Web Technologies and Internet Applications
Core concepts
Understand how the web works: client-server model, HTTP/HTTPS request-response, URLs, DNS resolution, and web servers. Learn HTML structure (elements, attributes, semantic tags), CSS (selectors, box model, responsive design), and JavaScript basics (DOM manipulation, events, client vs server-side scripting). Know server-side technologies (PHP, ASP.NET, Java servlets, Node.js), databases on the web, and web frameworks at a conceptual level. Grasp web services (REST, SOAP), APIs, cookies and sessions, and content management systems. E-commerce models (B2B, B2C, C2C) and payment gateways often appear in governance and business contexts.
Traps to watch
HTML structures content, CSS styles it, JavaScript adds behavior - questions swap roles. HTTPS is HTTP over TLS/SSL; it encrypts traffic but does not make a site trustworthy by itself. Cookies are stored client-side; sessions are typically server-side. GET sends data in the URL and is not for sensitive data; POST sends data in the body. REST is stateless and uses standard HTTP verbs; SOAP is XML-based and more rigid. Client-side scripts cannot access server databases directly.
Worked example / rule of thumb
A login form should use POST over HTTPS so credentials are not exposed in the URL and are encrypted in transit. Rule of thumb: if a question asks where code runs, remember the browser runs HTML/CSS/JS; the server runs PHP/ASP/JSP and talks to the database.