Introduction to website and HTML

date

Aug 1, 2023

slug

introduction-to-website-and-html

author

status

Public

History of the web

In two years (late 1990 and early 1991), the man called Tim Berners-Lee created the WWW - abbreviation of World Wide Web at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland.

The original purpose of the World Wide Web was to provide simple access to the existing cross-referenced documents on the CERN computer network

Hypertext allows you to link to and open other pages/resources quickly and conveniently

HTML for marking up docs as hypertext

HTTP for transferring HTML docs via the internet.

Website nowadays

It has evolved into much more than a set of hyperlinked passive documents read by humans

a set of hyperlinked passive documents: the phrase describes the early concept of the World Wide Web, where web pages were interconnected through hyperlinks but contained static content.

Users could navigate between these pages by clicking on hyperlinks. However, the modern web has evolved to become much more dynamic and interactive, offering a wide range of content, applications, and services beyond just static documents.

Therefore, this evolution has made the internet a rich and diverse platform with various forms of multimedia, user-generated content, social interactions, and interactive applications.

Web 2.0

Emerged: early 2000s
It brought a shift from static, one-way content to more interactive and participatory user. Users could contribute content, comment on posts, and engage in social networking.
Social media: it saw the rise of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Linkedln, enabling people connect, share, and collaborate online.
Semantic Web: Although not fully realised in Web 2.0, there were initial attempts to add metadata to web content to create a “Semantic Web,” where data could be better understood by machines.

Web 3.0

Definition: it also known as the “Semantic Web”, or the “Decentralised Web”, is the proposed third generation of the internet, building from the foundation of 2.0
Decentralisation: it aims to create a more decentralised web, using blockchain and distributed ledger technologies to give users more control over their data and online identities.
Artificial Intelligence: it seeks to leverage AI and ML to enable more personalised and contextually relevant online experiences.
Ubiquitous

contextually: refers to the meaning of a word, phrase, or expression based on the context in which it is used

leverage: using something to gain an advantage or influence a situation to achieve a desired outcome.

Decentralised Web is a version of the internet where data and services are not controlled by a central authority or company. Instead, information is distributed across a network of computers, making it more secure, private, and resistant to censorship. It aims to give users more control over their data and online experiences.

Semantic Web helps the internet understand what things mean, just like you understand the meaning of words in a books. It’s like a super-smart librarian that can find the perfect book for you every time you want to know something.

Web consortium

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is a group of Web developers, programmers, authors, formed in 1994

Purpose of the W3C is to lead, create and recommend standards that everyone can use to help bring the web “to its full potential”

It has no enforcement power, however the recommendations of the W3C are usually followed since a uniform approach is in the best interest of everyone.

The web is based on the HTTP internet application protocol

The standards they recommended cover many web areas and include: HTML, CSS, XML, RDF, SVG, SMIL, PNG, and more.

Server

Clients and Servers

Web Clients / Browsers ( or user agents)

Manage and make HTTP requests
Receive HTTP responses
Interpret and render/display completed Web documents.

Web servers (HTTP servers)

Receive HTTP requests
Retrieve Web Documents
Manage and make HTTP requests