What Is WWW: How WWW Is Different From Internet
WWW has two significance in term of implication as a Post topic. First, knowledge of the term WWW and how it did come into the scenario of the development of Internet culture. Second, applying www as a prefix in a domain name; in other word, using or not using www in the site’s url. We’ve illustrated the second in another article.
You can look up that for a complete understanding from this link-
♦ WWW Vs Non-WWW: Complex Definition Made Simple.
Now we’re going to launch an expedition deep into the WWW. Noted, there are tons of stuff on the same topic and we have specialists throughout internet to provide valuable scientific information.
But here at NETPLANTER.COM, we always emphasize on practical aspect of a subject, rather than its definition and information presentation. We gonna do the same in this case too. We like to represent WWW-tale through our traditional QUESTION-ANSWER model.
What is WWW and what does this term refer to?
QUESTION: I know brother, WWW stands for World Wide Web. Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented it in 1989. My question is not that. I like to know-whether www is a hardware or software or organization or internet or website or engine or physical property or virtual thing? Where does it exist?
ANSWER: Thanks for question. I won’t try to answer this as ticking out in MCQ type question. To settle this, let’s travel towards past and ask us a question-
What was first- INTERNET or WWW?
Certainly Internet, which started to be visually developed since early 1960s by efforts of US Department of Defense in form of ARPANET. Afterwards, through the development process of Internet stage by stage, Berners-Lee came out successful in showing the world a new form of web-data transmission background called World Wide Web in 1989. So it is clear, there was a time before 1989 when there was no World Wide Web but Internet was on the go, though not as fast as today’s. Now a new question-
What did Internet do then? OR, What was transmitted through this cable network and how?
Yes, answer to this question will reveal to us what World Wide Web is. During pre-www period, Internet was used (even today is being used) to transfer file (text, image or others), transmit message or email, and send news and so on. These were transmitted from Server Computer to Client Computer, not as a form of WEBPAGE.
At that time, there was neither website nor Social Media as is today. As a matter of fact, the term World Wide Web or Web is associated with WEBSITE. Today there are so many websites [Approximately 1.5 billion among them 200 million are active] around the world that most people think Internet activities mean the activities of the websites or webpages.
QUESTION: Many things are clear as if a new horizon of roaming in Internet Planet opened before my eyes. But I found no concrete answer to my previous question-What thing is World Wide Web?
ANSWER: I halted, not stopped. As I mentioned above, before age of World Wide Web data transmission technology was different other than in form of webpage. In those days and even today, File Transfer was/is done over FTP [File Transfer Protocol], Mail Transmission by SMTP [Simple Mail Transfer protocol] and news (Usenet news article) transfer over UUCP [Unix-to-Unix Copy Protocol] Present name of which is NNTP [Network News Transfer Protocol] and so on. And today’s WWW-based web-page communication system is structured on HTTP [Hypertext Transfer Protocol]. There is definite Server and Protocol for each kind of transmission system. To structure the URL/address of each system, the abbreviated name of Protocol is attached to respective URL as prefix. The following Table describe their relationship best-
TRANSFER PROTOCOL SERVER NAME ADDRESS EXAMPLE FILE FTP File Server ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/ MAIL SMTP Mail Server smtp.google.com WEBPAGE HTTP Web Server http://www.netplanter.com
Contextually, What is Protocol?
It is shown in the box below. But we can take a pleasant example to understand Protocol.
NETWORK PROTOCOL: Network Protocol is a set of rules that is necessary for communication between devices connected with network. Network Protocol includes mechanism for devices to identify and make connection with each other for a definite type of data transmission. Protocol may be implemented by hardware or software or by both. In easier word, Protocol is the rules by which a system is built up in collaboration with definite hardware and/or software to make a definite form of data transmission possible between two devices, regardless of their physical variant, connected with the same network.
Suppose, a country has two hundred rivers which flow throughout the country. All the rivers are linked with each other by their tributaries, dis-tributaries and canals. So they have created a network, Network of River. To ply from one river to another, the boatman of small boats use boat-hook, that of middle-sized boats use oar and sail and big commercial boat use engine. Certainly the boatmen have to follow their respective rules side by side using instrument to ply their boats to and from their destinations. Here, Three types of boat-plying policy are three protocols in the River Network.
Now we’ve reached the situation to answer our first question. Let’s utter the question again-
In ultimate sense, actually what WWW is?
The answer is: WWW is not a Protocol; rather World Wide Web is active through Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
World Wide Web is composed of all the elements (websites/webpages only) stored in all the WEB-SERVERS (not other servers) around the globe.
Hence, World Wide Web is-
- not a software
- not a hardware
- not Internet itself; rather, it is a part of internetting system
- not website, rather, it is collection of all the websites
- not an engine
- not an organization though there is an organization named W3C [World Wide Web Consortium]
- not physical entity
Actually World Wide Web is a virtual world or webosphere which is composed of all the websites/webpages collectively which we cannot touch or taste or smell but it does exist. We meet this world everyday from our device by browser. This word was shaped and structured by Berners-Lee. Undoubtedly, Lee’s invention HTTP protocol to transfer web data is the most upgraded one the world ever take advantages of to travel around INTERNET.
