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World Wide Web

The World Wide Web (the "Web" or "WWW" for short) is a hypertext system that operates over the Internet. Hypertext is browsed using a program called a web browser which retrieves pieces of information (called "documents" or "web pages") from web servers (or "web sites") and displays them on your screen. You can then follow hyperlinks on each page to other documents or even send information back to the server to interact with it. The act of following hyperlinks is often called "surfing" the web.

Origins

(see also History_of_the_Internet#World_Wide_Web)

The current Web can be traced back to a project at CERN in 1989 when Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau built ENQUIRE (short for Enquire Within Upon Everything, a book Berners-Lee recalled from his youth). While it was rather different from the Web we use today, it contained many of the same core ideas (and even some of the ideas of Berners-Lee's next project, the Semantic Web). Berners-Lee mentions that much of the motivation behind the project was so that he could access library information that was scattered on several different servers at CERN.

Tim Berners-Lee published a more formal proposal for the actual World Wide Web on November 12, 1990 [1] (http://www.w3.org/Proposal) and wrote the first web page [2] (http://www.w3.org/History/19921103-hypertext/hypertext/WWW/Link.html) on November 13 on a NeXT workstation. In Christmas of that year Berners-Lee built all the tools necessary for a working Web [3] (http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/WorldWideWeb), the first actual web browser (which was a web-editor as well), and the first web server.

The primary underlying concept of hypertext came from earlier efforts, such as Ted Nelson's Project Xanadu, Vannevar Bush's "memex" machine concept and the Note Code Project.

The World Wide Web had a number of differences with hypertext systems that were then in place (e.g. Note Code used a simple and readable syntax and even semantic descriptors):

• The WWW required only unidirectional links rather than bidirectional ones. This made it possible for someone to link to another resource without action by the owner of that resource.

• Unlike other protocols such as Hypercard or Gopher, the World Wide Web had a protocol that was non-proprietary, making it possible to develop servers and clients independently and to add extensions without licensing restrictions.

On April 30, 1993 CERN announced (http://info.web.cern.ch/info/Announcements/CERN/2003/04-30TenYearsWWW/Declaration/Page1.html) that the World Wide Web would be free to anyone, with no fees due.

The three standards

The Web is made up of three standards: The Uniform Resource Locator (URL), which specifies how each page of information is given a unique "address" at which it can be found; Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which specifies how the browser and server send the information to each other, and Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML), a method of encoding the information so it can be displayed on a variety of devices. Berners-Lee now heads the World Wide Web Consortium, which develops and maintains these standards and others that enable computers on the Web to effectively store and communicate all kinds of information.

Beyond text

The initial "www" program at CERN only displayed text, but later browsers such as Pei-Yuan Wei's Viola (1992) added the ability to display graphics as well. Marc Andreessen of NCSA released a browser called "Mosaic for X" in 1993 that sparked a tremendous rise in the popularity of the Web among novice users. Andreesen went on to found Mosaic Communications Corporation (now Netscape Communications, a unit of Time Warner). Additional features such as dynamic content, music and animation can be found in modern browsers.

Frequently, the technical capability of browsers and servers advances much faster than the standards bodies can keep up with, so it is not uncommon for these newer features to not work properly on all computers, and the web as seen by Netscape is not quite the same as the web seen by Internet Explorer. The ever-improving technical capability of the WWW has enabled the development of real-time web-based services such as webcasts, web radio and live web cams.

Java and Javascript

Another significant advance in the technology was Sun Microsystems' Java programming language, which enabled web servers to embed small programs (called applets) directly into the information being served that would run on the user's computer, allowing faster and richer user interaction.

The similarly named, but actually quite different, JavaScript is a scripting language developed for Web pages. In conjunction with the Document Object Model, JavaScript has become a much more powerful language than its creators originally envisioned.

Sociological implications

The exponential growth of the Internet was primarily attributed to the emergence of the web browser Mosaic, followed by its commercial offspring Netscape Navigator, during the mid-1990s.

It brought unprecedented attention to the Internet from media, industries, policy makers, and the general public.

Eventually, it led to several visions of how our society might change, although some point out that those visions are not unique to the Internet, but repeated with many new technologies (especially information and communications technologies) of various era.

Because the web is global in scale, some suggested that it will nurture mutual understanding on a global scale.

Publishing web pages

The web is available to individuals outside mass media. In order to "publish" a web page, one does not have to go through a publisher or other media institution, and potential readers could be found in all corners of the globe. To some this represents an opportunity to enhance democracy by giving voice to alternative and minority views. Others took it as a path to anarchy and unrestrained freedom of expression. Yet others took it as a sign that a hierarchically organized society of which mass media is a symptomatic part, will be replaced by a so-called network society.

