This page was recently restructured. The contents on the World Wide Web are now divided into several pages. The page of introduction to the World Wide Web ( this page) contains an introduction and a description of the elements that one finds on Web pages and Web sites.
There is also a page containing advices for the conception of Web pages, the promotion of the site and the publication. Both following pages are for the conception of Web pages by using Netscape Composer or Microsoft Word. There are many of the small advices that are included on these pages. The next page contains a description of the elements that one finds in a form of a Web page as well as its advantages and the limitations. To end, there is a page that contains the HTML codes that one finds on all the pages of Web. By understanding their functioning, you can create better Web pages.
Introduction
World Wide is Web became quickly the service the most used on the Internet. It's what returned the "Internet" word a word of our jargon of every day for the most part of among us. The "boldher" of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, created bases in March, 1989. It created Hypertext Markup Language ( HTML) from another format used for documents levy the SGML. The WWW works in using the concept of hypertext. Inside a page, there are keywords or images that have links that, when you click above, bring you to another Web page.
This "explosion" of popularity began in 1995. There was about 70 million Web pages on the world wide Web in 1996. The figure was estimated(esteemed) at 200 million pages in 1997. In August, 1999, the number exceeded 800 million pages. In March, 2000, one passed in millars 1,5 of pages. One speaks about more than milliars 2 today. One of reason is the ease to create a Web page. All the popular software of word processor can now convert their documents in size(format) of Web page ( HTML). But, there are also software specialized for the conception that are even more powerful.
The size(format) of the files of Web pages is called the HTML format for Hyper Texte Markup Langage. This size(format) consists of codes for the various available options. An instruction is always framed(supervised) among one <. The majority of the instructions work in peers to indicate the beginning and the end of an option. These instructions are almost identical without the command of the end has the character "/" in this one. For example, the instructions < P> and < / P > indicate the beginning and the end of a paragraph. So, the instructions < B > and < / B > indicates the beginning and the end of the stake in bold (bold) characters from these. There are also instructions that work only such as < BR > to end a line and begin on the line at once down. Some of the basic instructions will be described on the next pages of this section.
The HTML format does not offer all the same possibilities that a document common Word. The level of control of the presentation is limited. The presentation changes according to the resolution of the screen of the computer of the user. On PC, the resolutions of the screen most often used are of 640 by 480 pixels (points of light), 800 X 600 and 1024 X 768. There are even the resolutions 1200 X 1024 and 1600 X 1280 for the screens of 17 , 19 and 21 inches. All this to say that the same text will appear differently according to the resolution chosen by the user and not the designer.
Another difficulty of the HTML format is that it's far from being certain that the font that you use for your Web page is available on the computer of the reader. The system of operation of the computer will substitute for a font that is available.
What is the difference between a Web page and a Web site?
A Web page is a file, as the one that contains of the text, the images and the links on the other pages. A Web site is a group pages on a subject, a subject, a business, an organization. For example, this site contains 85 pages containing more than 950 images. A Web site has also a main page. It's the Web page that helps the readers to navigate the site to find the deliberate data.
A Web site should be also structured. How is a Web page connected with the other one? Are there one or several roads or route(course) that the readers can use to navigate through the site? For example, this site concentrates on the forming(training) of the data processing. It covers six subjects: General, Internet, Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint. At the beginning and at the end of every page, there are several navigation buttons to go to the previous or following page of the subject in question then to return to the page of forming(training). The information page gives you the choice of the various subjects and returns you to this page after the "tour" of the pages of the subject.
You heard(understood) certainly the expression of " surfer on Web ". In fact, the users glance through quickly pages until they find what they need. So, it's necessary to structure a site to help them to find easily. This can be made by using a plan of the site, or a " site map " in English, research tools for the site, the good main page and especially the good structure of the site.
The elements of a Web page
Text
The most important on a Web page is always the contents. But, one can change the presentation of the text by changing font, by changing the color and the size of the text. You will use the same options as you would make it for a common document.
Regrettably, the HTML format offers also an option that is very disagreeable: the option of the blinking. You can make flash of the text, a word, one lines in your choice. It was created to draw the attention. It makes(does) too well is work because it gene the reading besides of the text. To avoid.
