World Wide Web (WWW)

WWW stands for World Wide Web and is commonly known as the Web. The WWW was started by CERN in 1989. WWW is defined as the collection of different websites around the world, containing different information shared via local servers(or computers).

Web pages are linked together using hyperlinks which are HTML-formatted and, also referred to as hypertext, these are the fundamental units of the Internet and are accessed through Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Such digital connections, or links, allow users to easily access desired information by connecting relevant pieces of information. The benefit of hypertext is it allows you to pick a word or phrase from the text and click on other sites that have more information about it. This data may be presented in text, picture, audio, or video formats on the internet.

History of the WWW

It is a project created, by Tim Berner Lee in 1989, for researchers to work together effectively at CERN. It is an organization, named the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which was developed for further development of the web. This organization is directed by Tim Berner’s Lee, aka the father of the web. CERN, where Tim Berners worked, is a community of more than 1700 researchers from more than 100 countries. These researchers spend a little time on CERN and the rest of the time they work at their colleges and national research facilities in their home country, so there was a requirement for solid communication so that they can exchange data.

System Architecture

From the user’s point of view, the web consists of a vast, worldwide connection of documents or web pages. Each page may contain links to other pages anywhere in the world. The pages can be retrieved and viewed by using browsers of which internet explorer, Netscape Navigator, Google Chrome, etc are the popular ones. The browser fetches the page requested interprets the text and formatting commands on it, and displays the page, properly formatted, on the screen.

The basic model of how the web works are shown in the figure below. Here the browser is displaying a web page on the client machine. When the user clicks on a line of text that is linked to a page on the abd.com server, the browser follows the hyperlink by sending a message to the abd.com server asking it for the page.

Here the browser displays a web page on the client machine when the user clicks on a line of text that is linked to a page on abd.com, the browser follows the hyperlink by sending a message to the abd.com server asking for the page.

Working of WWW

A Web browser is used to access web pages. Web browsers can be defined as programs which display text, data, pictures, animation and video on the Internet. Hyperlinked resources on the World Wide Web can be accessed using software interfaces provided by Web browsers. Initially, Web browsers were used only for surfing the Web but now they have become more universal.

The below diagram indicates how the Web operates just like client-server architecture of the internet. When users request web pages or other information, then the web browser of your system request to the server for the information and then the web server provide requested services to web browser back and finally the requested service is utilized by the user who made the request.

World Wide Web

Web browsers can be used for several tasks including conducting searches, mailing, transferring files, and much more. Some of the commonly used browsers are Internet Explorer, Opera Mini, and Google Chrome.

Features of WWW

• WWW is open source.
• It is a distributed system spread across various websites.
• It is a Hypertext Information System.
• It is Cross-Platform.
• Uses Web Browsers to provide a single interface for many services.
• Dynamic, Interactive and Evolving.

Components of the Web

There are 3 components of the web:

• Uniform Resource Locator (URL): URL serves as a system for resources on the web.
• Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP): HTTP specifies communication of browser and server.
• Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML): HTML defines the structure, organisation and content of a web page.

Difference Between WWW and Internet

Web Browser Evolution and the Growth of the World Wide Web

In the early 1990s, Tim Berners-Lee and his team created a basic text web browser. It was the release of the more user-friendly Mosaic browser in 1993 that really sparked widespread interest in the World Wide Web (WWW). Mosaic had a clickable interface similar to what people were already familiar with on personal computers, which made it easier for everyone to use the internet.

Mosaic was developed by Marc Andreessen and others in the United States. They later made Netscape Navigator, which became the most popular browser in 1994. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer took over in 1995 and held the top spot for many years. Mozilla Firefox came out in 2004, followed by Google Chrome in 2008, both challenging IE’s dominance. In 2015, Microsoft replaced Internet Explorer with Microsoft Edge.

Challenges of the World Wide Web

• Privacy Concerns: Personal data is often collected and misused.
• Security Risks: Vulnerable to hacking, phishing, and malware.
• Digital Divide: Unequal access to the internet globally.
• Misinformation: Spread of fake news and unreliable content.
• Cyberbullying: Online harassment and abuse.
• Addiction: Overuse of the web leading to reduced productivity.
• Dependence: Heavy reliance on the web for daily activities.
• Copyright Issues: Unauthorized sharing of copyrighted material.
• Environmental Impact: High energy consumption of servers and data centers.
• Complexity of Regulation: Difficult to enforce laws across countries.