culture.gov.au

Connecting you with Australian culture online

Guide 3. What can I do on the Internet?

Browser applications and URLs (screen 4 of 20)

To view a Web screen you need a Web browser application. Netscape Navigator(1) and Microsoft Internet Explorer(2) are the better known ones, but there are others like Mozilla(3) and Opera(4).

A browser application translates HTML into what you actually see on screen. 

Browser applications can use extra software, called 'plug-ins'(5)to allow them to perform additional tasks. Plug-ins allow a browser application to do such things as play sounds or movies.

If your organisation creates music, for example, you might be interested in using a sound plug-in that allows people to sample your wares online! But anyone who wants to hear you on the Web also needs that plug-in.

Most plug-ins for Web browser applications are free and may even be provided when you obtain your browser application, but others require that you pay a royalty to use them.

You can download plug-ins from websites such as Plugins.com(6).

What is a URL?

A URL(7)is an address of a Web screen on the Internet. The acronym stands for Universal Resource Locator. Every URL on the Internet is unique and to find a website you need to know its URL or be able to find its URL.

What do the different parts of the URL address mean?

• http://www.culture.gov.au/
  The first part of the address - in this case http - specifies the communications protocol used. HTTP refers to HyperText Transfer Protocol, which is the protocol that enables computers to talk to each other and enables you to access Web files from the Internet. You can read more about HTTP(8) in an earlier Guide. Other communications protocols include 'gopher' and 'news' and 'FTP'(9).
   
• http://www.culture.gov.au/
  Not all URLs include www in the address, but many do. The www refers to the server or host name. Sometimes a World Wide Web server is given a name like 'home' or 'rubens' and if so, you'll see a URL which looks like this:
  http://home.netscape.com/(10) or
  http://rubens.anu.edu.au/(11).
   
• http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/
  This part of a URL is usually related to the name of the organisation, its acronym or to the subject of the website. So the 'cultureandrecreation' part of the sample URL is a sub-domain in the 'gov' domain. See below for more on domains. You can find out more about domain names(12) in a later Guide.

  Sample URLs:
  http://culture.gov.au/ (Culture and Recreation Portal).
  http://www.nga.gov.au/ (nga = National Gallery of Australia).
  http://www.theaustralian.com.au/ (The Australian newspaper).
  http://travel.com.au/ (a travel site). 

• http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/
  Common generic top level domains used in Australia are:
  .net is for network companies, for example, http://www.abc.net.au/
  .gov is for government agencies, for example, http://www.dcita.gov.au/
  .edu is for educational institutions like schools, colleges and universities, for example, http://www.anu.edu.au/
  .org is for organisations including non-profit groups, for example, http://www.livingmuseum.org.au/
  .com is for commercial entities like businesses, for example, http://ninemsn.com.au/
   
• http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au
  This part of the URL is the country code. Every country has a discrete identifying code except for the USA. USA URLs have no country code extension. Australia's country code is .au.
  

Bookmarks and Favourites

Most browser applications contain address books that enable you to 'bookmark' URLs or add URLs to a list of 'favourites'. This makes it easy to find the URLs of websites you visit regularly. These bookmarks accumulate to indicate your interests, and make Web browsing a whole lot easier. You will soon gather an address book of URLs of sites related to your cultural and business activities. 

For the most part you don't need to worry about URLs, since all you need to do is click on a link on a Web screen and that takes you to the linked screen or choose a link from your list of bookmarked websites. The URLs are handled by your browser without you having to type them in.

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References

1. Netscape Navigator http://home.netscape.com/computing/download/index.html
2. Microsoft Internet Explorer http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/
3. Mozilla http://www.mozilla.org
4. Opera http://www.opera.com/
5. Guide 7 screen 4 http://culture.gov.au/resources/guides/g7/s4.htm#plugin
6. Plugins.com http://www.plugins.com/
7. A Beginner's Guide to URLs http://www.socs.uts.edu.au/MosaicDocs-old/url-primer.html
8. Guide 2 screen 4 http://culture.gov.au/resources/guides/g2/s4.htm#http
9. Guide 3 screen 11 http://culture.gov.au/resources/guides/g3/s11.htm
10. Netscape http://home.netscape.com/
11. ArtServe: Art & Architecture http://rubens.anu.edu.au/
12. Guide 8 screen 6 http://culture.gov.au/resources/guides/g8/s6.htm

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