REVIEW QUESTION #2: Describe in two paragraphs the origins of HTML.  Explain how markup tags work in HTML, and describe the role of at least one person involved with HTML's development.
HTML, or Hypertext markup Language, is a subset of the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML), which was first developed in the late 1960's.  Markup languages were originally used for creating electronic documents which could be easily updated and then outputted in different formats and layouts.  Tim Berners-Lee of the Euorpean scientific organization CERN was the primary author of the first version of HTML.  The World Wide Web Consortium, or W3C, is a non-profit group (which Berners-Lee eventually became the head of).  It maintains standards for the Web, and has approved of official changes and additions to the HTML language since the first formal standards were drafted in 1991.  However, some Web browser software developers have developed custom features, called HTML extensions, which are not officially approved by the W3C; this sometimes leads to compatibility issues with other browsers.  In 2007 three major browser developers, Apple, Opera, and the Mozilla Foundation, started developing a new version of the HTML language, version 5.0.
HTML uses markup tags, enclosed in brackets (< >), to instruct the Web client software how to format the elements of a web page.  Using tags, Web designers can can change the size, color, and font of text, include graphics on their pages, and create lists and tables.  HTML also allows for the creation of hyperlinks, which allow a viewer to move from page to another by clicking on designated bits of text or graphics.  After 1997, HTML included the use of CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets, which allowed Web designers to easily re-format multiple pages by replacing a small bit of code that all the pages would then refer back to when gathering their formatting information.

REVIEW QUESTION #3: In about 200 words, compare the POP e-mail protocol to the IMAP e-mail protocol.  Described situations in which you would prefer to use one protocol over the other and explain the reasons for your preference.
The POP, or Post Office Protocol, lets a user to check if he has new e-mail saved on the e-mail server, then download it to his computer and view it and any attached files.  The Interactive Mail Access Protocol (IMAP) can do all this, as well as pre-screen new messages, allow the viewer to see only the sender's name and header before downloading it, and the ability to sort and organize those e-mails.  IMAP is convenient for users who access their account from different computers at different times, since they can manipulate their e-mail while it's still saved on the central server; however, this requires additional hard disk space on the server and can be prohibitively expensive for large organizations.  POP might therefore be preferable when employees are relatively fixed in terms of which terminals they'll be logging in from.

REVIEW QUESTION #4: In About 400 words, describe the similarities and differences between XML and XHTML.  Provide examples of at least two situations in which you would use XML and two situations in which you would use HTML. 
XML and HTML are both markup languages, which mean they both use tags to assign properties to bits of text.  However, XML differs from HTML in two important ways.  The first is that that tags used by XML are user-defined rather than pre-existing; this gives the designer more flexibility when it comes to creating tags, but can lead to compatibility problems if designers in related fields refer to tags with similar properties by different names.  There have been efforts among various industries that use online publishing, however, to come up with common standards for tags, commonly referred to as data-type definitions (DTDs) or XML schema.  The second is that those tags do not control the format of the text they contain, but rather assign a meaning to that text.  In the example in the text, the XML tags can define the text "Austria" as a country, and "Vienna" as its capital city.  XML allows the user to establish a parent-child hierarchy between these tags; in the example, the "country" elements were all considered child elements of "CountriesList".  XML also has a major practical difference from HTML in that that XML tags would actually be visible when displayed on the Web page.

HTML is preferable to use for the basic formatting and nuts-and-bolts of a web page, since it's designed to control the format and look of the page.  HTML is also the better choice when the data the designer is dealing with is simple and non-hierarchical in nature.  XML, however, was not meant to be viewed directly and would typically be translated into a viewable format by way of an XML parser.  XML would be useful for formatting larges lists of information, like product catalogs or purchase orders.

EXERCISE #3:Use the Web and the links in the Online Companion to locate information about extranets and VPN's.  Write a report that briefly describes how companies use extranets to link their systems with those of their suppliers, then write an evaluation of at least two companies (using information you have gathered from your web searches) that could help develop an extranet that would work for your client.  Close the report with an overview of how BECO could use VPN technologies in this type of extranet.  The three parts of your report should total about 750-1000 words.
Establishing an extranet, or Business-to-Business Web, would have several benefits to BECO.  By opening up BECO's internal network to suppliers, the improved transparency can allow BECO to reduce the amount of parts and supplies kept in inventory, reducing our own company's overhead; and suppliers can optimize their delivery schedules to stay ahead of our own needs and deadlines.  This will also allow for quicker and more seamless responses to changes in the market, regardless of the suppliers' relative locations, reducing the risk in an ever-changing market.  An extranet will also allow our suppliers 24-hour access to vital information, allowing them to continue working for us even across different time zone and without the lag inherent to in-person or phone meetings.  Some of the more routine transactions may even be able to be entirely automated, reducing BECO's labor costs and reducing the risk of human error.  In addition, BECO may be able to entirely avoid having to go through middlemen or wholesalers for some materials, which could result in considerable costs savings.  The reduction of time and money spent between the initial order and final delivery will give us a competitive edge over any other machinery company not similarly linked in, allowing BECO to expand its market share.

However, there are some associated risks and costs to establishing an extranet with our suppliers.  In order to be useful to our suppliers, BECO's own data will need to be kept accurate and up to date at all times.  This may require the purchase of content management software to keep that data up to date, and the hiring or training of personnel to use it.  There are also matters of security to consider.  Our suppliers may be partners in many of our business dealings, but giving them access to our sensitive data might be risky if we are competing with them in the supplying of certain types of machinery or parts.  Consequently, we will need to add internal security measures, such as network firewalls and security checks, to make sure our suppliers only have access to information relevant to our business dealings with them.  We will also need to set up proper use guidelines and clear access limits while negotiating the extranet partnership with our suppliers.

I have investigated several of the companies who could help BECO set up a VPN, and believe I have found a couple of strong candidates.  The first is Cisco, a company with a long and established history in the business of computer networking.  I believe this brand recognition and company's reputation will help ensure BECO's suppliers that the extranet will be reliable and secure enough to protect both companies' sensitive data.  Cisco's website offers first-time customers an extensive walkthrough of what their products do and what they can do for their clients, which did a great deal to assure me that they know what they're doing.  They offer an additional layer of security to their VPNs by allowing the addition of an Internet Key Exchange (IKE) in addition to creating an encrypted tunnel through IPSec.  Also, the use of IKEs allows the network to be more easily scalable over time than one that uses pre-shared keys.

WatchGuard Technologies is also a strong contender for providing BECO with its extranet facilities.  While their company does not immediately seem to offer the same level of hand-holding and custom setup and design for a VPN, they emphasize that their technology is much more "plug and play" than Cisco's might be, which could potentially save money for BECO in terms of training in the use of the network.  WatchGuard's website also offers testimonials from other manufacturing companies similar to our own, suggesting that they have experience providing the sorts of services BECO is looking for for companies like our own.



In conclusion, I believe that setting up a Virtual Private Network would be a low-cost solution for integrating our own intranet with those of our suppliers, as well as sharing information with them, in order to improve the efficiency and productivity of all of our respective businesses.