Images
The images are important constituents of a Web page. They draw the attention and supply with the additional data in the text. They should not however replace the contents of the text. It's also possible to align of the text next to the image.
On the World Wide Web, there are only three sizes(formats) of images that are supported(born). The GIF ( Graphic Interchange Format), JPG (JPEG or Joined Photograph Experts Group) and PNG (Portable Network Graphic) is the only sizes(formats) of images supported(born) on the World Wide Web. You should convert any image that you have in one of these sizes(formats) to be able to show it.
The size(format) GIF is used to show drawings, diagrams or charts. This size(format) limits you to a palette that consists at most of 256 colors. Certain colors ( 40 ) are already reserved because they are used by the presentation of the windows of Windows (black, white, grey, blue...). So, you can choose 216 colors from the possible millions. The size(format) JPEG is especially used to show photos or diagrams having more than 256 colors. The size(format) PNG offers a better compression ratio than a size(format) GIF. So, for the same image, the image in size(format) PNG will have a smaller size of file and will transfer more quickly in the screen of the user. The only problem is that it's about a size(format) little known or used by the designers of Web pages.
Links
One of the basic characteristics of a Web page is that she should have at least a link on another page or another site. A Web page without at least a link is unthinkable! There is at least a link that returns to the address of the previous page or to the main page of the site. A link can be placed on the text or on the image.
The action that will arrive mostly when you'll click a link is to bring you to another Web page. But the system of addressing URL, for Uniform Ressource Locator in English, allows to reach several services of the Internet. A link can have various types of actions. By clicking a link, this one can:
+To bring you to another Web page.
+To bring you to another place on same Web page.
+Open a box of E-mail. If your Browser holds(detains) the data about your address of E-mail, the address of your server, your account number on this server and your password. Otherwise you'll have an error message.
+Reach the other services on the Internet: Newsgroups, FTP, Gopher, Telnet, terminal emulator IBM 3270
+To reach documents other than Web pages.
place the cursor by top(above) a link. At the foot of the screen, you'll see the address of the page that you'll see if press you on the link. If this address begins by:
Http:// HyperText Transfer Protocol service for Web pages
Mailto:adresse of E-mail Send a message. This link is only going to work if you already have to enter the Browser your name, your address of E-mail, the name of the server where is located your mail(courier's) box, the name of the box or your account and your password.
Ftp://name of a server FTP Protocol transfer takes off to transfer files of or towards servers.
News://name of a newsgroup List of newsgroups or usenet.
Gopher://name of a server to gopher Reach servers Gopher.
Telnet://name of a server Allows to reach accounts and to manage them.
Tn3270://name of a server Émuler an air terminal IBM 3270.
A link can have several forms. You can attach a link to the text, to the image and even to the part of an image. A link in the text is generally of a different color besides of the text and is often underlined. Unless the designer of the page changes the color of the link, this one is generally of the blue color.
It's also possible to put a link on an image. Each of the "buttons" in the height and at the bottom of the pages of this site is images that have a link on another page. It's also possible to make links on various parts of the same image. There are many of this kind of images on the "the most visual" sites of the World Wide Web. From the image below, you have access to 8 various pages of this site. place the cursor on one of the words and click the left mouse button to see the result. Sorry. This option works only in graphic mode. For the students of the university, this option is not available from your account Merlin that is in mode text.
For more details of the links and the other elements of a Web page, read pages on the conception of Web pages from Word and from Netscape Compose. These two pages already offer all the necessary data and more still.
Link on a bookmark
It's also possible of resources of bookmarks, " bookmarks " in English, on a page. They are links inside the same page. For example, almost all the pages of this site have at the beginning a list of the subjects. click the text and the Browser transports you farther on the same Web page. They are bookmarks. However, bookmarks are not "compulsory" in the conception of a Web page. But they help the readers of the page to find quickly the contents that they need.
When you click a link, the Browser transports you on another Web page. However, when you click a bookmark, the Browser transports you in another place of the same Web page. To know if you are on the same page in a bookmark, look at the address of the Web page. The character "*" is used to indicate the name of the bookmark. For example, this page is called www.htm. If you click the bookmark introduction, the address will be www.htm*intro.
But how make the difference between both types? It's necessary to look at the address of the Web page.
