The World-Wide Web, or WWW, is an on-line information retrieval service available on the Internet. The WWW is based on hypertext technology and was initially developed at CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory.
The WWW allows you to access information as a series of hypertext documents. These documents can contain text, graphics, sound and links to other documents. The documents are stored on computers known as WWW servers. In the past few years, there has been a drastic growth in the number of WWW servers on the Internet. There are currently thousands of WWW servers.
You need client software (also known as a browser) to access the WWW. Currently, two popular WWW clients are mosaic and lynx.
Mosaic is a graphical, mouse-driven program. Versions of mosaic for the Sun Workstation, IBM PC (Windows) and Apple Macintosh are available at Auburn. To use the IBM PC and/or Apple Macintosh versions of mosaic, your computer must have a direct connection to the Auburn University Network (AUNet). You can't use mosaic via dialup (modem).
Lynx is a full screen WWW browser for VT100 and compatible terminals and is available on mallard (the DUC Sun server). Lynx allows you to view WWW documents in text-only mode. Lynx is useful if you access mallard via a modem.
If you have a networked PC or Macintosh and would like information on getting mosaic for your computer, contact the DUC Hotline, 4-4944.
To access a document on a WWW Server, you need the address of a URL (Uniform Resource Locater) file containing, or pointing to, the document. URL names are case-sensitive and can be in several formats. For example, when you run mosaic on the DUC Suns in 256 Parker, the "Auburn University Web Server" document appears. The URL for this document is:
http://mallard.duc.auburn.edu
Mosaic allows you to enter a desired URL and view the associated document. To enter a URL with mosaic, choose "File" with your mouse and then select "Open URL...". A small window should appear on your display with the message "URL To Open". Type in the name of the desired URL in this window and then click on the Open button with your mouse. The document should soon appear in your mosaic window.
Mosaic also allows you to save popular URL's in a "Hotlist", so that you you can later access them from a list with your mouse.