Asking
how the Internet works is not the same as asking how the World Wide Web works.
Well, Internet and the World Wide Web are not one and the same, although they
are often used as synonyms. While the Internet is an infrastructure providing inter connectivity between network computers, the web is one of the services of
the Internet. It is a collection of documents that can be shared across
Internet-enabled computers.
The network of web servers serves as the backbone of the World Wide Web. The
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is used to gain access to the web. A web
browser makes a request for a particular web page to the web server, which in
turn responds with the requested web page and its contents. It then displays
the web page as rendered by HTML or other web languages used by the page. Each
resource on the web is identified by a globally unique identifier (URI). Each
web page has a unique address, with the help of which a browser accesses it.
With the help of the domain name system, a hierarchical naming system for
computers and resources participating in the Internet, the URL is resolved into
an IP address.
Presences of hyperlinks, the worldwide availability of content and universal
readership are some of the striking features of the World Wide Web. The interlinked
hypertext documents form a web of information. Hyperlinks present on web pages
allow the web users to choose their paths of traversal across information on
the web. They provide an efficient cross-referencing system and create a
non-linear form of text. Moreover, they create a different reading experience.
The information on the web is available 24/7 across the globe. It is updated in
real time and made accessible to web users around the world. Except for certain
websites requiring user login, all the other websites are open to everyone.
This all-time availability of information has made the Internet, a platform for
knowledge-sharing. Thanks to the use of a common HTML format for rendering web
content and a common access method using the HTTP protocol, the web has
achieved universal readership.
.......By Faith Gabriella.