All the pages on World Wide Web have an unique address. They begin all by " http://" to indicate the service that is World Wide Web. The address consists of the name of the server ( www.er.uqam.ca ), the number of the account ( xw999998 ), of the name of the directory (nobody in that case) and of the name of the document. The name of the file ends generally by " .htm " or " .html ". The character "*" indicates that it's about a part of the same page. Some of the sections of introduction of the pages of this site have shortcuts in sections of the same page.
So, ../www.htm* intro is on the same page as http://www.er.uqam.ca / axe / xw999998 / www.htm.
Relative and absolute addresses
As you saw it in the previous section, when you make a link, you should write the address of the Web page on that you want "to jump" when you click the link. There are two kinds of addresses: absolute and relative.
The absolute address wants to say the complete address. You should give the name of the service and the server, the account or the directory when there is besides the name a page. For example, the address absolved from this page is http://www.er.uqam.ca / axe / xw999998 / www.htm. It gives the name of the service (http://), the name of the domain ( www.er.uqam.ca ), the name of the server (axe), the name of the account ( xw999998 ) and the name of the file ( conceptw.htm ). It's long to write! Besides, when you use the absolute address, the Browser sending a demand for the server DNS (Domain Name Server) the closest to make sure that the server exists and to have the IP address of the server.
Every computer that is connected to the Internet at an address unique IP, that it's an user or a server. However, few persons are interested to remember an address IP that consists of a series of 4 figures, each of 3 characters. Ex: 132.215.202.049. It's for that reason that the names of domains were created. It's much easier to remember of www.uqam.ca than its address IP. Because it's not practical that all the computers save the list of all other computers, the server DNS keeps a complete list and up to date names of domains and their addresses respective IP. This address returned then to the Browser who makes(does) then a demand for the address IP.
So, besides writing a long address, it's even necessary to wait much longer to have the IP address of the wanted server. Fortunately, there are also the relative addresses. If the Web page is in the same directory (or file) as the page at present shown in the screen, it's possible to add a "direct" link that consists of only the name of the file. What do you prefer, http://www.er.uqam.ca / axe / xw999998 / www.htm or www.htm? It's also easier to manage, especially if one "moves" the site completely on another server. No need to redo all the links. But, I repeat, a relative link works only if the current page and the page on that you want to make a link is in the same directory (or file). If the page a link of that you want to make is in another account, another file or another server, you should use the address absolved from the page. This applies also when you make reference to images. You can make reference to an image on another server if you want it.
Tables
Tables are practical to present of the data. In the HTML format, it's also an excellent tool to control the presentation in the screen. On a Web page, there are no tools as tabulations or columns to align of the text. However, you can put in the cells of various sizes of elements as text, images, options for a form etc. It's also possible to use to it to show the text on several columns. Nobody sees the difference if the border of cells is transparent. Did you notice that the list of the services available on the Internet that were mentioned above was a table?
The other elements you can find on a Web page
Forms
The code HTML contains codes to create forms who can give a feedback to the designers of the site. Among these codes, there is a button hook, a radio button and a button " X " to say if yes or not you are interested in an option. There are also déroulantes lists that allow you to choose among several possibilities. There are also boxes or you can enter of the text, that it's some characters or a text completely.
Word 97 and Netscape Composer don't offer tools to create a form. However, most of the publishers(editors) dedicated to the conception of Web page can create forms with elements mentioned above and some the others. click here to see a small form that was created on this site. It's going to demonstrate you the elements that you go to find in a form.
CGI (Common gateway interface), JAVA, JavaScript, PERL
The HTML format is indeed for the presentation but has its limitations on the programming what would allow some more to develop of potential for Web. He can be however completed by "scripts" made in language PERL. That it's to improve the presentation or create games, on Web, its programming enriches the experience(experiment) of the user of Web.
Another language that offers more options is the language JAVA. The Internet was gone(taken) up from several protocols. The basic concept of the language JAVA is to allow to make a program on several platforms (PC, Macintosh, UNIX...) but that no change is necessary. This is now possible thanks to the World Wide Web and to the Internet.
The "hits" meter.
The meter is generally a small script in language PERL that shows the number of times when a page was asked by the users of Web. This possibility allows you to accumulate statistics on the use of your page.
