Unit G The Web and E-Commerce

Computer Concepts – Illustrated 8th edition

Unit G: The Web and E-CommerceUnit G: The Web and E-Commerce

Computer Concepts – Illustrated 8th Edition 2

Objectives

Introduce Web technology

Explore Web browsers

Examine Other Web and Internet services

Examine Web page features



Objectives (continued)

Use search engines

Introduce e-commerce

Secure e-commerce transactions

Enhance Web technology



Introducing Web Technology

Internet: a communications network that transmits data

Web: a collection of documents called Web pages that are accessed over the Internet and are related by using links

Web page: a document that can contain text, graphics, video, and audio A Web page is an HTML document

Web site: a collection of related Web pages



Introducing Web Technology (continued)

Browser (or a Web browser): software that displays Web page elements

Link (or hyperlink): a navigation tool on a Web page Hypertext

URL (Uniform Resource Locator): the address for a Web page

Web resource: any data file that has a URL HTML document, graphic, video, sound file,

etc.


Figure G-2: How Web pages get to your computer


Introducing Web Technology (continued)

Web server: a computer that uses special software to transmit Web pages over the Internet

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol): the communications protocol used to transport data over the Web

HTTP status code: indicates whether or not the browser’s request can be fulfilled “404 Not Found” message


Exploring Web Browsers

Popular browsers: Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer (IE) Mozilla Firefox Google Chrome Apple Safari (for the Mac)

Tabs: a way to view more than one Web page within one browser window

Favorite (or bookmark): a saved link to a Web site


Figure G-3: Popular browsers


Exploring Web Browsers (continued)

Helper application Also called add-on, plug-in, or player Extends a browser’s ability

Installing browser updates is important

Web pages can be viewed on PDAs, smartphones, and other portable computing devices

Web cache: stores temporary Web files


Examining Other Web and Internet Services

FTP (file transfer protocol): provides a way to transfer files from one computer to another over any TCP/IP network

Podcast (or Webcast): an audio file distributed through downloads or a feed

RSS: a format for feeding or syndicating content from Web sites to user’s computer

Social networking: use of the Web to stay connected with family, friends, colleagues Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Bebo


Examining Other Web and Internet Services (continued)

Blog: a Web site where people can provide commentary or news on a particular subject Can also use as personal online diaries

Wiki: a collaborative Web site that can be accessed and edited by anyone Wikipedia

Communicating in real time: instant messaging (IM), Voice over IP

Web 2.0 refers to new and innovative ways of using the Web


Figure G-8: Wikipedia


Examining Web Page Features

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) A set of specifications for creating HTML

documents that a browser can display as a Web page

HTML is a markup language HTML tags specify how the document

should appear when displayed XHTML is the version after HTML 4


Figure G-10: A source HTML document and its Web page


Examining Web Page Features (continued)

Mailto: link Automatically opens a preaddressed email

form

HTML tags are used to create links to other Web documents

Web page authoring tools Text editors, such as Notepad HTML conversion utility Web authoring software Online Web page authoring tools


Using Search Engines

Web search engine (or search engine) A program designed to help people locate

information on the Web Contains four components:

• Web crawler: combs the Web to gather data that is representative of the Web pages

• Indexer: makes pages easy to find based on their contents

• Database• Query processor: looks for search terms in

the database and displays a list of relevant Web sites in browser


Figure G-12: Search results


Using Search Engines (continued)

Order of Web sites in search results Depends on relevancy criteria, such as:

• Key word matches• Link popularity

Keyword stuffing: an unethical practice in which meta keywords are manipulated to gain high relevancy rankings

Boolean operator (or a search operator): a word or symbol that describes a relationship between keywords AND, OR, NOT


Introducing E-Commerce

E-commerce: financial transactions conducted over a computer network B2C (business-to-consumer) e-

commerce C2C (consumer-to-consumer) e-

commerce B2B (business-to-business) e-commerce B2G (business-to-government) e-

commerce


Figure G-15: E-commerce shopping


Introducing E-Commerce (continued)

Online shopping cart (or online shopping bag): cyberspace version of a shopping cart Most shopping carts work by using cookies

• Cookie: data generated by a Web server and stored in a text file on user’s computer

• Users can choose to allow cookies or not

Advertising on Web sites Banner ad Pop-up ad Banner and pop-up ads earn revenue based

on click-through rate


Securing E-Commerce Transactions

Password security used to prevent unauthorized access

A secure connection encrypts the data transmitted between a computer and a site

Technologies that create secure connections include: SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) TLS (Transport Layer Security) S-HTTP (secure HTTP)

Encryption: science of coding data


Figure G-18: Identifying a secure connection


Securing E-Commerce Transactions (continued)

Ways to pay for online purchases: Submitting credit card number directly Using a third-party payment service, such

as PayPal• Person-to-person payment

Electronic wallets One-time-use credit card numbers


Enhancing Web Technology

HTML script: a series of program instructions Allow Web pages to be interactive

HTML form: used to collect user input for different types of Web sites

Scripts can run on a client or a server Server-side script: scripting statements

that run on a server Client-side script: scripting statements that

run on user’s local computer


Figure G-20: HTML form


Enhancing Web Technology (continued)

Java applet: an application written in the Java programming language Java applets are fairly safe

ActiveX control: a compiled program that can be referenced from within an HTML document, downloaded, installed, and executed ActiveX controls include digital certificates

to increase their security


Talking Points: Regulating the Web

Internet hosts a significant amount of provocative and disturbing material “Netizens”: members of the online

community of the Internet Censorship advocates Free-speech supporters Cybercensorship In many countries, free speech is not a

basic right conferred to all citizens• “Great Firewall of China”


Summary

This chapter introduced: Technologies that bring the Web to user’s

computer screen Tools that user’s use to view and navigate

Web pages E-commerce Technologies that enhance user’s Web

experience Issues regarding censorship on the Web

Documents

Unit G The Web and E-Commerce