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Many people use the terms Internet and World Wide Web (aka. the Web) interchangeably, but in fact the two terms are not synonymous. The Internet and the Web are two separate but related things.
What is The Internet?
The
Internet is a massive
network of networks, a networking infrastructure. It connects millions of computers together globally, forming a network in which any computer can communicate with any other computer as long as they are both connected to the Internet. Information that travels over the Internet does so via a variety of languages known as
protocols.
What is The Web (World Wide
Web)?
The
World Wide Web, or simply Web, is a way of accessing information over the medium of the Internet. It is an information-sharing model that is built on top of the Internet. The Web uses the HTTP protocol, only one of the languages spoken over the Internet, to transmit data. Web services, which use HTTP to allow applications to communicate in order to exchange business logic, use the the Web to share information. The Web also utilizes
browsers, such as
Internet Explorer or
Firefox, to access Web documents called
Web pages that are linked to each other via
hyperlinks. Web documents also contain graphics, sounds, text and video.
The Web is just one of the ways that information can be disseminated over the Internet. The Internet, not the Web, is also used for
e-mail, which relies on
SMTP,
Usenet news groups,
instant messaging and
FTP. So the Web is just a portion of the Internet, albeit a large portion, but the two terms are not synonymous and should not be confused.
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Related Terms
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DID YOU KNOW...
In March 1972
Ray Tomlinson wrote
the first basic e-mail program. In 1976 Queen Elizabeth II sent
an e-mail.
Read more in Webopedia's
Brief
Timeline of the Internet. |
By Webopedia.com Staff
Article
originally published in 2002. Last updated on
October 09, 2009
Did You Know... Why E-Mails Bounce
In computer jargon, a bounced e-mail is one that never arrives in the
recipient's inbox and is sent back, or bounced back, to the sender with an error
message that indicates to the sender that the e-mail was never successfully
transmitted. But what happens when someone sends an e-mail out into cyberspace,
and why do e-mails sometimes bounce back?
Did You Know... Who Owns the Internet?
No one actually owns the Internet, and no single person or organization controls
the Internet in its entirety. More of a concept than an actual tangible entity,
the Internet relies on a physical infrastructure that connects networks to other
networks.
Quick Reference:
Brief Timeline of the Internet
When we talk about the Internet, we talk about the World Wide Web from the past
four or five years. But, its history goes back a lot further; all the way back
to the 1950s and 60s.
Quick Reference: Countries and Their Domain Extensions
Not all domains end in .com, .org, or .edu. Different countries use different
suffixes, usually two letters. If you encounter a Web site with a unique
two-letter domain extension, look here for its country equivalent.
Quick Reference:
Who's Who in Internet and Computer Technology
The people listed in this section have made major contributions to the field of
computer and Internet technology. As the technology leaps forward at a rapid
pace, the list will continue to grow as new innovators make their mark on the
industry. |