This option was very popular some years ago. But there are now fewer and fewer sites that show a meter. Maybe they understood that there are few demands for their pages. There are certain access providers in the Internet that accumulate these statistics and that can supply them to you. For the big companies, there are available software that settle down on the server that count the demand for each of the pages of their site. This allows them to see that are the most popular elements as well as the least popular. Having these data in hand, the company can adjust the message that it passes on on its site. It's another way to have a " feedback " of the users.
This site uses the statistics supplied free of charge by the Internet company HitBox.com in exchange for the promotion at the foot of each of the pages. Some of the comments were describe on pages of the novelties of the site. There is certainly an equivalent service supplied by your access provider in the Internet or by another company of your region. For those that are serious on the use of their Web site, it's a very practical tool. {HitBox.com}
Another way of knowing the popularity of a site is to look at the number of "hits". Every demand for an object on the server is called a "hit". So, a Web page having three images amounts to four hits. Several access providers in the Internet give you the access to the statistics of your account. It's necessary to see with your supplier.
Frames
It's possible to separate the screen between several Web pages. The Web page that contains the code to separate the screen among several Web pages is called in English a "frame". The code determines the width of each of the windows and its initial contents. The main page of the UQAM is a frame. It separates the screen in four parts. The left parts and in the bottom have navigation buttons to go on the other Web pages of the site of the university. In the left lower corner meets itself the logo of the UQAM. It's the right top that changes as you presse of the navigation buttons of the other parts of the screen. This option is really practical when one wants that the navigation buttons are available any time. It's not necessary to use it in any occasion. It can make the reading of pages, or its printing, more difficult.
Regrettably, Word 97 does not offer the option to create frames. But Word 2000 (included in Office 2000) is capable of creating and of managing executives. Besides the main page of the UQAM, this site has also a small example of a frame. click this link to see it.
Be careful!
It's necessary to pay attention at the time of asking for an printing. It's first necessary "to click" the page containing the data that interests you. It's only after it's necessary to ask for the printing. Otherwise, the Browser will print the contents of the first one centres in the screen and not what you'll have wanted.
CSS, DHTML and XML
You also go to hear(understand) terms such as CSS (Cascading Style Sheet), DHTML (Dynamic Hypertext Markup Language) and XML ( Extensible Markup Language). They try all of various ways to answer the gaps of the HTML format that is for the presentation or for the electronic business.
The navigation
There are several software to navigate, or "surfer", the World Wide Web. These are called the "pries" in French, the "browsers" in English. Both more popular result from companies Netscape and Microsoft.
Netscape offers two pries: Navigator and Communicator. Navigator offers only the possibility of seeing Web pages, of answering addresses of E-mail if an address appears on a Web page and that you have to enter your coordinates (address of E-mail, name, name of the server where is your account of E-mail etc.). Communicator offer much more tools: see Web pages, access to Newsgroups, E-mail, pad of address of E-mail, conception of Web pages and more still.
Although Microsoft in taken time to react in the field of the pries and although it in taken some version to offer a Browser who could compétitionner with what Netscape offered, the competition is now very wild between these two companies. Both you offer of excellent products that are free if to look to you for them directly on the Internet. Otherwise, there are loads(responsibilities) of purchase or delivery.
Although it has several pries available, and although each attempt to offer options that one does not find somewhere else, they have the same basic functioning. These include all a navigation bar, a bar of addresses and the other options.
The address bar
The bar of address is used to indicate the name of the service (http://, ftp://, news://...) and the name of the document. One can also use it to write the address of the Web page or the site that you want to visit. The Browser remembers last sites that you saw. He can so suggest you sites while you are spirit to write the address. This applies as much for Internet Explorer as for Netscape Navigator.
So, the button with the arrow pointing downward at the end of the bar shows the list of the last sites that you visited recently. You can choose from this list instead of rewriting it.
