Definition
and Meaning of Word Wide Web
The
World Wide Web (WWW) is a computer system that is referred to as the Web it is formatted in html and accessible via http. It differs from other computer
systems in that it covers the whole world. This is why it is called the World
Wide Web. Moreover, it uses the Internet
to link together lots of interesting items of information globally.
As Internet
is the electronic superhighway and an electronic world road system, the World
Wide Web is the road sign system. Just as the road sign shows you where a
particular road leads to, the World Wide Web makes sure that the information
from one computer will be displayed on any other computer on the Internet in a form that is easy to read
and understand. It also guides you round the Internet, just as road signs you to where you want to go.
ORIGIN
OF THE WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW)
The
history of the Web dates back to the late 1980s in Geneva, Switzerland, located
in this city is the European laboratory for Particle Physics. The Web was first
developed in this laboratory. It was originally intended for the use of
scientists rather than the general public. The commercial use of the Web
started in 1994 and has now spread to most parts of the world.
However,
there are currently less than 30 African countries that have been connected to
the Internet. Without connection to
the Internet, access to the Web is not possible. It is indeed predicted that
every country in the world is linked to the Internet in the year 2010.
BASIC FEATURES OF THE
WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW)
Internet Connection
The
Web has a number of features with which users should be familiar. First of all,
before one can start using the web, there must be an internet connection.
In
addition to Internet connection,
there must be a client software programme called Web Browser. A browser is a
software tool that greatly simplifies the process of a user’s “visiting”
different locations on the Internet. The Web browser performs two important
functions. First, it displays the various of files found on the Web as
individual pages on the computer screen. This display is in a format that is
easy to read. The Web browser also makes it possible to follow the connections
built into Web pages.
Web Page
A
Web page is simply any document, which is available on the Web. The connections
built into the Web pages are called hypertext
links or hyperlinks.
Web Site and Home Page
A
connection of Web pages that deal with a single subject or organization is
called Web site. The main page of a
Web site is called home page. A home page generally contains links to
additional locations within the Web site as well as external sites.
Hypertext
may be defined as a system of writing and displaying text in a way that enables
several desired results to be achieved. Example of such results include:
a. Making it possible for the text to be
linked in multiple ways;
b. Making the text available at several
levels of detail;
c. Accommodating links to related
documents.
Hypertext Markup
Language (HTML)
This
is sometimes abbreviated as HTML. It is a language that is used to write pages
for the Web and create links for the display of documents on the Web. The
language makes it possible for the text to include codes, which define, for
example, layout and hypertext links.
Protocol
Protocol
is very important when communicating over a network, especially the Internet. Protocol here is a system of
rules or standards which users have to comply with. Computers and networks
interact according to these standards. The standards determine the behavior,
which each side expects from the other in the transfer of information. An
example of an internet protocol address system represented by
decimal notation is http://155.198.172.3/~duo/.
This is the Internet address of a
Nigerian international concert pianist.
Notice
the distinct difference between the E-mail
address and the Internet address systems. Whereas the E-mail address always starts with the
name of the addressee, while the internet
address always starts with http
(hypertext transfer protocol). The protocol (http) is the basis of World Wide
Web technology. It is made up of a set of rules which, govern the software that
transports HTML (HyperText Markup Language) document along the Internet.
Recommended for Reading:
Networking
