(1) (WorldWideWeb) The first Web browser, written by Tim Berners Lee and introduced in early 1991. It ran on the NeXT platform, which was also used as the first Web server. See NeXT.
(2) (World Wide Web) An Internet-based system that enables an individual or a company to publish itself to the entire world, except to countries or locations that prohibit the free interchange of information. The major service on the Internet, the World Wide Web is the world's largest online shopping mall and the world's largest source of information, news and commentary. To understand the difference between the Web and the Internet, see Web vs. Internet.
Web Servers
The "Web" is made up of "Web servers," which are computers that store and disseminate "Web pages" to anyone with an Internet connection. Web pages are interactive documents that contain text, graphics, animations and videos. The pages often contain embedded programs that cause them to function the same as software that users install in their computers. As a result, the Web has enabled the concept of a "global server" that provides a source for all applications as well as data (see Web 2.0).
Hyperlinks and Web Addresses
The heart of the Web technology is the hyperlink, which connects each page to each other by address, whether the document is on the same Web site or on a site half way around the world. In the mid-1990s, the novel concept of "click here" (click the hyperlink) caused the Web to explode. The address of a Web site or Web page is officially known as the "uniform resource locator" (see URL).
The Web Browser
Web pages are accessed by the user via a Web browser application such as Internet Explorer (IE), Firefox and Safari. The browser renders the pages on screen, executes embedded scripts and invokes additional software as needed. For example, Flash animations and video are rendered by Flash plug-in software that is tailored to each type of Web browser.
HTML Is the Rendering Format
A Web page is a text document coded with HTML tags that define how the text and graphics are displayed on screen. Web pages can be created with any text editor or word processor. They are also created in HTML authoring programs that provide a graphical interface for designing the layout, and such programs generate the HTML tags behind the scenes. Many applications export documents directly to HTML, thus basic Web pages can be created in numerous ways without HTML coding. The ease of page creation helped fuel the Web's growth.
The HTML codes define the page layout as well as certain basic interactions; however, it is the embedded scripts within the Web page, written in languages such as JavaScript, that make the Web page function like a full-blown application.
Web Sites Are Made Up of Pages
A collection of Web pages makes up a Web site. Very large organizations deploy their public Web sites on inhouse servers or on their own servers co-located in a third party facility that provides power and Internet access. Such public sites may contain hundreds and thousands of pages and databases that hold millions of records.
Small to medium Web sites are often maintained by third-party hosting companies for fees that start as little as $5 a month. They can also be hosted by the same Internet service providers (ISPs) that deliver Internet access to the building. For individual customers who want to publish a Web site, many ISPs host a personal Web site at no extra cost, but the site is limited to a few pages.
The Intranet
The public Web spawned the private "intranet," an inhouse Web site for employees. Protected via a firewall that lets employees access the Internet, the firewall restricts uninvited users from viewing internal information. There is no difference in hardware and software architecture between a private Web site (intranet) and a public Web site. The difference is who has access.
HTTP Can Deliver Anything
HTML pages are transmitted to the user via the HTTP protocol. A Web server stores HTML pages for a Web site, but it can also be a storehouse for any kind of file delivered to a client application via HTTP. For example, the Windows version of this encyclopedia is available as an HTTP application. The text and images are hosted on The Computer Language Company's Web server and delivered to the Windows client in the user's PC. The Windows client is an HTTP-enabled version of the popular interface first introduced in 1996 for stand-alone PCs.
Where It Came From - Where It's Going
The World Wide Web was developed at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva from a proposal by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989. It was created to share research information on nuclear physics. In 1991, the first command line browser was introduced. By the start of 1993, there were 50 Web servers, and the Voila X Window browser provided the first graphical capability. In that same year, CERN introduced its Macintosh browser, and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) in Chicago introduced the X Window version of Mosaic. Mosaic was developed by Marc Andreessen, who later became world famous as a principal at Netscape.
By 1994, there were approximately 500 Web sites, and, by the start of 1995, nearly 10,000. By the turn of the century, there were more than 30 million registered domain names. Many believe the Web signified the real beginning of the information age. However, those who still use analog dial-up modems consider it the "World Wide Wait."
Everyone has some interest in the Web. ISPs, cable and telephone companies want to give you connectivity. Webmasters want more visitors. IT managers want more security. The publishing industry wants to preserve its copyrights. Hardware and software vendors want to make every product Web accessible. Nothing in the computer/communications field ever came onto the scene with such intensity. Even with the dot-com crash of 2000/2001, the future of the Web is going to be very exciting. Stay tuned! See Web 2.0, Internet, HTTP, HTML, World Wide Wait and Wild Wooly Web.
Web Linking
Accessing a Web document requires typing in the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) address of the home page in your Web browser. The home page contains links to other documents that can be stored on the same server or on a server anywhere in the world.
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