World Wide Web
The World wide web(called 'WWW or W3 in short) is the most popular and promising method of organizing and accessing information on hte Internet. Main reason for its popularity is use of a concept called hypertext. Hypertext is a new way of information storage and retrieval that enables authors to structure information in novel ways. A properly designed hypertext document can help users locate desired type of Information rapidly from vast amount of information on the Internet . Hypertext document enable this by using a series of links. Different systems show a link on screen in different ways such as a labeled button, highlighted text, different color text than normal text, or author-defined graphic symblos. A link is a special type of item in a hypertext document connecting the document to another document that provides more information about the linked item. The latter document can be anywhere on the Internet (In the same document in which the linked item is, on the same computer in which the former document is , or on another computer at the other end of the world). By "connect", we mean that a user simply selects the linked item and the user sees the other document on his/her computer terminal almost immediately.
World Wide Web
This hypertext document has following two links shown as highlighted texts:
1. centre for Development of Advanced Computing(C-DAC):- Let us assume that this link connects the current document to another document giving detailed information about C-DAC , and is located on a computer system at C-DAC in pune, India.
2. Multimedia Systems Research Laboratory(MSRL) of Panasonic . Let us assume that this link connects the current document to another document giving detailed information about MSRL of panasonic ,andis located on a computer system at MSRL of Panasonic , and is located on a computer system at MSRL of Panasonic in Tokyo , Japan.
Now, if your use your mouse to click anywhere on the link Multimedia Systems Research Laboratory (MSRL) of Panasonic of displayed document , within a few seconds your will find yourself connected to the computer at MSRL of Panasonic in Tokyo, and the document giving detailed information about MSRL of Panasonic will be displayed on your computer screen.
Hypertext document on the Internet are known as webpages. Web page desiners create Web pages by using a special language called Hypertext Markup Language. HTML is a subset of a more generalized language called Standard Generalized language called Standard Generalized Markup Langugae that is a powerful langauage for linking documents for easier electronic access and manipulation. HTML is now a de-facto industrial standard for creating Web pages.
The WWW uses client-server model, and an Internet Protocol called Hypertext Transport Protocol for interaction between computers on the Internet. Any computer on the Internet using the HTTP protocol is called Web Server, and any computer accessing that server is called a web Client . Use of Client-server model and the HTTP allows different kinds of computers on the Internet to Interact with each other. For example, a Unix workstation may be a web server and windows PC may be a web client, if both of them use the HTTP protocol for transmitting and receiving information.
