For engineers, two books about the Internet

Here are two books I have found interesting reading. The first one is a real help to get you started down that information highway. The second is a real find for those of you who want to know more about how the Internet really works and need the kind of information that is not found in books usually stocked in the Internet section of your local bookstore.

THE INTRODUCTION.   Called "The Internet for Scientists and Engineers," it is now published by IEEE Press (Order No. PP5371-QEE) and costs IEEE members US$28. The author is Brian J. Thomas, who is manager of new media development at one of IEEE's sister societies, the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE). You may have seen some promotional material for this book in recent IEEE publications. The version I have is the earlier one published by SPIE. The book contains about 450 pages with a good mix of facts and explanations about the Internet and how to use it.

If you are wondering if you should buy a copy, here is a quick runthrough of the contents. These are divided into three parts; let's look at each part in turn.

Part I, the first 200 pages, is called "Internet Access, Tools, and Navigation" and contains the explanatory chapters. First -- an introduction to the Internet, getting on line, your first log-on, a basic explanation of electronic mail; this provides a good starting point for the novice. Then e-mail servers, discussion lists, files and formats, telnet, FTP, and Usenet news. The last three chapters are tools for searching on-line databases and the World Wide Web.

Part II is about 175 pages and called "Science Resources on the Internet." Science in this instance ranges alphabetically from Aeronautics and Aerospace to Virtual Reality, with Computer Science, Electronics and Electrical Engineering, and Energy in the middle. In each category, Brian covers relevant content in Usenet newsgroups, frequently asked questions, discussion lists, as well as FTP, Gopher, WWW, and telnet sites. Browsing this part gives the reader a good sense or overview of the kind of material available. Since Brian has focused on scientific as opposed to popular content, many of our members may find this a refreshing alternative to the media hype that often concentrates on the sick and the sexy.

Part III, another 50 pages, contains two appendices. One covers personal computer basics -- where to get and how to install the software you need to actually use your Windows-based PC or your Mac. The other appendix is on Internet service providers; it includes some lists of providers and tells how to get up-to-date lists. There is also a useful glossary and bibliography.

THE TECHNICAL RESOURCE.   This one is called "Internet System Handbook" and was published by Addison-Wesley in 1993. Edited by Daniel C. Lynch and Marshall T. Rose, it contains close to 800 pages. As they say in their preface, this book is written by the very people who made it all happen. The authors describe and explain the framework of the electronic infrastructure that is the Internet.

The overview of the Internet is more detailed than in many books. The technical explanations begin with basic messaging and routing protocols and move into fundamental e-mail, FTP and telnet technologies. This is followed by chapters on routers, host networking, architectural security and creating new applications.

The infrastructure section includes chapters on directory services, network management and tools for Internet backbone and components; followed by chapters on Internet Protocol network performance and operational security.

The last section looks at the success of the Internet and the consequences of that success and the resulting evolution. The final chapter provides a detailed and annotated bibliography.

Not a book for the casual user but a very special reference that is full of information and insight by those who had the foresight to create the Internet as we know it today.