDN line.
Ø Leased Lines
o If large amount of data is to be transferred we can go for leased line.
o Leased lines come in various speeds including T! and T3.
Ø Cable TV internet connections
o Cable modem service brings dozens of TV channels as well as web sites.
o The cable network was designed to move information in one direction, from
o Downstream speeds are much faster than the upstream speed.
Ø Satellite Internet Connections
· Digital satellite Systems or direct broadcast satellite lets to get internet information by
· With early satellite systems, we can receive data from the internet at a high speed through
· Later the companies StarBand and DirecPC offered two-way system connection that
Ø Wireless Internet Connections
· In a few urban areas wireless internet access can be used.
· To set it up, a radio modem is attached to the laptop.
· Another way to connect to the internet via wireless is by using a digital cell phone.
· Some ISPs offer wireless connections to Personal Data Assistants (PDA) such as Blackberry, Compaq ipaq, or Palm. These small devices have tiny screens which can be used to read e-mail and browse the web.
* Domain Name System
· The name of each host computer consists of a series of words separated by dots.
· The last part of the domain name is called the top-level domain (TLD).
· The last two parts of a host computer name constitute the domain.
· The second to last part of the name (second-level-domain) is chosen by the organization
· Because most organizations own more than on computer on the internet, most host
· A domain name system (DNS) server translates between the numeric IP addresses that
E-Mail Concepts
- E-mail messages are passed through the internet by using a protocol called simple mail
- The incoming messages are received in an e-mail mailbox that resides on a mail server.
- Mail servers receive and store e-mail messages in mailboxes by using a protocol called Post
- To read e-mail, a mail client is needed.
- We can write e-mail messages by using e-mail application,
- The messages are transferred to an SMTP server- a mail server that accepts e-mail.
* Ways Of accessing E-mail
· We may use a mail client. Eg: Eudora, Outlook, Outlook express, Netscape Messenger etc.
· We may use a web-based e-mail service.
· We may use an online service, such as America online, which has its own mail program.
· We may get e-mail through a LAN, a common system at large organizations. The e-mail
* E-mail Addressing
· Internet e-mail addresses consists of two parts joined by @ sign.
· User name – It contains characters other than letters-they can contain numbers,
· Host or domain name – It provides the internet location of the mailbox, usually the name of
* Formatted E-mail
· HTML – This is formatted with HTML tags, just like web pages. It includes text formatting, numbering, bullets, alignment, horizontal lines, backgrounds, hyperlinks. It is actually sent using the MIME protocol.
· Rich Text Format – This format can be read by most word processing applications. Documents in this format are also called RTF files.
· MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) – It is used for attachments. Formatting includes text formatting, pictures, video and sound.
Web-Based E-mail
· Using web based email we can access the web as well as read our mail.
· Most web-based e-mail is free.
· We can read two kinds of messages on the web :
o Messages sent to a web-only account
o Messages stored in the POP mailbox
Sending and Receiving Files by E-mail
* Attachments
· An attachment is a file that has been encoded as text so that it can be included in an e-mail message.
· The three common ways to encode e-mail attachments are :
o MIME - Multi purpose Internet Mail Extension is the standard method.
o Uencoding – This method is supported by some older e-mail applications.
o BinHex- Used by some Mac e-mail programs.
* Sending Attachments
· To send a file by e-mail, create a message to which the file is to be attached.
· Address the mail as usual and type the subject. If needed type the text in the body of the
· Now attach the file by choosing a menu command or by clicking a toolbar button.
· Large files can be compressed, so that the sending and downloading time can be minimized.
* Receiving Attachments
· Most e-mail applications store the attachments in the mail message.
· First, open the message and then open or save the attachment.
· When the message with an attachment is deleted, the attachment is also deleted.
· To use the attachment later, it has to be saved.
* Attaching files to a Microsoft Outlook e-mail
· To attach files to a Microsoft Outlook, follow the below steps.
1. Open Microsoft Outlook.
2. Reply to an existing e-mail, or compose a new e-mail by clicking on the New icon in the top left portion of the window.
3. In the e-mail, click on the 'Insert file' icon that looks like a small paperclip, or click on Insert at the top of the window and choose file.
4. Browse to the location that contains your file and double-click it insert it.
If successfully attached you should see an icon of the attachment in your e-mail.
Below is an alternative method of attaching a file into an e-mail.
1. Open My computer or Windows explorer and browse to the location of where your pictures are located.
2. Highlight and copy the picture you wish to send in an e-mail.
3. Open a new e-mail or the e-mail you're replying to that you wish to attach the file into, right-click in the message portion of the e-mail and click paste.
Fighting Spam, Sorting Mail, and Avoiding Email Viruses
* Reducing Spam
· The term "spam" is Internet slang that refers to unsolicited commercial email (UCE) or unsolicited bulk email (UBE).
· Some people refer to this kind of communication as junk email to equate it with the paper junk mail that comes through the US Mail.
· Unsolicited email most often contains advertisements for services or products, but very few reputable marketers use UCE to advertise.
· The most commonly seen spam includes the following:
o Foreign bank scams or advance fee fraud schemes
o Phishing scams, a very popular and dangerous form of email fraud
o Pyramid schemes, including multilevel marketing (MLM)
o Other "Get Rich Quick" or "Make Money Fast" (MMF) schemes
o Quack health products and remedies
o Ads for pornographic web sites
o Offers of software for collecting email addresses and sending UCE
o Offers of bulk emailing services for sending UCE
o Chain letters (for more information, see About chain mail)
o Illegally pirated software
* Avoid receiving spam email
· Spam has increasingly become a problem on the Internet. While every Internet user receives some spam email, certain behaviors on the Internet will cause you to receive even more than average.
· In fact, the Federal Trade Commission and the Center for Democracy and Technology have performed studies to determine how spammers can obtain your email address.
· They found that email addresses posted to web sites or in newsgroups attract the most spam.
· Chat rooms are also fertile places for spammers to obtain email addresses.
· Some tips on Internet behavior that will help reduce the amount of spam you receive:
o On October 17, 2006, UITS implemented enhanced email filtering services at Indiana University. The spam quarantine service now analyzes all mail delivered to IU Cyrus/Webmail and Exchange accounts.
o Any spam messages you receive are quarantined for five days in a Spam (Cyrus/Webmail) or Junk E-mail (Exchange) folder in your account. After five days, the spam service deletes these messages automatically.
o Every time you communicate on the Internet or browse a web site, there are opportunities for spammers to intercept your communications to obtain your email address.
o In particular, if you post to a Usenet newsgroup, list your email address on a web site, or fill out insecure forms on the web, your address can be collected by spammers.
o They collect lists of email addresses and even share or sell these lists to other spammers. Even otherwise reputable companies may sell or exchange your email address with other companies, and this information may inadvertently find its way to a spammer.
o At worst, spammers will use automated programs to bombard these lists of email addresses with spam.
· Consider the following to reduce the amount of spam you receive:
Subscribe only to essential discussion lists, and ensure that they are moderated.
If you are thinking of filling out a form on a web site, check the site's privacy policy first to be sure it uses secure technology and the company does not share your email address with others. If the site doesn't have a privacy policy that describes this to your satisfaction, consider not using that service.
If you post to Usenet newsgroups or bulletin boards, or if you spend time in chat rooms or use an online service that displays your address, you may wish to consider opening an email account on a free service and using that address when performing these potentially spam-inducing activities. Then your primary account would not be as affected by spam.
If the email address is listed on a web page, you should also consider opening a free account. If the web site listing your contact information is for Indiana University business, you could also get a departmental account and list that address rather than your personal address.
If you reply to spam, the spammer or the automated program on the other end will then know that your address is connected to a live person, and the spammer will then bombard you with even more spam, and circulate your address to other spammers. Thus, it is imperative that you pause and think before replying to any spam.
