INTRODUCTION

In 2018, there were more than 1,8 billion websites in the world, which means that there is probably a website for every topic you can think of. Databases are especially important on websites where users create the content (like YouTube, Facebook and Wikipedia), since it would be impossible for a data capturer to add this information manually. Instead, these websites are set up so that any information entered by users are automatically stored in different databases. This includes items like status updates, likes, tweets and any videos or pictures the user uploaded. The databases also store the user’s personal information, such as their email address, username and password.

INTERNET SERVICES TECHNOLOGIES

The table below lists different types of websites and gives examples of each type.

Table 12.1: Some types of websites you can explore

UNIT
12.1 Types of websites and supporting technologies

Websites are made up of web pages. When the information that will be displayed on a web page are coded directly into the web page, the web page is called static. In contrast, when the web page is a container that collects information from a database based on user inputs (), the web page is called dynamic.

Websites can also be categorised based on criteria, such as whether the website is static or dynamic, uses location-based services and has been made accessible to mobile devices. The remainder of this unit will look at these characteristics.

STATIC WEBSITES

Static websites are websites where the information is coded directly into the website using HTML. This means that the content of the website will never change, unless someone changes the HTML of the website. It also means that a web developer has developed a separate HTML file for each page of the website.

DYNAMIC WEBSITES

In contrast, in a dynamic website the information displayed on the website is stored in a database and dynamically loaded onto pages based on the user’s request. When the user visits the page about Bafana Bafana, a request is sent to the Wikipedia database that retrieves all the information for the Bafana Bafana webpage. This information is then placed into a standard Wikipedia web page template. If a different page is visited, then new information is requested and placed into the same standard web page template.

The advantages and disadvantages of dynamic websites are shown below.

LOCATION-BASED SERVICES SITES

Location-based websites work by making use of the user’s location to determine which website or information to show the user.

Other websites like Facebook and Google make use of location-based services to determine which advertisements and search results to show to users, while a service like Google Maps uses your location to find the shortest route to nearby locations.

SUPPORTING TECHNOLOGIES

Part of the evolution of the internet has been the development of technologies that help people use the internet. The following are some of the most important technologies:

• HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the protocol that controls how web pages are sent from a web server to a user’s web browser. It helps to transfer information like document, file, image, video between computers over internet
• HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is a secure version of HTTP in which data is encrypted before it transferred. This type of technology is used by, for example, banks because of all the sensitive information their clients access when doing transactions on internet banking.

SECURITY SERVICES

Internet security services include services like:

12.2.1Give ONE word/term for each of the following descriptions. Write only the word/term next to the question number (1.1–1.5) in your theory writing book.

a.This type of website is used to fight to change laws or public opinion. This can be about any topic that they feel strongly about.

b.A website that gathers news and information from many different area websites and provides links to the most interesting information.

c.A website that brings several different types of websites together

d.A website that connects you to people by making friends, seeing what they are up to, and posting your thoughts and photos.

e.An application that runs directly on a website, like a word processing application or a fitness tracker.

f.A website that posts short, informal stories about any topic, so that the newest story appears at the top of the website.

g.A website about a single person.

Peter has this idea of creating a website where he can load the programmes and show information on the gala. People must also be able to enter the gala online. The swimmers must use the web pages as a platform to write blogs and be able to upload videos of their events.

12.2.2Should he create a Web 1.0 or a Web 2.0 website? Give a reason to support your answer.

12.2.3Seeing the needs for the web page, should you suggest Peter to a static page or a dynamic page? Support your answer with a reason for your choice.

a.List TWO advantages of a static page.

b.List TWO advantages of a dynamic page.

12.2.4Peter wants to assign a person to upload blog posts as the event is progressing, allowing users to view and comment on the event in real-time. What do we call this?

12.2.5Explain to Peter the difference between HTTP and HTTPS and which is better to use.

12.2.6Compare the types of security services.

UNIT
12.2 Internet-related careers

With the incredible growth of the internet, millions of internet-related jobs were created worldwide. These jobs range from web content developers, to independent web designers, to specialist back-end web developers!

The table below will briefly summarise five of the most important internet-related careers. It is important that you pay careful attention to the different job titles, since small differences in the titles can result in completely different jobs!

Table 12.2: The most common internet-related careers