Web Overview

Overview of the World Wide Web

Distinction Between Internet and Web

  • Internet:

    • Network infrastructure for data transfer.

    • Comparable to a city's street system, allowing data to navigate from one location to another.

  • World Wide Web:

    • A service that functions over the Internet.

    • Involves data requests made by clients (browsers) to web servers, which respond with the requested information.

Services on the Web

  • Various services that utilize the web include:

    • Streaming Services: Example - Netflix.

    • Software as a Service (SaaS): Examples include content management systems like Desire to Learn or Canvas.

    • Accessing these services can be done through browsers or dedicated applications (apps).

Components of the Web

  • Web Servers:

    • Host documents and other media, including images and multimedia files.

  • The primary purpose of the web is to enable information flow in a format integrating text, graphics, and media to convey messages.

Core Technologies of the Web

  • HTML (Hypertext Markup Language):

    • Fundamental for defining web pages and their content.

    • More on HTML will be covered in this unit.

  • HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol):

    • Communication rules that govern web content transmission between clients (browsers) and servers.

    • Includes a secure version (HTTPS) for safer communication.

Interaction with the Web

  • Browsers:

    • Client software that allows access to the web, bridging local PCs and web servers.

  • Links and Hypertext:

    • Hypertext refers to clickable text that leads to different web locations.

    • Clicking a link results in downloading resources from the specified URL location.

  • URL (Uniform Resource Locator):

    • Addresses that indicate the location of resources on the Internet.

    • Links containing URLs lead to resources when clicked.

Future Consideration

  • Argument that if the web were invented today, it would be termed HMML (Hypermedia Markup Language) instead of HTML to reflect current usage trends like clicking on images and buttons more frequently than text.

Additional Technology

  • CSS (Cascading Style Sheets):

    • Provides design consistency within and across web pages within a website.