* How to avoid viruses
· Do NOT open or view any attachment or file in email that you are not expecting. Even if you know the person sending you a file, it does not mean that the file is safe.
· Newer email viruses can make it look as if your friends/colleagues are sending you the file. In short, whenever you receive a file by email, CHECK with the sender directly that the file is legitimate and if it is not, contact your IT support area.
· Following this rule will keep you safe from the vast majority of viruses going around the internet.
* General guidelines for avoiding computer viruses
Do not run, download or forward any unsolicited executables, documents, spreadsheets, etc. Anything that runs on your PC should be virus checked and approved first.
Any email you weren't expecting should be treated with suspicion, even if it comes from someone you know. It is worth calling whoever sent it to you to check that they intended to send you the email.
NEVER open any files with a double file extension, (e.g. iamavirus.txt.vbs). Under normal circumstances you should never need to receive or use these.
Avoid downloading executables or documents from the internet. These are often used to spread computer viruses.
Although JPG, GIF and MP3 files are not normally infected with viruses, some viruses can be disguised as these file types, also some recent software problems with image viewers and/or mp3 players have allowed them to contain viruses. Some caution is recommended when opening these file types. Jokes, pictures, graphics, screensavers and movie files should be treated with the same amount of suspicion as other file types.
If in doubt, contact the ITS Service Desk for advice, do not open the file or email.
If you think you have been infected with a virus inform the ITS Service Desk immediately. Do not panic or interrupt other users.
Any virus warnings or hoaxes should be sent to the ITS Service Desk who can help confirm whether or not it is genuine. Do not forward these warnings to anyone else; unless you are signed up to an official virus alert service it is unlikely to be a genuine warning.
Ensure that you follow the same procedures at home and elsewhere. Viruses can easily be spread from one location to another.
Bank Scams: Ignore emails from banks, unless you have explicitly asked the bank to communicate with you via e-mail.
Even if you have explicitly asked a bank to communicate with you via e-mail, be cautious if you choose to enter your account details such as your account number or pin into a website supplied via e-mail, as it may be forged.
Online chatting, Messaging, and Conferencing Concepts
· Online Chatting or online conferencing enables Internet users to exchange text or to have discussions with groups of people in real time.
· The groups of people involved may be anywhere in the world.
· This group communication can take the form of text, voice, or video, and messages and responses can be exchanged.
* Forms of Chat, Messaging and Conferencing
· Real –time chat
Each participant sees each message with seconds of when it is sent, and the reply is given quickly. However, all the participants need to be online at the same time.
· Asynchronous chat
Messages are stored so that participants can read them when they have a chance, which allow participants to consider their responses, gather information, and formulate a response carefully. It also allows people from different time zones or with different schedules to participate.
* Types of online chat and conferencing
· E-mail Mailing Lists - E-mail messages are sent to one or more people who are selected by the sender. An e-mail mailing list allows messages to be distributed to a list of preselected people, called subscribers.
· Usenet Newsgroups - Usenet is a system that allows messages to be distributed throughout the Internet. Due to the volume of messages, the messages are divided into newsgroups, or topics.
· Internet Relay Chat (IRC) - It allows thousands of internet users to participate in real-time text-based chat.
· Web-Based Chat - Many people are daunted by the programs and commands required by IRC. Hence, many web sites now provide a web-based way to participate in real-time text-based chat.
· AOL and Compuserve Chat Rooms - AOL services allow real-time chat on a wide variety of subjects.
· Instant Messaging - Instant messaging (IM) is a form of online communication that allows real-time interaction through computers or mobile devices.
· Online conferencing - An online conference uses the Internet as a conference venue. This means that participants can access the conference from anywhere in the world and can do this at any time, using standard browser software.
* How does Chat work?The user's web browser is used as the client software. Java Application is often downloaded into the web browser to enable this function. We will only be able to chat with users who are connecting to the same server. There are chat sections on all kinds of web
· In mailing lists and newsgroups, a person is identified by the name and e-mail address.
· Thousands of people can simultaneously participate in the various available forms of Internet chat and conferencing.
· Discussions are categorized by topic, enabling people who are interested in a particular topic to find and communicate with each other.
· Depending on the system, topic groups may be called newsgroups (in Usenet), Channels (in IRC), forums, boards, groups, or rooms.
* Online Conferencing
Advantages...
· Traditional conferences mean participants have to travel and stay in a particular place. This takes time and is expensive.
· But an online conference uses the Internet as a conference venue. This means that participants can access the conference from anywhere in the world and can do this at any time, using standard browser software. Participants will be able to log on as little or as much as they wish - before, after or during office hours.
· They are given a password to access the various conference and seminar groups as well as closed discussion groups. Anyone with access to the Internet can participate.
· Cheaper - because there is no travel, and no accommodation is required;
· More convenient - you can access it at any time you want, from anywhere with an Internet connection;
· High level of participation - typically, more people will actively participate in an online conference than in a face to face conference, and the standard of the discussions is often higher;
· Wider spread of participants - our second Supporting Deaf People conference had delegates from nineteen countries and five continents; and there is a permanent record of proceedings.
· Online conferences are synchronous, asynchronous, or a combination of both. An example of asynchronous conferencing is the discussion forum types of conference, where people post messages, which the system stores, and which other people can respond to when they log on.
* Safety While Chatting
1. Never give out your personal information in a chat room.
2. Never agree to meet a stranger in person whom you met in a chat room.
3. When you're asked to enter or sign up for a chat nickname, choose a name that doesn't give away your personal information.
4. Be wary of other chatters who ask you to meet in private chat rooms.
5. Check the terms and conditions, code of conduct, and privacy statement at the chat site before you begin to chat.
Usenet Newsgroup Concepts
· Usenet newsgroups are electronic discussion groups in which you can share information and opinions with people all over the world.
· In Usenet newsgroups, you can reply to articles you have read and publish ("post") your own articles for others to read.
· Newsgroups differ widely in subject and style, ranging from casual chat to serious discourse.
* Accessing newsgroups
If the Internet service provider (ISP) offers access to a news server, we can read newsgroups with newsreaders such as trn or tin, or we can use a desktop newsreader such as Netscape or Outlook Express.
* Reading newsgroups
· Articles posted on newsgroups are distributed over the internet by news servers.
· These servers store and forward Usenet articles, and provide articles to users running news clients or newsreaders.
· News servers and newsreaders communicate by using an Internet protocol called the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP).
· Some of the popular newsreader software are Netscape messenger, outlook express, Netscape mail& newsgroups.
· One of the most popular and reliable way to read Usenet newsgroups on the web is through Google.
· Once you have a news reader set up on your computer, reading and posting to newsgroups is relatively simple.
Step1
Get your news server name from your ISP or network administrator.
Step2
Determine whether your current ISP software, e-mail program or Web browser includes a news-reading utility (many do). If not, download and install one.
Step3
Configure your news reader by inputting your news server address and any other information it requests (it might ask for an e-mail address and mail server as well).
Step4
Use your reader to call up a list of available newsgroups. This list will probably pop up during setup the first time you use your reader.
Step5
Look through the hierarchical list of newsgroups to find any that sound interesting. Let the prefixes of each group (such as 'comp' for computer-related topics and 'rec' for recreational topics) guide your search. The other words in the name go from general to more specific keywords.
Step6
Subscribe to whichever newsgroups you want to read or post to. (Note that some readers allow you to read newsgroup messages without your having to subscribe.)
Step7
Select the newsgroup you want to read.
Step8
Select a message by double-clicking on the subject. (Note that different readers may have different ways of reading messages.)
* Newsgroup hierarchies
Newsgroups are organized and grouped by title using hierarchical compound names such as rec.sport.basketball.college. Here, rec specifies recreational topics, sport specifies a subgroup of recreation, and so on. The Big Eight mainstream hierarchies are:
· comp: Anything related to computers (e.g., programming languages, operating systems, hardware)
· humanities: Art, music, literature, philosophy, classical studies, etc.