QUESTION: All these mean, World Wide Web or Web is one of the ways to data transmission over the Internet. Right?
ANSWER: Exactly!
QUESTION: What thing inspired Lee to invent WWW?
ANSWER: It is NECESSITY which is the mother of invention. Man had never been satisfied with what he had achieved. Problem-solving trends lead man to invent thing which throws him into multiple colorful problems. Same is the case here.
QUESTION: Touching answer! But I want to know the fact behind WWW expedition.
ANSWER: In the early days of computers during 1960s to 1970s, exchanging information between computers was difficult and rare and was hardly available to common people. This is because, the machines named computer made by one manufacturers were totally incompatible with those manufactured by others. In the 1970s, microcomputers was popular in form of personal computer produced by different companies. But these machines could not run the same program; rather, a special type of program was compatible with a definite type of computer.
As a result, an exhaustive system to communicate between computers of all types was not possible to be built up. In the late 1970s, Apple’s microcomputers receiving immense popularity worldwide produced the same result; that is, machines by different producers could not understand the same language.
In this historic chronology of computer development, a great change was brought about by World’s biggest computer company IBM with introduction of its personal computers which started to work the same way. Microsoft’s Windows OS allowed all the IBM-compatible computers run the same program.
But still there were problems with the computers beyond IBM manufactures, giant machines in science laboratory and big mainframe in large companies. So, how could computers be made to recognize the same language?-was the QUESTION before the world when Berners-Lee came forward.
QUESTION: How did Lee beat the issue?
ANSWER: Yes, this is the question. Oxford graduate Sir Tim Berners-Lee was working at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research] as an Software Engineer. He found a way to solve this problem. Though early computers were incompatible with one another, they all could store and process information using ASCII.
ASCII: ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. As per ASCII, the numbers 0–255 are used to represent letters, numbers, and keyboard characters like A, B, C, 1, 2, 3, %, &, and @.
On the basis of ASCII, Berners-Lee formulated two basic systems of rules-one is HTTP and other is HTML. He also wrote about the URL, BROWSER and WEB SERVER for the first time to explain this fundamental technology which is the foundation of today’s web. Here is how Berners-Lee chalked-out this new technology by these two rules.
- HTTP:The fact about Hypertext Transfer Protocol is exchanging information between two computers situated either close to each other or in two different ends of the world. In this protocol, the CLIENT computer must have a Program called WEB BROWSER and the other computer will be the SERVER or WEB SERVER. Browser will send request for its desired things to the Server and Server will find out that and send back to the Server. This HTTP conversation between Browser and Server is actually, browsing website by the user of Client computers. This is simply Hypertext Transfer Protocol.
- HTML: A Client computer must understand the language of the files it receives that is written by HTTP. In this case, Lee’s second rule HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) was to introduce a common language to write the exchangeable files. It was on the basis of ASCII; so it was understandable by any computer. Beyond that, HTML has special code called tag which is used to structure the text. A web browser can read these tags and display the codes transforming to our readable form with bold, italic, color, background-color, font-size etc. Look at the comparison below.
QUESTION: How does a DEFINITE site or page from Server finds its way into my Browser?
ANSWER: It is by definite URL (Universal/Uniform Resource Locator). This URL is determined by the Domain name and Domain name is determined by the IP address of the SERVER computer. You can find details on IP Address here. Every computer has a unique IP address; so has the Server computer. There is also authority to register Domain Name. You will have to fix and purchase your Domain Name and Link it with the IP address (Name Server) of your WEB SERVER.
We have a soothing stuff on DOMAIN NAME; read out if you are not quite sure of it.
♦ What Is Domain Name: How Knowledge of Domain Name Uplifts Your Site-building Efforts
Thus your site is ready to be displayed onto any browser around the globe. When anybody types this URL (mainly the domain name) in the browser’s address bar and hits ENTER, the Browser will send request to the DNS (Domain Name System). Then, DNS will match Doamin Name and find out the IP address or the Web Server that is linked with it and thus locate your site.
Next, Server will reply to the request of the browser by sending your website’s files as html formatted document. After that, browser will translate the files in readable form and display on the user’s screen. All these things happen within second.
QUESTION: Although all is almost clear, please specify the difference and relation between WWW and INTERNET?
ANSWER: In a word, Web or World Wide Web (WWW) is the portion of Internet which is the massive network infrastructure covering the whole world connecting millions of computers with one another. Information traveling over the Internet follow various languages, rules, processes and above all PROTOCOLS. WWW follows one Protocol (HTTP) among many others.
Dear readers, hope this article-What Is WWW: How WWW Is Different From Internet-has eliminated the question regarding the subject to help you get acquainted with. Consciously, I disclaims that it is not a specialized discussion. We have, as mentioned above, laid emphasis on applied side of the topic to lead you a bit ahead removing the darkness.
Hope you enjoyed!
Feel free to ask any question or inform of your opinion in the comment box below. Your informative and constructive question and comment will be added with the post in the next update.
Originally published at www.netplanter.com on July 20, 2018.
