Java and Networked Applications
The Internet is a worldwide network containing millions of connected computers.
A Single Computer Joins a Larger Network
Start with a single computer. It is one device, sitting on its own. Once it is connected to the Internet, it stops being a lone machine and becomes part of a much larger network. The important idea is not the particular device or the particular connection method. The important idea is that computers throughout the world can belong to one huge network, and additional computers join it every day.
Watching the Network Grow
To follow the idea, watch the network expand. At the start, many computers are already connected to the Internet. Then another computer joins. The network is still the same Internet. The newly connected computer has simply become another participant in it. This joining process happens continually as new computers are connected.
What do you think happens?
When a new computer connects, does the Internet become a different network?
Reveal answer
No, it is still the same Internet with one more participant
The source states that the network is still the same Internet; the newly connected computer has simply become another participant in it.
The Internet as a Worldwide Network
The Internet is a worldwide network containing millions of connected computers.
The network grows as new computers connect each day. Its size is not fixed, which is why the definition describes a network that keeps gaining members.
Two Broad Ways to Join
Computers do not all have to use the same kind of connection. The source identifies two broad possibilities for joining the Internet.
- Wireless communication
- Physical connection
Naming the Connection Technologies
The source names DSL, cable modems, and Ethernet as examples of technologies used for physical connection. These are the named technologies that link a computer to the Internet through a physical connection. The source does not go further into how each one works, so the important point for now is simply that they are connection technologies, not the Internet itself.
Separating Structure from Access Method
The source offers a useful way to separate two questions. Saying that a computer connects to the Internet identifies the network. Saying that it uses wireless communication, DSL, a cable modem, or Ethernet identifies how the connection is made. The two statements answer different questions and can both be true of the same computer.
Describing One Computer's Connection
A computer is connected to the Internet using Ethernet. Describe what this tells you about the network and about the connection.
- 1Identify the network
The computer is connected to the Internet, the worldwide network of millions of connected computers. This statement names the network.
- 2Identify the access method
Ethernet is named in the source as a physical connection technology. This statement names how the computer reaches the network.
- 3Keep the two apart
Ethernet is not the Internet. It is one technology used to link this computer to the Internet.
The Internet is the network; Ethernet is the technology that makes the physical connection.
Mistakes Beginners Make with Internet Connections
Common mistake Treating DSL, cable modems, or Ethernet as if they were the Internet
What it looks likeSaying my Internet is Ethernet, so Ethernet is the Internet.
Why it failsThe Internet is the worldwide network of connected computers. DSL, cable modems, and Ethernet are technologies used for physical connection to it.
Do this insteadSay the computer is connected to the Internet using Ethernet, which names the network and the access method separately.
Common mistake Assuming every computer must use the same kind of connection
Why it failsThe source states that computers do not all have to use the same kind of connection.
Do this insteadRecognize that wireless communication and physical connection are both ways to join the Internet.
Common mistake Thinking the Internet changes identity when a new computer joins
Why it failsThe newly connected computer becomes another participant in the same Internet.
Do this insteadTreat each new connection as growth of one network, not the creation of a new one.
Sorting Network from Connection
For each item below, decide whether it names the network itself or a way a computer connects to it: (a) the worldwide network containing millions of connected computers, (b) DSL, (c) wireless communication, (d) Ethernet, (e) a cable modem.
Hints
- Ask whether the item describes the whole worldwide network or a method used to link one computer to it.
- The source names wireless communication and physical connection as the two broad ways to join, and DSL, cable modems, and Ethernet as physical connection technologies.
Key Takeaways
- The Internet is a worldwide network containing millions of connected computers, and new computers join it each day.
- Computers can join the Internet through wireless communication or a physical connection.
- DSL, cable modems, and Ethernet are named in the source as physical connection technologies.
- The Internet is the network itself; DSL, cable modems, Ethernet, and wireless communication describe how a computer connects to it.