· misc: An assortment of topics that don't fit in any of the other Big Eight hierarchies
· news: Pertaining to the administration and discussion of Usenet software, protocols, policies, etc.
· rec: Recreation and hobbies of all kinds
· sci: Academic discussions of science and, to a lesser extent, technology
· soc: History, culture, religion, politics, lifestyle, and other topics of social interest
· talk: Debate and extended discussion, often heated
Alternative hierarchies have smaller distributions than their mainstream cousins; each has its own rules and focus. These hierarchies include:
· alt: This is by far the largest and most diverse hierarchy; all manner of topics can be found here. As there is no formal newsgroup creation procedure, anyone may create an alt group at any time. For this reason, many news servers either do not carry alt, or subscribe to only a small portion of its groups.
· biz: Almost as well established as the mainstream groups, biz caters to a variety of business interests.
· k12: This hierarchy contains groups designed for K-12 educators.
Numerous national, regional, local, and organizational hierarchies also exist, some of which are available globally.
* Newsgroup etiquette
· If you decide to participate in a newsgroup, it's best first to read a representative selection of articles over several days or even weeks before posting. (In the jargon of some newsgroups, this is known as lurking.) Each newsgroup may have its own set of guidelines for what constitutes an appropriate posting, and becoming familiar with the group before posting will help you show good manners (netiquette) and avoid offending others.
· If you are new to Usenet, consult the newsgroups news.newusers.questions and news.announce.newusers to learn about technique and netiquette before posting.
· You can also find a large repository of Usenet FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) files for a wide variety of newsgroups and subjects at the Usenet FAQ Files site. It's best to read any existing FAQ for a newsgroup before posting so that you'll avoid irritating other readers by asking questions that have already been answered many times.
* Creating a newsgroup
1) A request for discussion on creation of a new newsgroup should be posted to news.announce.newgroups, news.groups, and any other groups or mailing lists at all related to the proposed topic if desired. news.announce.newgroups is moderated, and the Followup-to: header will be set so that the actual discussion takes place only in news.groups. Users on sites which have difficulty posting to moderated groups may mail submissions intended for news.announce.newgroups to newgroups@isc.org. The proposal must be in the format defined in "How to Format and Submit a New Group Proposal", a pointer to which is at the end of this message. The article should be cross-posted among the newsgroups, including news.announce.newgroups, rather than posted as separate articles. Note that standard behaviour for posting software is to not present the articles in any groups when cross-posted to a moderated group; the moderator will handle that for you. 2) The name and charter of the proposed group and whether it will be moderated or unmoderated (and if the former, who the moderator(s) will be) should be determined during the discussion period. If there is no general agreement on these points among the proponents of a new group at the end of 30 days of discussion, the discussion should be taken offline (into mail instead of news.groups) and the proponents should iron out the details among themselves. Once that is done, a new, more specific proposal may be made, going back to step 1) above. 3) Group advocates seeking help in choosing a name to suit the proposed charter, or looking for any other guidance in the creation procedure, can send a message to group-advice@isc.org; a few seasoned news administrators are available through this address.
Internet Relay Chat
Internet Relay Chat is defined by networks of servers which communicate to each other. Users connecting to any of the servers should able to chat with everyone else on that entire "network".
ü What is IRC?
IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a multi-user, multi-channel chatting system. We can use the computer and talk through typed messages with either one person or many other people from all over the Internet, all in real time.
ü Networks, Servers, and Channels
· Once you are set up with a provider and a client, you are in control. Choose a nickname you wish to be known by, then connect to one of the many different IRC networks catering to different geographical locations, interests, or philosophies.
· The largest networks have tens of thousands of people online at any given moment, drawn from an order of magnitude or more of regular visitors. These people create thousands of channels (sometimes incorrectly called "chat rooms") where people may meet and mingle.
· You may join these channels and participate in the group discussion, or you may elect to chat privately with individuals.
· Conversations on a channel are like those at a party: everybody who is present hears everything that everybody else is saying. If somebody is late to the party or leaves early, however, they will not hear what is said in their absence.
· All channels on IRC have names starting with #, such as #irchelp where you can get technical IRC help, or #new2irc where new users are welcome to join and chat.
· Usually, the name of the channel shows what it's for, but not always.
ü Basic IRC Commands
· Every IRC client has an input area where you can type what you want to say or issue IRC commands. You issue IRC commands by typing on a new line something beginning with a / (forward slash) character.
· Anything that does not begin with a / is assumed to be a message you are typing to someone or some channel.
· Commands you are supposed to type will be shown in red, while text which you will see in response will be shown in blue.
· In addition, the graphical clients such as mIRC or Ircle allow you to use a mouse to point and click your way around IRC, so that you don't have to type many of these commands manually.
· You should still learn the commands properly, because often they are the only way to specify precisely what you want done, and also they are often faster and easier than navigating through the labyrinth of buttons, menus, and dialogs that are supposed to make your life easier.
ü File Transfer
In addition to talking, IRC has also become a popular and convenient way to exchange a wide variety of files. Be forewarned, however, that many people are getting into serious trouble by downloading files that seem interesting or enticing, only to find out they are attacks. These hacks allow strangers to take over your channels, force you to disconnect, erase your hard disk, or worse.
ü Channel Operators
· Channel operators or "ops" have absolute power over their channel, including the right to decide who gets to come in, who must leave, who may talk, etc.
· When you first start out, it's best to chat on other people's channels and heed their rules, or else you may find yourself kicked out.
· If that happens and you cannot settle your differences with the ops, just go to another channel.
· At some point you will probably want to try your hand at being a channel op, either by creating your own new channel or by gaining the trust of the ops on an existing channel.
· You need to know a whole different set of commands. With this power comes the sometimes frustrating responsibility of maintaining the channel against intentional abuse as well as the usual IRC mishaps.
· Some networks such as Undernet and DALnet support channel registration, whereby you can "reserve" a channel.
· The advantage is that you are assured control over the channel as long as you show up once in a while, the disadvantage is that many popular channel names are probably already registered by others.
· Two of the largest nets EFnet and IRCnet do not support channel registration (or any other services).
· On these nets, there is no way to ensure you will always control a channel. Some channels try hard with all sorts of bots (which are explicitly banned by most servers) and protective scripts, but it's really just a matter of time before somebody with the right combination of lameness and knowledge comes along and takes over the channel.
ü About mIRC
· mIRC is a full featured Internet Relay Chat client for Windows that can be used to communicate, share, play or work with others on IRC networks around the world, either in multi-user group conferences or in one-to-one private discussions.
· It has a clean, practical interface that is highly configurable and supports features such as buddy lists, file transfers, multi-server connections, SSL encryption, proxy support, UTF-8 display, customizable sounds, spoken messages, tray notifications, message logging, and more.
· mIRC also has a powerful scripting language that can be used both to automate mIRC and to create applications that perform a wide range of functions from network communications to playing games.
· mIRC has been in development for over a decade and is constantly being improved and updated with new technologies.
ü Instant messaging
· Instant messaging (IM) is a form of online communication that allows real-time interaction through computers or mobile devices.
· Although typed text remains the primary convention for IM, the technology now allows users to send images, audio and video files, and other attachments.
· Hundreds of millions of people use IM to stay connected. In many ways, it epitomizes the notion of the always-connected, multitasking student, sending and receiving messages at all hours, from a wide spectrum of devices, while doing several other things at the same time.
· IM has become such an integral part of students' lives that many colleges and universities are working to move it beyond the social sphere into teaching and learning.
· The Internet has revolutionized the way we communicate. E-mail has been the most rapidly adopted form of communication ever known. Less than two decades ago, not many people had heard of it. Now, many of us e-mail instead of writing letters or even calling people on the phone. People around the world send out billions of e-mail messages every day.
