Web Pages

C-G-I stands for Common Gateway Interface, a type of programming language for Web pages that works with the standard H-T-M-L language to enable websites to do various things. Often, when a Web page has moved to a new location, you'll find a page announcing the move, then automatically redirecting you to the new location. That's done with C-G-I.

The basic programming language for all Web pages is H-T-M-L, for hypertext markup language. This is a set of instructions that allow pages to be viewed over the Internet. You won't see the instructions on your screen, but the computer will, and then direct your screen to display them in a certain way. This is how you see words in bold, underlined, or italics.

When you see a Web page with lots of pictures, you're actually seeing a lot of different elements that the computer has put together for your viewing pleasure. Each picture is linked to the main document by a special programming code that tells the computer to find that image on the server and to put it in the proper spot on the page.

One of the reasons for the rapid expansion of the World Wide Web has been the introduction of Web page creation tools that allow anyone to create homepages. Instead of having to learn H-T-M-L programming, students, families, and retirees can now put pictures and text together to introduce themselves to the world. Many Web sites now offer you free Web space to create your own homepage. Most Internet service providers also include a certain amount of space for your own page.

Once you've created just the Web page you want, the next step is to get it onto the Web. Otherwise, you just have a nice design that's only on your computer. Transferring the text, graphics, and other elements that you've assembled onto the server uses something called F-T-P. This stands for File Transfer Protocol, and is a way of permanently moving a number of different files together from one computer to another.

H-T-M-L stands for Hypertext Markup Language, and it's the basic language used by computers to write pages that can be displayed on the Web. It uses a series of codes imbedded in the text that the computer reads, then uses when it shows the page. These codes are put into the text using the 'more than' and 'less than' symbols on your keyboard, the ones just over the comma and period.

Java is a programming language developed by Sun Microsystems that enables programmers to do lots of tricky things with Web pages. It can put what's called an 'Applet' onto the page. The result is that scrolling text you sometimes see on websites. Java is also used in creating simple animations on the screen, and can be used to allow visitors to your site to play simple computer games.

JavaScript is Microsoft's version of Java. It's simpler to write and can be used to add interactivity to plain old web pages. JavaScript code is written within the H-T-M-L of the page itself, and can be viewed by many of the older browsers. Java, on the other hand, is a separate computer language. Like graphics files, it's linked to the main document rather than imbedded in it.

As more and more people use the Internet, Web page designers try to find new ways to add excitement to their sites. Major corporations spend millions of dollars to design sites that feature animation, sounds, and interactivity. You can play games, watch movies, or listen to live radio and T-V programs. While most of these techniques are beyond the reach of all but the most experienced Web page designers, there are ways of adding sound and motion to even a simple home page.

Most Web pages are written in a computer language called H-T-M-L, which stands for Hypertext Markup Language. For certain interactive applications, there's another language called V-R-M-L. This is Virtual Reality Markup Language. You've probably heard of Virtual Reality. It's the method computer's use to simulate actually being in a 3-D environment.

If there's a limit to what web pages can be used for, nobody has found it yet. People use their home pages to show pictures of their families or pets. Others use them as on-line resumes that can be viewed by countless potential employers. You can find pages devoted to every hobby imaginable, from ham radio to pottery making.

Home pages linked together form the World Wide Web. It is the central page of a Web site. The home page can offer links to other pages within that document or to other World Wide Web servers and home pages all over the world. Home pages are easy to create, and can contain highly sophisticated graphics, audio and video.

If you click on 'View' at the top of your browser, then click on 'Source,' you can see the actual H-T-M-L code that the web page is written in. Early Web pages had to be written like this, with every command being typed in separately. Aside from the laborious nature of this programming, there was no way of knowing what the finished product would look like until you actually viewed it through the browser.