The navigation buttons
To be completely able to use a Browser, it's necessary to can how use the buttons of the navigation bar. Here is the representation of the buttons that one finds in Netscape Navigator, version 3 and 4, so that Internet Explorer 5. Next to these, there is a description of the function of each of the buttons.
 |  |  | Return to the previous Web page. While pressing on the small triangle in the right-hand side, you'll see the list of all the pages that you saw previously. You can so return several pages behind very quickly. |
 |  |  | Having put off several pages, this button allows you to return to a Web page if you too much moved back. |
 |  |  | Return to the Web page of departure. For the university, it's about the Web page http://www.uqam.ca |
 |  |  | Reload a Web page that had problems of transfer. If the Web page is incomplete or illegible, use this button. |
 | Active or the view of the images deactivates to accelerate the transfer of the images. | ||
 | To go to the address of a Web page that you know such as http://www.uqam.ca | ||
 |  |  | Print the Web page that is in the screen. |
 | A word finds that is on the Web page in the screen. | ||
 |  |  | You can stop the transfer of a Web page if this one sets too much time. |
 |  | Allows to examine a subject among Web pages on the Internet. Having pressed on the button, this page or a similar appears to the screen. |
With so many Web pages on various subjects, it's difficult to find of the data about the subject that interests us. Fortunately, there are research sites that can help you a lot.
But how do these search sites find the data? There are two ways: programs of automatic query called " spiders " or "robots" and human recherchistes. Spiders is small programs or "robots" that read automatically all the Web pages and the catégorisent according to the first words of the page or the keywords that the designer of the page used to describe this one. The command used is called a META-TAG. It's strongly recommended to add your descriptions of page by using this command. This function is explained during the conception of Web pages with Netscape Composer.
The second technique is longer but gives better results. So, because of the mass of data that to add daily, few research sites use this technique. However, the site will be better cataloged in the categories that an user could find the relevant data.
When you ended the conception of your Web site, you can "subject" your site to one of these research sites to add it in their reference. You should find on the main page of the research site a button or a text " submit " to add in their reference base. There is also a site Submit-it that allows you to add free of charge your site to the references of 40 sites of searches. It's possible to add it to much more sites for a certain monetary sum. don't forget! add meta-tag, with a good description, to help research sites.
While pressing on the search button or query, the Browser shows you the main page of a research site. The reference page gives you a more complete list of sites than those shown here. There is also a list of the other sites that could interest you.
Click in the white box with the cursor.
Write then the subject that interests you and press the button in the right-hand side of the text box to throw(launch) the query.
The text in the button varies from a site to another. He can be written " Find " Go " and so on. The query will not begin as long as you'll not have pressed on the button.
Certain research sites offer you the option to put several criteria by putting the word " and " or the character "+" between several research words.
Ex: Montréal+stationnement or mastery and uqam
The others you offer also the possibility of looking for a series of words that are in the same order. It's however necessary to put these words between quotation marks. Ex: " companion of the administrator ".
The "favorites" or the " bookmarks "
Having navigated the World Wide Web during a little while, you go to have favourite sites. They are sites to that you return frequently to have more data about a subject that interests you. Instead of learning by heart the addresses of these pages, you can add them to the list of the favourites. You can even separate the list in categories of your choice.
Be careful!
Do not add favourites in the computer lab. These instructions are for peoplewho are connected to the Internet and to the World Wide Web from the home or their office.
*Go to a page that interests you.
*From the Favorite menu, select the option Add to bookmark.
OR
*For Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, you can also use the keys CTRL and D to add to the favourites or to the bookmarks.
In the new version, you can add categories in the list of the favourites such as for sports or the news. In this way, you can group together the addresses of your favourite sites in categories.
World Wide Web from your account Merlin or Nobel.
For the students of the university who an account on the Merlin server or Nobel, you are capable of " surfer on Web ". For the users of Nobel, the program is called lynx (called line-x in English). For the users of Merlin, select the first option of the menu. The only limitation is that you'll only see the text of the page. You will see no image. Here is the list of the keys the most used for the movement on the WWW by using lynx.
| The cursor downward | Move the cursor towards the link following by the page or towards the following screen. |
| The cursor upward | Move the cursor towards the previous link of the page. |
| The cursor to the right | Move on a new Web page in that the link clocks(points,pastes). |
| The cursor towards the left | Move on the previous page. |
| Space bar | Move in the screen following by the page. |
| The key "-" (less((at least)) | Move in the previous screen of the page. |
| G | Move on a Web page the address of that you know. The program will ask you to write the address of the page and to press the Enter key. |
| Q | Leave the program of visionnement of the World Wide Web. |
Page ewww.htm
Last updated on March 27, 2004
Free computer tutorial Web site
Created by Patrice Roy
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