· But sometimes even e-mail isn't fast enough. You might not know if a person you want to e-mail is online at that moment. Also, if you're e-mailing back and forth with someone, you usually have to click through a few steps. This is why instant messaging (IM) has become so popular.
· With IM, you can keep a list of people you interact with. You can IM with anyone on your buddy list or contact list as long as that person is online. You type messages to each other into a small window that shows up on both of your screens.
Most IM programs provide these features:
· Instant messages - Send notes back and forth with a friend who is online
· Chat - Create a chat room with friends or co-workers
· Web links - Share links to your favorite Web sites
· Video - Send and view videos, and chat face to face with friends
· Images - Look at an image stored on your friend's computer
· Sounds - Play sounds for your friends
· Files - Share files by sending them directly to your friends
· Talk - Use the Internet instead of a phone to actually talk with friends
· Streaming content - Real-time or near-real-time stock quotes and news
· Mobile capabilities - Send instant messages from your cell phone
Voice and Video Conferencing
ü Internet Phone
· Internet phone programs are designed to simulate phone calls over the internet, avoiding long-distance phone charges.
· Each person on the internet phone call needs a computer with a microphone and speakers.
· Then, download and install an internet phone program and sign up for a user name on the system.
· Internet phone is one form of voice-over-IP – voice information transmitted over the internet.
· It is possible to call from a computer to someone’s telephone using VoIP programs.
· But these PC-to-phone programs need to use local phone lines to connect to the other person’s phone and the entire link is not over the internet.
ü Voice and Video Conferencing
· It can be PC-to-PC or PC-to-Phone, with two or more people in the conversation.
· It replaces conference calls, which get expensive when they include many people over long distances.
· Voice conferencing enables user to send image to one or more people through a camera attached to the computer and to receive pictures back.
· We can use voice or video conferencing (or both), depending on the peripherals connected to the computer and the conferencing software
· With voice and video conferencing we can talk to other people, see their faces, and transmit the video so that they can see us, too.
· A videoconference (also known as a videoteleconference) is a set of interactive telecommunication technologies which allow two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously.
· It has also been called visual collaboration and is a type of groupware. It differs from videophone in that it is designed to serve a conference rather than individuals
ü Technology
· The core technology used in a video teleconference (VTC) system is digital compression of audio and video streams in real time.
· The hardware or software that performs compression is called a codec (coder/decoder). Compression rates of up to 1:500 can be achieved.
· The resulting digital stream of 1's and 0's is subdivided into labelled packets, which are then transmitted through a digital network of some kind (usually ISDN or IP).
· The use of audio modems in the transmission line allow for the use of POTS, or the Plain Old Telephone System, in some low-speed applications, such as videotelephony, because they convert the digital pulses to/from analog waves in the audio spectrum range.
The other components required for a VTC system include:
· Video input : video camera or webcam
· Video output: computer monitor , television or projector
· Audio input: microphones
· Audio output: usually loudspeakers associated with the display device or telephone
· Data transfer: analog or digital telephone network, LAN or Internet
· There are basically two kinds of VTC systems:
1. Dedicated systems have all required components packaged into a single piece of equipment, usually a console with a high quality remote controlled video camera. These cameras can be controlled at a distance to pan left and right, tilt up and down, and zoom. They became known as PTZ cameras. The console contains all electrical interfaces, the control computer, and the software or hardware-based codec. Omnidirectional microphones are connected to the console, as well as a TV monitor with loudspeakers and/or a video projector. There are several types of dedicated VTC devices:
1. Large group VTC are non-portable, large, more expensive devices used for large rooms and auditoriums.
2. Small group VTC are non-portable or portable, smaller, less expensive devices used for small meeting rooms.
3. Individual VTC are usually portable devices, meant for single users, have fixed cameras, microphones and loudspeakers integrated into the console.
2. Desktop systems are add-ons (hardware boards, usually) to normal PC's, transforming them into VTC devices. A range of different cameras and microphones can be used with the board, which contains the necessary codec and transmission interfaces. Most of the desktops systems work with the H.323 standard. Video conferences carried out via dispersed PCs are also known as e-meetings.
World Wide Web Concepts , etc.). XML allows the author to define his own tags and his own document structure.
ü The Hypertext Concept
· The hypertext is a way of presenting information in such a way that the sequence of the information is left up to the reader.
· This sequence is usually non-linear, however readers can follow a linear sequence.
· The hypertext works by means of hyperlink, which are highlighted or underlined words (or graphics) that one can click to bring another document into view.
ü Web Browser
· A web browser displays a web document and enables users to access web documents.
· When the user clicks a hyperlink, the browser initiates a message to a web server.
· This message requests the server to retrieve the requested information and send it back to the web browser through the telecommunications network.
ü Web Server
· This is a program that waits patiently for the browser to request a web page.
· The server looks for the requested information, retrieves it and sends it to the browser or sends an error message if the file is not found.
ü Uniform Resource Locators (URL) and Transfer protocols
· These are the web addresses.
· The resource locator is an addressing system that precisely states where a resource is located.
· It is divided into four parts: protocol; server/ domain name; path and the resource name. eg: http://www.cites.uiuc.edu/101/url101.html
· The first portion of the URL (http) designates the protocol that is used to locate the file or resource on the Web.
· A protocol is a standardized means of communication among machines across a network. Protocols allow data to be taken apart for faster transmission, transmitted, and then reassembled at the destination in the correct order.
· Here, http represents the HyperText Transfer Protocol, which is used to transfer Web pages across the Internet to Web browsers such as Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer, or Lynx.
· The portion of the URL following the protocol (www.cites.uiuc.edu) designates the host name of the computer you are accessing. The designator www, found in many URLs, is an acronym for World Wide Web. While using www is conventional, it is not necessary. Some Web servers omit the need to type www.
· A URL may have any number of directories following it. In this example, 101 is a directory under the root directory of the host you are accessing. The file url101.html is located in the 101 directory.
ü Web Languages
Ø HTML (HyperText Markup Language)
o It is the universal language understood by all WWW (World Wide Web) clients.
o An HTML document (program) is ASCII text with embedded instructions (markups) which affect the way the text is displayed.
o The basic model for HTML execution is to fetch a document by its name (e.g. URL), interpret the HTML and display the document, possibly fetching additional HTML documents in the process.
o It can accept user input and/or cause additional HTML documents to be fetched by URL.
o Providing safety, platform independence, and the ability to interact with a variety of formats, protocols, tools, and languages makes it a universal language.
Ø Java and Java Script
o Java is a language for sending applets over the web, so that the computer can execute them.
o JavaScript is a language that allows HTML to embed small programs called scripts in web pages.
o The main purpose of applets and scripts is to speed up web page interactivity.
Ø VBScript and ActiveX Controls
o VBscript resembles Microsoft’s Visual Basic and is used to add scripts to pages that are displayed by Internet explorer.
o ActiveX controls, like Java, are used to embed executable programs into a web page.
Ø XML
o XML stands for EXtensible Markup Language
o XML is a markup language much like HTML
o XML was designed to carry data, not to display data
o XML tags are not predefined. We must define our own tags
o XML is designed to be self-descriptive
o XML is a W3C Recommendation.
o XML is not a replacement for HTML. XML and HTML were designed with different goals. XML was designed to transport and store data, with focus on what data is.
o HTML was designed to display data, with focus on how data looks. HTML is about displaying information, while XML is about carrying information.
o With XML we invent our Own Tags. The tags in the example below (like
o These tags are "invented" by the author of the XML document. That is because the XML language has no predefined tags.
o The tags used in HTML (and the structure of HTML) are predefined. HTML documents can only use tags defined in the HTML standard (like
ü Portals
· A portal is a web site that wants to be the start page.
