World Wide Web
From Dharmasphere
Contents |
Overview
A diagram of the structure of the World Wide Web (read on for further explanation):
Websites and Servers
Websites are saved as data on computers called servers, which are often stored in professional data centres. The data centres have carefully monitored temperature conditions, emergency electricity power and systems to back up data in case of computer failure.
A server is not necessarily any different than a standard computer, except that its sole purpose is to serve web pages to users across the Internet. When a web designer creates web pages on their own computer, they then need to upload the files to the server in order for the rest of the world to be able to access them.
Clients and Users
When we view a website, we use a browser, such as Firefox or Internet Explorer. When the browser interacts with a server, in order to view a website, it is known as a client. The individual using the browser is known as a user.
Robot Clients
It is not only human beings who access websites on servers. Search engines, such as Google and Technorati, also access sites in order to index them. They crawl through each web page, following hyperlinks to the next. Clients that automatically browse through websites are called web crawlers or bots.
