World Wide Web (WWW)

The World Wide Web (WWW) gives you immediate access to a bewildering array of documents on a wide range of subjects provided by vast number of networked computers all over the world! The basic idea is simple; each participating computer provides one or more documents containing information which are of local interest or for which the site is an authority. The majority of documents are some form of text and pictures, but even animated graphics sequences and digitised sound can be documents! Most documents contain embedded links (the technical name is anchors) to other documents. While looking at one document it is possible to jump directly to a linked document. The linked document need not be at the same site as the current one, indeed there is a convention that at least some of the links give access to more general information at other sites. The result is a `web' of ever growing information which is, in principle, always up to date. Access to this wealth of information involves no more than hopping from document to document ``following your nose''. It is very easy to use, indeed one of the major problems is having sufficient self control to home in on the required information and then quit; it's far more fun to wander off and see what else you can find!

These notes assume that you are at a PC and know how to use a mouse and keyboard. From a UNIX system type:-

firefox

From MS Windows use Internet Explorer.

The first document to appear when the window opens, which is called `the home page', should contain general information about our subdepartment. Within the document you will see a number of words and phrases underlined in blue; these are the links. Click on one of these to jump to a linked document. Once you have done this the BACK button at the top of the screen will light up meaning that you can now retrace your steps by clicking it.

You will quickly find it easy to wander around, often in circles! Two simple aids will help you to `navigate' the web effectively:-

• Firstly, as you may have already noticed, once you have `visited' a document, any link to it changes slightly (the underline is now broken or a different colour) to remind you that you have already seen that particular document. Sometimes you may want to wipe these footprints, which persist after you end the program, off the web. To do this:-

  Firefox

  Choose the Edit menu and select Preferences, click on Clear History button.

  Internet Explorer

  Choose Tools and the Internet Options. Press the Clear History button.

• If you come across a document that you want to be able to find again quickly then, from the Bookmarks menu, select Add Bookmark. Now to visit it again, select Bookmarks menu and click on the bookmark entry you want to retrieve.

Occasionally it can take a long time to follow a link, particularly if that involves transferring a large document (e.g. a picture) from a distant machine. If you want to give up on that link just click on the the X next to the URL displayed atthe top of te page.

To find out what the web contains, a good first jump from the Particle Physics at Oxford Home Page:-

http://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/research/particle-physics

Click Info for Staff and then Computer Support which should bring you to the Particle Physics Computer Support Page:-

http://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/research/particle-physics/particle-physics-computer-support

You will make yourself popular (at least within computing support) if, when you have a computing problem, you look here before asking for help! Another good first hop is to links and Particle-physics and then Cern .

When you finally manage to tear yourself away you will find the exit, as you would expect, in the File menu.