· A portal site includes web guides, search engines, chat rooms, e-mail accounts and news services.
· All portal services are free but some requires registering and choosing a password.
· Corporations are replacing their internal homepages with portals.
ü Web directories and Search Engines
· A web directory or link directory is a directory on the World Wide Web.
· It specializes in linking to other web sites and categorizing those links.
· A web directory is not a search engine, and does not display lists of web pages based on keywords, instead it lists web sites by category and subcategory. The categorization is usually based on the whole web site, rather than one page or a set of keywords, and sites are often limited to inclusion in only one or two categories.
· Web directories often allow site owners to directly submit their site for inclusion, and have editors review submissions for fitness.
· A Web search engine is a search engine designed to search for information on the World Wide Web.
· Information may consist of web pages, images and other types of files. Some search engines also mine data available in newsgroups, databases, or open directories.
· Unlike Web directories, which are maintained by human editors, search engines operate algorithmically or are a mixture of algorithmic and human input.
· A search engine operates, in the following order
1. Web crawling
2. Indexing
3. Searching
· Web search engines work by storing information about many web pages, which they retrieve from the WWW itself. These pages are retrieved by a Web crawler— an automated Web browser which follows every link it sees.
· When a user enters a query into a search engine (typically by using key words), the engine examines its index and provides a listing of best-matching web pages according to its criteria, usually with a short summary containing the document's title and sometimes parts of the text.
· Most search engines support the use of the boolean operators AND, OR and NOT to further specify the search query. Some search engines provide an advanced feature called proximity search which allows users to define the distance between keywords.
ü Home Pages
· The homepage or main page is the URL or local file that automatically loads when a web browser starts and when the browser's "home" button is pressed.
· The term is also used to refer to the front page, webserver directory index, or main web page of a website of a group, company, organization, or individual.
· In some countries, such as Germany, Japan, and South Korea, and formerly in the US, the term "homepage" commonly refers to a complete website (of a company or other organization) rather than to a single web page.
· Also, with more and more people knowing how to navigate the internet easily, the significance of choosing a homepage is almost non-existent.
· Many software companies now automatically set their company's website as the user's homepage.
Web Security, Privacy, and Site-Blocking
ü Web Security and Privacy Concepts
· Stand-alone computers have Security Policy associated with them that can be modified by users with the appropriate rights.
· When a computer joins a domain, the domain Security Policy is applied to the local computer.
· Domain Security Policy will override any changes made to Security Policy at the desktop level.
· Web security defines what the browser will allow web pages to run or store on the computer.
· Browsers have security policies, or systems that enable us to specify which web sites can take what types of actions on our computer.
· Another aspect of web security specifies what information web sites can store on the computer, to track our use of the web site.
ü Cookies
· Cookies are messages that web servers pass to the web browser when we visit Internet sites.
· The browser stores each message in a small file, called cookie.txt.
· When we request another page from the server, the browser sends the cookie back to the server.
· These files typically contain information about our visit to the web page, as well as any information we've volunteered, such as the name and interests.
· Cookies are most commonly used to track web site activity. When we visit some sites, the server gives a cookie that acts as the identification card. Upon each return visit to that site, the browser passes that cookie back to the server.
· In this way, a web server can gather information about which web pages are used the most, and which pages are gathering the most repeat hits.
· Cookies are also used for online shopping. Online stores often use cookies that record any personal information we enter, as well as any items in the electronic shopping cart, so that user don't need to re-enter this information each time we visit the site.
· Servers also use cookies to provide personalized web pages. When we select preferences at a site that uses this option, the server places the information in a cookie. When we return, the server uses the information in the cookie to create a customized page for us.
· Security concerns in cookies
Only the web site that creates a cookie can read it. Additionally, web servers can use only information that you provide or choices that you make while visiting the web site as content in cookies.
Accepting a cookie does not give a server access to the computer or any of the personal information (except for any information that we may have purposely given, as with online shopping). Servers can read only cookies that they have set, so other servers do not have access to the information. Also, it is not possible to execute code from a cookie, and not possible to use a cookie to deliver a virus.
ü Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS)
· The PICS specification enables labels (metadata) to be associated with Internet content.
· It was originally designed to help parents and teachers control what children access on the Internet, but it also facilitates other uses for labels, including code signing and privacy.
· The PICS platform is one on which other rating services and filtering software has been built.
· PICS is a cross-industry working group whose goal is to facilitate the development of technologies to give users of interactive media, such as the Internet, control over the kinds of material to which they and their children have access.
· PICS members believe that individuals, groups and businesses should have easy access to the widest possible range of content selection products, and a diversity of voluntary rating systems.
· In order to advance its goals, PICS will devise a set of standards that facilitate the following:
1. Self-rating:
Enable content providers to voluntarily label the content they create and distribute.
2. Third-party rating:
Enable multiple, independent labeling services to associate additional labels with content created and distributed by others. Services may devise their own labeling systems, and the same content may receive different labels from different services.
3. Ease-of-use:
Enable parents and teachers to use ratings and labels from a diversity of sources to control the information that children under their supervision receive.
ü Content-Rating Services: Safesurf and RSAC
· The two rating systems that are built into Netscape Netwatch are Safesurf and the Recreational Software Advisory.
· Microsoft’s Content Advisor includes only RSAC’s system.
· Safesurf is a parents’ group trying to make the internet a safe and useful tool for children.
· RSAC is a nonprofit corporation and its mission was to issue a rating system for computer games, and it later extended its game-rating system to the Internet.
Audio and video on the web
· With the increased popularity of broadband connections, many sites features music, movie, and television clips which can be viewed or download.
· However the audio or video files are large in size and take a long time to download.
· Since audio and video files are large, streaming was invented.
· Streaming enables the computer to play the beginning of an audio or video file while the rest of the file is still downloading.
· If the file arrives more slowly than the computer plays it, the playback has gaps while the computer waits for more data to play.
ü Popular Audio and Video players
· RealOne Player – plays most popular audio formats and video files, including streaming audio and video. Supports burning audio files on CDs, so we can create our own music CDs.
· Quick Time – plays audio and video files stored in the Quicktime format.
· Windows Media Player – plays both regular and streaming audio and video files, including most audio files and CDs. It supports burning to CDs or copying files to portable media players that support WMA format.
· WinAmp – plays MP3 and windows media files, as well as many other popular music formats, CDs, and streaming audio.
· MusicMatch – plays MP3s and CDs, copies and creates CDs, transfers MP3s to portable media players, and supports internet radio broadcasts.
ü Playing video on the Internet
· The video files are very large in size, meaning a video clip just a few seconds long could take ten minutes or more to download.
· Even using streaming media, where the content is played as it is downloaded, the images were often blocky and tiny.
· With improved video compression techniques and faster internet connections the rich multimedia content can be downloaded or played within seconds.
· Prerecorded video
o Several video formats are in use on the internet.
o Many videos play in windows media player, whereas other videos require RealOne player or Quicktime player.
o We can view the prerecorded video clips using the right player.
· Live video with webcams
o Another source for video broadcasts is the ever-popular webcam.
o These are digital video cameras broadcast from a specific location
o Webcam images are usually updated between every few seconds, although some sites use streaming video for their webcams.
Web site Creation Concepts
ü Basic steps in Creating a site
1. Plan the structure of the site, so that we have an idea what information will be on at least the home page and other key pages.
2. Using the text editor or web page editor, create the pages of the site and save them as HTML files. Use a graphics editor to create or view graphics for the pages.
3. Using browser, view the HTML files created. Check the contents and the links
4. Publish the web site by putting all of its files on a web server.
5. Using the browser, view the web pages as stored on the web server.
6. Publicize the site, get feedback, get new ideas, and repeat the steps.
ü Planning the Site
The planning process involves answering these questions.
