Online Sample Chapter
Internet and Web Technology: The Basics
Table of Contents
Dedication.
Preface.
Acknowledgments.
I. TECHNOLOGY BASICS.
1. Say “Yes” to Internet Business. Internet Business Is More Than E-Commerce. Internet Business Is Big. Why Technology Is Key. Objectives of the Book. Is This Book for You? Navigating the Book.
2. What Do I Need to Know about Hardware? Is The PC Dead? How Information Is Stored. How a Computer Works. Types of Computers and Hardware Selection. Future Trends and Implications.
3. Software Is Everywhere. Software: Solution or Problem? Operating Systems. Programming Languages. Modern Software Development. Future Trends and Implications.
4. Internet and Web Technology. FROM SOAP OPERAS TO TIDAL WAVES. COMPUTER NETWORK BASICS. PACKET SWITCHING AND TCP/IP. THE WEB. BASIC INTERNET TOOLS. THE DOMAIN NAME SYSTEM. ADVANCED SEARCHES ON THE WEB. FUTURE TRENDS AND IMPLICATIONS.
II. FRONT END: PRESENTATION.
5. Languages of the Internet. The Face of Internet business. Markup Languages and Html. Tools For Creating A Fabulous Web Page. The Joy Of X: XML, XSL, and XHTML. Dynamic Web Pages. Future Trends and Implications.
6. Web Site Design and Content. The Age of Information Overload. The Nature of the Web. What Is the Purpose of the Site? Who Is Your Audience? What Content Will You Provide? Closing the Online Sale. How To Get A High Ranking for Your Web Site. Managing Web Site Content. Best Practices for Web Site Design and Content. Future Trends and Implications.
7. Getting Your Business Online. Where Are You on the Internet Business. Technology Spectrum? The Hardware Decision. Never Buy Software Again. How To Choose a Consulting Service. Getting Connected. Future Trends and Implications.
III. NUTS AND BOLTS OF INTERNET BUSINESS.
8. Rethinking Internet Business Models. What Is an Internet Business Model? The Myth of the Dot-Com Fallout. Is Internet Business Different? What Works, What Doesn't. Future Trends and Implications.
9. Security and Internet Business. Trust Everyone, but Brand Your Cattle. Password Basics. Tradition: Single Key Encryption. The Epiphany: Public Key Encryption. Trust and Digital Signature. Putting It All Together: Secure Socket Layers. Firewalls and Proxy Servers. Privacy. Future Trends and Implications.
10. Internet Business Transactions. Minimizing Transaction Costs with Internet Business. B2C Systems. B2B Systems. P2P Systems. Future Trends and Implications.
11. Marketing on the Internet. The Second Wave of Internet Marketing. Internet Marketing Strategies. One of the Greatest Things about the Web: Measurement. Internet Marketing Media. Future Trends and Implications.
IV. BACK END: SUPPORT.
12 The Power of Databases. Database Technology Is Crucial. Database Management Systems. The Relational Database Model. SQL: Getting Information In and Out of the Database. Building a Data Warehouse. Data Mining Basics. Future Trends and Implications.
13. Internet Business Architecture. The Evolution of Computing: Coming Full Circle. Client/Server Paradigms. Client Technologies. Server Technologies. Scaling and Web Farms. Future Trends and Implications.
14. Enterprise Application Software. The Importance of Application Software. From MRP to ERP. Supply Chain Management. Customer Relationship Management. Middleware. New Age Middleware: Web Services. Future Trends and Implications.
V. APPENDIX: ADDITIONAL HELP.
A Technical Appendix. Storing Floating Point Numbers. The IP Addressing System. Object-Oriented Programming. More on XML. Javascript and Client Programming. Active Server Page Technologies. Web Service Example. Biztalk and Middleware.
B: Suggested Reading. C: Glossary. Bibliography. Index.
Preface
Preface
This book originated as a set of notes for an MBA course entitled "Computing Technology for the General Manager," first taught at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business (GSB) in January 1994. The course was one of the first in the country to cover the Internet. Back then, the technologies introduced in the course included Gopher, a predecessor to the Mosaic browser, which was the earliest widely used browser. Kipp Martin, developer of the course and a co-author of this book, saw that computers and the Internet were becoming increasingly important for all business professionals, not just for the "techies," or IT (information technology) experts. He created this course as a way to teach MBA students all they would need to know about using the computer in business. In the beginning, there were no appropriate textbooks for the course, so he pieced together a reading list that comprised books on MIS (management information systems) and a user's guide to the Internet, as well as a packet of articles from the popular press.
Even as the Internet grew in importance in the late 1990s and books on the Internet proliferated, he still needed to rely on parts of a number of books for his syllabus, for there was no book that satisfactorily covered all the relevant topics. Finally, he realized he needed to write his own book. He teamed up with Gail Honda, whom he had known since 1984 when she was an MBA student at the GSB. With his technical knowledge, and her business and writing credentials and experience, they decided to write a book that would clearly explain, in nontechnical language, the technology behind the Internet and how to use it in business. This book is the result of that decision.
The material in this book has been expanded and enhanced since 1994, thanks to the feedback of hundreds of Kipp's students. Kipp's MBA course, now called "e-Business Technology," has been constantly updated to take into account changing technology in the Internet business world. Kipp's Executive Education seminar, "Information Technology for Non-IT Managers: Foundations of e-Business," taught at the GSB and abroad, has been well received and has provided an additional source of information on what's really important to real-life executives who need to know more about technology in their everyday work lives.
This book was written as a trade business book intended for a general audience, rather than as a textbook intended for students, though it certainly can be used as a text book. Business professionals who find that computers and the Internet are becoming
increasingly important to their jobs and who need to expand their knowledge of the same will benefit from reading this book. They include those who make technology-based decisions; talk frequently with CIOs (chief information officers) , CTOs (chief technical officers), and IT (information technology) personnel; have been promoted to CIO or CTO from a functional area such as finance or marketing; want to go into Internet business consulting; need to evaluate Internet business companies; or are starting an Internet business.
As a textbook, the book is appropriate for an MBA or advanced undergraduate course on Internet business or Internet commerce. It could also be used for more general courses on business technology or IS (information systems). If you would like to find out more about Kipp's MBA course, log on to http://gsbkip.uchicago.edu/htmls/coursework/b372/b372.html. For more information and readings by the authors related to this book, go to www.globaloptima.com. If you have commentsyou would like to share with the authors or questions regarding this book, please write to the authors at the email address, InternetBusiness@globaloptima.com.
Please note that throughout the book, numbers in hard brackets, , refer to a citation from an entry in the bibliography toward the end of the book.
In sum, if you are looking for a book that explains a lot of important business technology in plain, precise, and (we think) interesting language, this book is for you.