Internet Fundamentals: Protocols (TCP/IP, DNS) and Collaboration Tools
Packet Switching Protocol: Understanding TCP/IP
The Internet connects computers around the world regardless of the operating system used and the subnet to which they belong. A common and unique protocol is necessary so that all computers can correctly interpret and understand the information that flows between them.
The TCP/IP Protocol Suite
The TCP/IP is actually a system of protocols, based on dividing the information into packets at the source. These packets are sent through the network, traveling along different paths to reach their destination and reassemble back together again.
What is a Host?
A host refers to a computer whose function is to provide a starting and ending point for data transfers via the Internet. It is typically a computer that is permanently connected to the Internet and accessible to all others connected to it.
Public vs. Private IP Addresses
The public IP address is used to identify your computer when browsing the Internet, downloading mail, or making use of any services provided by the network.
The private IP address is one that your computer is assigned. It identifies the computer only on the local network.
The Domain Name System (DNS)
The number of users grew exponentially, so remembering the IP addresses of each one became impossible.
Domain Name Servers are computers that function by relating the domain name (when seeking information) with its corresponding IP address, and vice-versa (the IP address with the domain name).
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
It is a sequence of characters that follows a standard format, identifying individual Internet resources by their location.
Standard URL Format
Protocol://domain name server/directory/file
Collaborative Tools on the Internet
The Internet is intended to be a great source of information where you can find all kinds of documents. New tools have emerged on the network aimed at achieving specific tasks, especially work involving the participation and collaboration of many people. These new tools include wikis, blogs, RSS, and BSCW.
WIKIs
Wikis are one of the most innovative forms of collaboration that the Internet offers. A wiki is a website built upon the work of many authors. One of the main problems of wikis is vandalism, which includes introducing errors, inappropriate or offensive content, adding advertising, proselytizing, including material that violates copyright, or disregarding the rules of the wiki.
Wiki vs. Blog: Key Differences
The difference between wikis and blogs is that a wiki is a site built in collaboration by all those who wish to participate, aiming to create a place of knowledge. In contrast, blogs are typically created by a single person where articles and opinions are published, often curated by the author, sometimes without a specific final goal.
Blogs (Weblogs)
Blogs are now a medium for opinion, used by countless people, with different objectives: to express their views on political topics, communicate a feeling, reporting on a specific theme, etc. A Weblog is a website that allows a person or group to make their opinions available to all Internet users, facilitating the exchange of views among users and the web author.
The features of blogs are:
- An entry is each of the articles published by the blog author.
- Entries and comments published on a blog are arranged chronologically.
- They contain a list of recommended links to other blogs, which is often called a blogroll.
- You can include text, images, and video.
BSCW (Basic Support for Cooperative Work)
Basic Support for Cooperative Work (BSCW) is a tool for creating shared web workspaces where projects can be developed and maintained, stored in a completely reliable and secure manner, accessible from different platforms. Some of the advantages of BSCW are:
- Create areas of work between people in different parts of the world.
- The work areas have restricted access only to registered members.
- Documents published in the areas of work are available at any time and for any user.
- The information contained in the BSCW can be read and modified.
RSS (Really Simple Syndication)
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication (or sometimes translated as ‘Retransmission Site’ in Spanish/Castilian contexts). It is a method used to publish articles simultaneously in different media through a common source. It provides content in a format that makes it easy for anyone wanting to include it on their own web pages.
RSS Readers
To read RSS feeds, special programs called RSS Readers are required, although these functionalities are currently included in most modern web browsers.