1. Who is the audience for the site?
2. What can you put on the site that will interest people?
3. How can we make it easy for people to navigate the site?
4. How the pages are stored on the site?
5. What are the tools needed to develop the site?
Issues to be aware of when planning the web site:
1. Text size
2. Colors
3. Writing for an international audience
4. Privacy
5. Maintenance
6. Accessibility
ü Tools needed to develop the site
1. Text
2. Pictures
3. Animated graphics
4. Audio files
5. Video files
6. Animation files
7. Forma and database information
8. Text editor
9. Drawing programs
10. Clip art gallery
11. Sound or video equipment
Optimizing web graphics
ü Graphics File formats
1. Vector images consist if lines and various shapes outlined and filled with colors or shadings.
2. Bitmap images consist of colored dots, or pixels. Web documents commonly use bitmap images in two formats: Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) and Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG).
ü Common programs for creating GIF and JPEG files
Generally, Graphics programs are of three varieties:
1. Paint and photo programs – Enables to read different image files and customize them for web use. Eg: Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia fireworks
2. Illustration programs – focus on creating images, principally vector graphics and have features for optimizing the bitmap files. Eg: Adobe Illustrator and CorelDraw.
3. Graphics Utilities - small programs with simple features that focus on converting images from one format to another.
Graphics program that are widely available:
1. Microsoft Paint
2. Adobe PhotoShop
3. Adobe ImageReady
4. Macromedia Fireworks
5. Paint Shop Pro
6. Lview pro
ü Optimizing Images
The Best method to decrease file size for a WEB image is to decrease the quality. This does NOT mean the image will not look good on a computer monitor.
Digitized images are normally at a much higher quality (resolution / dots per inch) than a monitor can display.
This step alone will normally reduce the file size to 1/5 of the original. Physical size will not change (Avoid resize until final step).
The Second best method (optional) is to 'crop' off any 'dead' area. For example, center the subject in the picture by cropping the borders.
Using 'resize' to reduce file size is NOT very effective. (usually no more than 1/2 of the original size - even if we take the viewing size below 320 x 240 :( Resize should be used to obtain the 'physical' size you desire i.e resizing - Used alone results in an image that is not really optimized very well.
Minimize the image dimensions by using the smallest practical image height and width.
Minimizing or avoiding certail types of Image content.
Minimizing and flattening colors.
FTP and Peer-to-peer
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a network protocol used to transfer data from one computer to another through a network, such as the Internet.
FTP is a file transfer protocol for exchanging and manipulating files over any TCP-based computer network. A FTP client may connect to a FTP server to manipulate files on that server. As there are many FTP client and server programs available for different operating systems, FTP is a popular choice for exchanging files independent of the operating systems involved.
ü Connection methods
FTP runs exclusively over TCP. FTP servers by default listen on port 21 for incoming connections from FTP clients. A connection to this port from the FTP Client forms the control stream on which commands are passed to the FTP server from the FTP client and on occasion from the FTP server to the FTP client. FTP uses out-of-band control, which means it uses a separate connection for control and data. Thus, for the actual file transfer to take place, a different connection is required which is called the data stream. Depending on the transfer mode, the process of setting up the data stream is different.
In active mode, the FTP client opens a dynamic port (49152–65535), sends the FTP server the dynamic port number on which it is listening over the control stream and waits for a connection from the FTP server. When the FTP server initiates the data connection to the FTP client it binds the source port to port 20 on the FTP server.
In order to use active mode, the client sends a PORT command, with the IP and port as argument. The format for the IP and port is "h1,h2,h3,h4,p1,p2". Each field is a decimal representation of 8 bits of the host IP, followed by the chosen data port. For example, a client with an IP of 192.168.0.1, listening on port 49154 for the data connection will send the command "PORT 192,168,0,1,192,2". The port fields should be interpreted as p1×256 + p2 = port, or, in this example, 192×256 + 2 = 49154.
In passive mode, the FTP server opens a dynamic port (49152–65535), sends the FTP client the server's IP address to connect to and the port on which it is listening (a 16 bit value broken into a high and low byte, like explained before) over the control stream and waits for a connection from the FTP client. In this case the FTP client binds the source port of the connection to a dynamic port between 49152 and 65535.
To use passive mode, the client sends the PASV command to which the server would reply with something similar to "227 Entering Passive Mode (127,0,0,1,192,52)". The syntax of the IP address and port are the same as for the argument to the PORT command.
In extended passive mode, the FTP server operates exactly the same as passive mode, however it only transmits the port number (not broken into high and low bytes) and the client is to assume that it connects to the same IP address that was originally connected to. Extended passive mode was added by RFC 2428 in September 1998.
While data is being transferred via the data stream, the control stream sits idle. This can cause problems with large data transfers through firewalls which time out sessions after lengthy periods of idleness. While the file may well be successfully transferred, the control session can be disconnected by the firewall, causing an error to be generated.
The FTP protocol supports resuming of interrupted downloads using the REST command. The client passes the number of bytes it has already received as argument to the REST command and restarts the transfer. In some commandline clients for example, there is an often-ignored but valuable command, "reget" (meaning "get again") that will cause an interrupted "get" command to be continued, hopefully to completion, after a communications interruption.
Resuming uploads is not as easy. Although the FTP protocol supports the APPE command to append data to a file on the server, the client does not know the exact position at which a transfer got interrupted. It has to obtain the size of the file some other way, for example over a directory listing or using the SIZE command.
The objectives of FTP,are:
1. To promote sharing of files (computer programs and/or data).
2. To encourage indirect or implicit use of remote computers.
3. To shield a user from variations in file storage systems among different hosts.
4. To transfer data reliably, and efficiently.
ü Data format
While transferring data over the network, several data representations can be used. The two most common transfer modes are:
1. ASCII mode
2. Binary mode: In "Binary mode", the sending machine sends each file byte for byte and as such the recipient stores the bytestream as it receives it. (The FTP standard calls this "IMAGE" or "I" mode)
In "ASCII mode", any form of data that is not plain text will be corrupted. When a file is sent using an ASCII-type transfer, the individual letters, numbers, and characters are sent using their ASCII character codes. The receiving machine saves these in a text file in the appropriate format (for example, a Unix machine saves it in a Unix format, a Windows machine saves it in a Windows format). Hence if an ASCII transfer is used it can be assumed plain text is sent, which is stored by the receiving computer in its own format. Translating between text formats might entail substituting the end of line and end of file characters used on the source platform with those on the destination platform, e.g. a Windows machine receiving a file from a Unix machine will replace the line feeds with carriage return-line feed pairs. It might also involve translating characters; for example, when transferring from an IBM mainframe to a system using ASCII, EBCDIC characters used on the mainframe will be translated to their ASCII equivalents, and when transferring from the system using ASCII to the mainframe, ASCII characters will be translated to their EBCDIC equivalents.
By default, most FTP clients use ASCII mode. Some clients try to determine the required transfer-mode by inspecting the file's name or contents, or by determining whether the server is running an operating system with the same text file format.
The FTP specifications also list the following transfer modes:
1. EBCDIC mode - this transfers bytes, except they are encoded in EBCDIC rather than ASCII. Thus, for example, the ASCII mode server
2. Local mode - this is designed for use with systems that are word-oriented rather than byte-oriented.
ü FTP and web browsers
Most recent web browsers and file managers can connect to FTP servers, although they may lack the support for protocol extensions such as FTPS. This allows manipulation of remote files over FTP through an interface similar to that used for local files. This is done via an FTP URL, which takes the form ftp(s)://
ü List of FTP commands
Commands used by the FTP client software as opposed to the user are often described as raw FTP commands.
· ABOR - Abort an active file transfer.
· ACCT - Account information.
· ALLO - Allocate sufficient disk space to receive a file.
· APPE - Append.
· CDUP - Change to Parent Directory.
· CLNT - Send FTP Client Name to server.
· CWD - Change working directory.
