Using Google Docs: a network-based word processor

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Skills: getting a Google account, creating a document and sharing it on the Internet

IT concepts: desktop or stand-alone applications versus networked applications in which the program, the data or both are stored on the Internet

Where does this topic fit?

• Internet concepts– Applications– Technology– Implications

• Internet skills– Application development– Content creation (text)

Launch a Web client and go to Google Docs at http://www.google.com/docs

Login or create an account

If you are establishing a new account, think about the account name because you will be using it for many years.

Your Google Docs home page contains commands and list of your documents

Open a new document

A blank document opens, ready for editing

Note that the document is inside the browser window

There is a set of conventional word processing commands at the top of the document area

and a blank document below the commands

Let’s wait a second and ask a question:

Where did the program to execute the commands at the top of the screen come from?

Where did the program to execute the commands at the top of the screen come from?

The program was automatically downloaded from the server when you gave the new document command.

The program was written in a language called JavaScript, and there is a JavaScript interpreter included with all modern Web browsers.

Okay, back to creating a document …

Enter and edit your document

The document is automatically saved on exit and you can save it at any time.

Optionally, share the document with others

Summary

• Go to http://www.google.com/docs• Login or create an account• Your home page has commands and a list of your

documents• Start a document and work on it inside the browser• The programs to execute the editing and other

commands are downloaded from the Google server.• The document is stored on the Internet, where it may be

shared with others.

Food for thought

• What are the advantages of a network word processor like Google Docs over a desktop word processor like Microsoft Word?

• What are the advantages of a desktop word processor like Microsoft Word over a network word processor like Google Docs?

• We said that in a network application either the data, the program or both are stored on the Internet. Does Google Docs store data, the program or both on the Internet server?

Using Google Docs: a network-based word processor

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Skills: getting a Google account, creating a document and sharing it on the Internet

IT concepts: desktop or stand-alone applications versus networked applications in which the program, the data or both are stored on the Internet