READ: Downloading, Uploading and Installing

Downloading

First of all, let's compare downloading to a model airplane. You decide you want a model airplane so the first thing you do is order it online and the company ships it to you. This is the like the download process.


Downloading refers to when a server on the internet sends you the raw pieces required to build an application. Once you receive the model airplane and its in the box, you cant just start playing with because its still in pieces.


So what do you do? You put the model airplane together. Installation is the process of putting the raw pieces of a program together in a workable format so that you can use the program.






Think of it like this: You can fit the pieces of the model airplane into a much smaller box than the put-together model airplane.

Whenever you are downloading a program from the internet, you download either:

• A compressed folder (like a .zip file - where you have to unzip the files before you can use them)
• An installer package (like an .exe file - The installer package then builds the program for you when you run it.)