In addition, hypertext seemed to promote non-hierarchical and non-linear ways of expression and thinking. Unlike books and documents, hypertext does not have a linear order from beginning to end. It is not broken down into the hierarchy of chapters, sections, subsections, etc. This is reminiscent of the idea of Marshall McLuhan that new media change people's perception of the world, mentality, and way of thinking. While not unique to the web, hypertext in this sense is closely related to the notion of "death of author" and intertextuality in structuralist literary theory.

These bold visions are not fully realized yet. We can find both supporting and countering aspects of web usage.

First, regarding the increased global unity, it is true that many different kinds of information are now available on the web, and for those who wish to know other societies, their cultures and peoples, it became easier. When one travels to a foreign country or a remote town, s/he might be able to find some information about the place on the web, especially if the place is in one of developed countries. Local newspapers, government publications, and other materials are easier to access, and therefore the variety of information obtainable with the same effort may be said to have increased, for the users of the Internet.

At the same time, there are some obvious limitations. The web is so far a very text-centered medium, and those who are illiterate cannot make much use of it. Even among the literate, usage of a computer may or may not be easy enough. It has been known during the late 1990s, though with ample exceptions, that web users are dominantly young male in college or with a college degree. Now the trend has been changing and female and elderly are also using the web, level of education and income are related to the web use, some think (See also: Digital divide). Another significant obstacle is the language. Although some websites are available in multiple languages, many are in the local language only. Also, not all software supports all special characters, and RTL languages. These factors would challenge the notion that the World Wide Web will bring a unity to the world.

Second, the increased opportunity to publish materials is certainly observable in the countless personal pages, as well as pages by families, small shops, etc., facilitated by the emergence of free web hosting services.

Yet not a small part of those pages seem to be either prematurely abandoned or one-time practice. Very few of those pages, even when they are well-developed, are popular. When it comes to the expression of ideas and provision of information, it seems that the major media organizations and those companies who became major organizations through their online operations are still favored by the dominant majority. In addition, the Web is not necessarily a tool for political self-education and deliberation. The most popular uses of the Web include searching and downloading of pornography, which perhaps have very limited effect in improving democracy. The most intensively accessed web pages include the document detailing the former President Bill Clinton's sexual misconduct with Monica Lewinsky, as well as the lingerie fashion show by Victoria's Secret. In sum, both in terms of writers and readers, the Web is not popularly used for democracy. While this is not enough to categorically reject the possibility of the Web as a tool for democracy, the effect so far seems to be smaller than some of the expectations for a quite simple reason, lack of interest and popularity. Anarchistic freedom of expression may be enjoyed by some, but many web hosting companies have developed their acceptable use policy over time, sometimes prohibiting some sensitive and potentially illegal expressions. And again, those expressions may not reach great many. The web is still largely a hierarchical place, some argue.

Third, regarding non-linear and non-hierarchical structure of the Web, the effect of those on people's perception and psychology are still largely unknown. Some argue that our culture is changing to that of postmodernity, which is closely related to non-linear and non-hierarchical way of thinking, being, and even social organization. Yet the counter evidences are available as well. Among the most notable would be the existence of web directories and search engines. Those sites often provide navigations to most popular sites to the visitors. In addition, it is quite obvious that many web sites are organized according to a simple hierarchy, having the "home page" at the top. At least the present state of the Web and web users seem to suggest the change has not been as great as envisioned by some.

Statistics

According to [4] (http://www.netz-tipp.de/languages.html), by far the most Web content is in English: 56%; next are German (8%), French (6%) and Japanese (5%).

According to a 2001 study [5] (http://www.brightplanet.com/technology/deepweb.asp), there were then 550 billion documents on the web, mostly in the "invisible web".

Speed issues

Frustration over congestion issues in the Internet infrastructure and the high latency that results in slow browsing has lead to an alternative name for the Web; the World Wide Wait. Speeding up the Internet is a still undergoing discussion over the use of peering and QoS technologies. Other solutions to reduce the World Wide Wait can be found on W3C (http://www.w3.org/Protocols/NL-PerfNote.html).

Academic Conferences

The major academic event covering the WWW is the World Wide Web series of conferences, promoted by IW3C2 (http://www.iw3c2.org). There is a list (http://www.iw3c2.org/Conferences/Welcome.html) with links to all conferences in the series.

See also

• History of the Internet
• Semantic Web
• Media studies
• smartphone
• List of websites
• Search Engine
• Hypertext

External links

• Complete Guide to Internet Statistics and Research, including WWW (http://internet-statistics-guide.netfirms.com)
• 31 December, 2003, BBCNews: Web's inventor gets a knighthood (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3357073.stm) The inventor of the world wide web, Tim Berners-Lee, has been awarded a knighthood for his pioneering work. Citat: "...The original idea of the web was that it should be a collaborative space where you can communicate through sharing information..."
• http://dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Web_Design_and_Development/
• First known web page (http://www.w3.org/History/19921103-hypertext/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html)