· DELE - Delete file.
· EPSV - Enter extended passive mode
· EPRT - Specifies an extended address and port to which the server should connect.
· FEAT - Get the feature list implemented by the server. GET - Use to download a file from remote
· HELP - Returns usage documentation on a command if specified, else a general help document is returned.
· LIST - Returns information of a file or directory if specified, else information of the current working directory is returned.
· LPSV - Enter long passive mode.
· LPRT - Specifies a long address and port to which the server should connect
· MDTM - Return the last-modified time of a specified file.
· MGET - Use to download multiple files from remote.
· MKD - Make directory (folder).
· MNT - Mount File Structure.
· MODE - Sets the transfer mode (Stream, Block, or Compressed).
· MPUT - Use to upload multiple files to remote.
· NLST - Returns a list of filenames in a specified directory.
· NOOP - No operation (dummy packet; used mostly on keepalives).
· OPTS - Select options for a feature.
· PASS - Authentication password.
· PASV - Enter passive mode.
· PORT - Specifies an address and port to which the server should connect.
· PUT - Use to upload a file to remote.
· PWD - Print working directory. Returns the current directory of the host.
· QUIT - Disconnect.
· REIN - Re initializes the connection.
· REST - Restart transfer from the specified point.
· RETR - Retrieve (download) a remote file.
· RMD - Remove a directory.
· RNFR - Rename from.
· RNTO - Rename to.
· SITE - Sends site specific commands to remote server.
· SIZE - Return the size of a file.
· SMNT - Mount file structure.
· STAT - Returns the current status.
· STOR - Store (upload) a file.
· STOU - Store file uniquely.
· STRU - Set file transfer structure.
· SYST - Return system type.
· TYPE - Sets the transfer mode
· UMNT - Unmount file structure.
· USER - Authentication username
ü Peer-to-peer Architecture
Often referred to simply as peer-to-peer, or abbreviated P2P, peer-to-peer architecture is a type of network in which each workstation has equivalent capabilities and responsibilities. This differs from client/server architectures where some computers are dedicated to serving the others. Peer-to-peer networks are generally simpler but they usually do not offer the same performance under heavy loads. The P2P network itself relies on computing power at the ends of a connection rather than from within the network itself.
P2P is often mistakenly used as a term to describe one user linking with another user to transfer information and files through the use of a common P2P client to download MP3s, videos, images, games and other software. This, however, is only one type of P2P networking. Generally, P2P networks are used for sharing files, but a P2P network can also mean Grid Computing or Instant messaging.
ü Types of P2P NetworksPeer-to-peer networks come in three flavors. The category classification is based on the network and application.
Collaborative Computing
Also referred to as distributed computing, it combines the idle or unused CPU processing power and/or free disk space of many computers in the network. Collaborative computing is most popular with science and biotech organizations where intense computer processing is required. Examples of distributed computing can be found at GRID.ORG where United Devices is hosting virtual screening for cancer research on the Grid MP platform. This project has evolved into the largest computational chemistry project in history. United Devices has harnessed the power of more than 2,000,000 PCs around the world to generate more than 100 teraflops of power. Most distributed computing networks are created by users volunteering their unused computing resources to contribute to public interest research projects.
Instant Messaging
One very common form of P2P networking is Instant Messaging (IM) where software applications, such as MSN Messenger or AOL Instant Messenger, for example, allow users to chat via text messages in real-time. While most vendors offer a free version of their IM software others have begun to focus on enterprise versions of IM software as business and corporations have moved towards implementing IM as a standard communications tool for business.
Affinity Communities
Affinity communities is the group of P2P networks that is based around file-sharing and became widely known and talked about due to the public legal issues surrounding the direct file sharing group, Napster. Affinity Communities are based on users collaborating and searching other user's computers for information and files.
ü How Peer-to-peer File-sharing Clients WorkOnce you have downloaded and installed a P2P client, if you are connected to the Internet you can launch the utility and you are then logged into a central indexing server. This central server indexes all users who are currently online connected to the server. This server does not host any files for downloading. The P2P client will contain an area where you can search for a specific file. The utility queries the index server to find other connected users with the file you are looking for. When a match is found the central server will tell you where to find the requested file. You can then choose a result from the search query and your utility when then attempt to establish a connection with the computer hosting the file you have requested. If a successful connection is made, you will begin downloading the file. Once the file download is complete the connection will be broken.
A second model of P2P clients works in the same way but without a central indexing server. In this scenario the P2P software simply seeks out other Internet users using the same program and informs them of your presence online, building a large network of computers as more users install and use the software.
ü P2P Security ConcernsOne major concern of using P2P architecture in the workplace is, of course, network security. Security concerns stem from the architecture itself. Today we find most blocking and routing handles by a specific server within network, but the P2P architecture has no single fixed server responsible for routing and requests. The first step in securing your P2P network is to adopt a strict usage policy within the workplace. In securing your network against attacks and viruses there are two main strategies where focus is on controlling the network access or the focus is put on controlling the files. A protocol-based approach is where system administrators use a software or hardware solution to watch for and block intrusive network traffic being received through the P2P clients. A second method of protection is a software solution which would provide file surveillance to actively search for files based on their type, their name, their signature or even their content.
ü P2P at WorkP2P is not only popular with home users but many small business have come to rely on this cost-effective solution for sharing files with co-workers and clients. P2P promotes the ease of working together when you're not physically located in the same office. In just seconds updated files and data can be shared with peers and confidential files can be blocked for security. Additionally, companies can also block access to Internet music and video files to assist in maintaining a work-oriented P2P network. Not only does this keep the company free and clear from legal issues regarding music downloading and sharing but it also keeps the corporate bandwidth usage down.
Java Features:
The basic features that make Java a powerful and popular programming language are:
ü Platform Independence
o The Write-Once-Run-Anywhere ideal has not been achieved (tuning for different platforms usually required), but closer than with other languages.
ü Object Oriented
o Object oriented throughout - no coding outside of class definitions, including main().
o An extensive class library available in the core language packages.
ü Compiler/Interpreter Combo
o Code is compiled to bytecodes that are interpreted by Java virtual machines (JVM).
o This provides portability to any machine for which a virtual machine has been written.
o The two steps of compilation and interpretation allow for extensive code checking and improved security.
ü Robust
o Exception handling built-in, strong type checking (that is, all data must be declared an explicit type), local variables must be initialized.
ü Several dangerous features of C & C++ eliminated:
o No memory pointers
o No preprocessor
o Array index limit checking
ü Automatic Memory Management
o Automatic garbage collection - memory management handled by JVM.
ü Security
o No memory pointers
o Programs run inside the virtual machine sandbox.
o Array index limit checking
o Code pathologies reduced by
o bytecode verifier - checks classes after loading
o Class loader - confines objects to unique namespaces. Prevents loading a hacked "java.lang.SecurityManager" class, for example.
o Security manager - determines what resources a class can access such as reading and writing to the local disk.
ü Dynamic Binding
o The linking of data and methods to where they are located is done at run-time.
o New classes can be loaded while a program is running. Linking is done on the fly.
o Even if libraries are recompiled, there is no need to recompile code that uses classes in those libraries.
This differs from C++, which uses static binding. This can result in fragile classes for cases where linked code is changed and memory pointers then point to the wrong addresses.
ü Good Performance
o Interpretation of bytecodes slowed performance in early versions, but advanced virtual machines with adaptive and just-in-time compilation and other techniques now typically provide performance up to 50% to 100% the speed of C++ programs.
ü Threading
o Lightweight processes, called threads, can easily be spun off to perform multiprocessing.
o Can take advantage of multiprocessors where available
o Great for multimedia displays.
ü Built-in Networking
o Java was designed with networking in mind and comes with many classes to develop sophisticated Internet communications.
