IP Addresses and the Web

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As we delve into Web-based applications in this and subsequent chapters, you will need to understand how things are organized and located on the Internet. Everything on the Internet must eventually be located via what is called an IP address. To quote from Webopedia, a very popular online resource at www.Webopedia.com/ TERM/I/IP_address.html, “An identifier for a computer or device on a TCP/IP network. Networks using the TCP/IP protocol route messages based on the IP address of the destination. The format of an IP address is a 32-bit numeric address written as four numbers separated by periods. Each number can be 0 to 255. For example, 1.160.10.240 could be an IP address.”

An IP address is a way of locating a particular machine. There are four numbers separated by periods. Each of the four numbers can be from zero to 255. When you type in a Web address such as www.chuckeasttom.com, that name is translated into the appropriate IP address. This is important to realize because as we discuss Web applications in this chapter, and then in later chapters we discuss various network utilities, Web servers, and more, you will need to know what is meant by an IP address.

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