What Is the World Wide Web?

The Web has become defined as the collection of documents and content that are available on the Internet. Any document that has been made available can be accessed through the unique Internet address assigned to that particular document. Now, through the use of a point and click interface called a browser, documents and images can be viewed and - by means of email or active content - viewers can interact with the author regarding their work.

How the World Wide Web Works

The Web is fundamentally based on documents that are shared across the Internet using a particular transfer protocol. Protocols are a set of rules and guidelines that define how information is shared and made available. The transfer protocol used on the Web is called Hypertext Transfer protocol (HTTP).

HTML for Language

HTML was one of the first languages developed for sharing information on the Web over HTTP. HTML allowed a document to be formatted in a pleasing manner and to include information such as picture, video and audio content. It also governed the aspects of the text itself, providing the facility to link from the original document to other documents that exist within the website or in other places on the Web to expand on the information being provided.

Browsers for Viewing

Since the introduction of the Web to the public, considerable development on the browser - the tool used for access - have occurred. Each browser now has its own feel and capabilities but essentially they all perform the same task, which is viewing Web content. Any type of content is now viewable either as a webpage viewed directly in the browser or a file that is downloaded and viewed by an auxiliary program.

World Wide Web Consortium for Policies

The World Wide Web Consortium governs and oversees accepted usage and technical aspects of the languages and policies in use on the Web. This organization was created by the developer of the Web to aid in making sure that everyone conforms to a set of standards that make the interchange of information as universal as possible. This organization has been reported as describing the Web as the embodiment of all human knowledge, accessible through network interfaces.

Benefits of the World Wide Web

The benefits of the Web to society have continued to expand from the very beginning.

International commerce - By utilizing the Web, commerce markets are no longer limited to local or national levels but have become worldwide in scope.
Fast long-distance communication - Communication has become almost instantaneous, regardless of the geographical location of your contact.
Sharing of information - Information of any nature can be sent through the Internet using email clients on the Web. While the protocol is different for mail interactions, most people use the Web to correspond with family, friends and colleagues.
Instant communication - The Web has become a tool to stay informed on up to the minute information such as world news, weather or sports scores.

If you want to know something, the Web can find the information somewhere and most times in a number of places so that you can be assured of the validity of the information.

History of the World Wide Web

An academic consortium in Europe first created the Web in 1991 to provide access to the large number of articles, papers and reports that were being produced. Tim Berners-Lee developed the computer protocols to allow for the interchange data between computers within the project.

In the beginning most data exchange was textual in nature and it was not until 1993 the first graphical browser was released for use in accessing data available on the Web. Mosaic - this first visual browser - allowed for the viewing of graphs, pictures, and audio information to be added to the textual information.

Once this major leap from text to graphics was accomplished, the Web became useful for many other sectors of society. Even the common person on the street could access information about a topic of interest by using this new technology.