Java Platform:
The Java platform is the name for a bundle of related programs, or platform, from Sun which allow for developing and running programs written in the Java programming language. The platform is not specific to any one processor or operating system, but rather an execution engine (called a virtual machine) and a compiler with a set of standard libraries that are implemented for various hardware and operating systems so that Java programs can run identically on all of them. Different "editions" of the platform are available, including:
ü Java ME (Micro Edition): Specifies several different sets of libraries (known as profiles) for devices which are sufficiently limited that supplying the full set of Java libraries would take up unacceptably large amounts of storage.
ü Java SE (Standard Edition): For general purpose use on desktop PCs, servers and similar devices.
ü Java EE (Enterprise Edition): Java SE plus various APIs useful for multi-tier client-server enterprise applications.
Java Fundamentals:
ü Java is a Strongly Typed Language.
ü The Java Compiler checks all expressions and parameters to ensure that the types are compatible.
ü Data Types: It has Eight Simple Data types which can be put in four groups, they are:
Þ Integers: byte, short, int, and long for whole valued signed numbers.
Þ Floating-point numbers: float, and double for fractional precision.
Þ Characters: char for representing symbols in character set.
Þ Boolean: boolean a special type for representing true/false.
ü Variables: The basic unit of storage in Java Program. And is defined by the combination of an identifier, a type, and an optional initializer. The syntax for declaring a variable is:
type identifier [= value] [ ,identifier [ = value]…];
e.g.: int a = 5, b=6;
ü Type Conversions and Casting:
Þ Java’s Automatic Conversions:
§ The Two types are compatible.
§ The destination type is larger then the source type.
Þ Casting Incompatible Types:
§ Also called as narrowing conversions, since we are explicitly making the value narrower so that it will fit into the target type.
§ A cast is simply a explicit type conversion. The general form is (target type) value e.g. int a; byte b; b = (byte) a;
ü Arrays:
Þ An array is a group of variables of the same data type and referred to by a common name. An array is contiguous block of memory locations referred by a common name.
E.g. char[] s;
Class[] Obj;
Þ Like all objects we use the new keyword to create an array.
s = new char[10];
Þ Types of Arrays:
§ One Dimensional Array.
type array_name []; //type is the datatype of the array.
§ Multi – Dimensional Array.
type array_name = new type [rows] [cols];
Expressions:
In Java, arithmetic, boolean, and String expressions are written in conventional mathematical infix notation, adapted to the standard computer character set (called ASCII). For example, the Scheme expression (and (< (+ (* x x) (* y y)) 25) (> x 0)) is written in Java as (x*x + y*y > 25) && (x > 0.)
Operators:
ü Java provides a rich operator environment. And it can be classified into four groups as:
Þ Arithmetic: Used in mathematical expressions. They are: +, -, *, /.
Þ Bitwise: It operates on individual bits of integer values. They are: &, , ~,
Þ Relational: It compares two values and determines the relationship between them. They are: ==, !=, <, >, <=, and >=
Þ Logical: It is an easy way to handle multiple conditions. They are: &&, and, !.
Control Structures:
ü Statements that support repetition and conditional execution are called control statements or control structures.
ü They are of two type: They are:
o Branching Statements: - They are If and Switch Statements.
o Looping Statements: - They are for, while, and do-while loops.
Simple If Statement:
ü Syntax: if ( Expression ) Statement.
ü Semantics: The expression must be of type boolean. If it evaluates to true, the given statement is executed, otherwise not.
ü Note that there is only one statement. To execute more than one statement conditionally, a block statement is to be used.
ü Example:
int x=3;
if (x > 2)
{
System.out.println("The value of x is greater than 2.");
}
If – Else Statement:
ü Syntax: if ( Expression ) Statement1 else Statement2
ü Semantics: The expression must be of type boolean. If it evaluates to true, Statement1 is executed, otherwise Statement2.
ü Example:
// guess != secretNumber
if (guess <> secretNumber
System.out.println("Too large!");
}
Nested If – Else Statement:
ü The execution evaluates all conditional expressions beginning from Expression1 until the first expression is found that evaluates to true. Then the corresponding statement sequence is executed, or, if none of the expressions evaluated to true, the statement sequence of the final else part.
ü Example:
if (guess == secretNumber)
{
System.out.println("Congratulations!");
}
else if (guess <> secretNumber
System.out.println("Too large!");
}
Switch Statements:
ü Switch statements are shorthand’s for a certain kind of if statement.
ü It allows for any number of possible execution paths. It works with the byte, short, char, and int primitive data types. It also works with enumerated types (discussed in Classes and Inheritance) and a few special classes that "wrap" certain primitive types:
ü Example:
int month = 8;
switch (month)
{
case 1: System.out.println("January"); break;
case 2: System.out.println("February"); break;
case 3: System.out.println("March"); break;
case 4: System.out.println("April"); break;
case 5: System.out.println("May"); break;
case 6: System.out.println("June"); break;
case 7: System.out.println("July"); break;
case 8: System.out.println("August"); break;
case 9: System.out.println("September"); break;
case 10: System.out.println("October"); break;
case 11: System.out.println("November"); break;
case 12: System.out.println("December"); break;
default: System.out.println("Invalid month.");break;
}
For Loop:
ü The for is Java’s multipurpose loop controller.
ü Syntax: for ( InitStatement ; Expression1 ; Expression2 ) Statement
ü Semantics: The for loop comes close to a while construct:
ü Example:
int factorial = 1;
for (int count=1; count < count =" 1;" count =" 1;" c1 =" new" c2 =" new" name =" input;" p1 =" new" p2 =" new" ob =" new" i =" 88;" name =" n;" stunum =" sn;" stu =" new" radius =" radius;" length =" length;" mycircle =" new" mycylinder =" new" in =" new" content_pane =" getContentPane" flow_panel =" new" content_pane =" getContentPane" border_panel =" new" content_pane =" getContentPane" grid_panel =" new" content_pane =" getContentPane" grid_bag_panel =" new" constraints =" new" fill =" GridBagConstraints.BOTH;" weighty =" 1.0;" weightx =" 1.0;" gridx =" 0;" gridy =" 0;" weightx =" 0.5;" gridx =" 1;" gridy =" 0;" weightx =" 0.1;" gridx =" 2;" gridy =" 0;" weightx =" 1.0;" gridx =" 0;" gridy =" 1;" gridheight =" 2;" weightx =" 1.0;" gridx =" 1;" gridy =" 1;" gridheight =" 1;" gridwidth =" 2;" fill =" GridBagConstraints.NONE;" anchor =" GridBagConstraints.SOUTHEAST;" weightx =" 0.5;" gridx =" 1;" gridy =" 2;" gridheight =" 1;" gridwidth =" 1;" anchor =" GridBagConstraints.WEST;" weightx =" 0.1;" gridx =" 2;" gridy =" 2;" gridheight =" 1;" gridwidth =" 1;" mythread=" new" i="0;" length ="="" in =" System.in;" in =" new" total =" 0;" from =" (byte)" to =" (byte)" b =" System.in.read())" b ="="" length ="="" in =" new" in =" new" spaces =" 0;" total =" 0;" ch =" in.read())" conn =" null;" url = "jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/" dbname = "jdbctutorial" driver = "com.mysql.jdbc.Driver" username = "root" password = "root" conn =" DriverManager.getConnection(url+dbName,userName,password);" out =" response.getWriter();" thisaddress=" (InetAddress.getLocalHost()).toString();" thisport="3232;" address="+thisAddress+" port="+thisPort); try{ // create the registry and bind the name and object. registry = LocateRegistry.createRegistry( thisPort ); registry.rebind(" s="new" serveraddress="args[0];" serverport="args[1];" text="args[2];" registry="LocateRegistry.getRegistry(" rmiserver=" (ReceiveMessageInterface)(registry.lookup(" name =" name;" deceased =" deceased;" person =" new">
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