What is downloading?

Downloading is terminology for transferring a copy of a file from someone else's computer to yours. Downloading usually involves using a transfer protocol, which is the "language" the two computers use when transferring the file. An example of this transfer protocol is the "http" you see in Web site URLs that stands for "Hyper Text Transfer Protocol". Web documents written in HTML (HyperText Markup Language) are transferred between computers using HTTP. Another popular protocol, FTP (File Transfer Protocol), is generally used to transfer binary files, like Word documents or a programs. Most e-mail programs allow you to attach files to your e-mail and send and receive files without having to perform any special protocol set-up.