| Web | | | | The first full-text Web search engine was |
| | | | WebCrawler in 1994. Before WebCrawler, only |
| The Web is a collection of interconnected | | | | Web page titles were searched. As of 2006, |
| documents and other resources, linked by | | | | search engine rankings are more important |
| hyperlinks and URLs. The Hypertext Transfer | | | | than ever, so much so that an industry has |
| Protocol (HTTP) is the application layer | | | | developed ("search engine optimizers", or |
| protocol that links and provides access to | | | | "SEO") to help web-developers improve their |
| the files, documents and other resources of | | | | search ranking. The recommended method, if |
| the World Wide Web. The Web is a way of | | | | your HTTP server allows it, is to insert an |
| accessing information over the medium of the | | | | extra header in the HTTP header stream that |
| Internet. Web services, which use HTTP to | | | | precedes the contents of documents that are |
| allow applications to communicate in order to | | | | sent to web browsers. Some browsers, notably |
| exchange business logic, use the Web to share | | | | Microsoft's Internet Explorer versions 3 and |
| information. Web documents also contain | | | | 4, will download the root document for your |
| graphics, sounds, text and video. Compared to | | | | web server and look for a generic labels |
| encyclopedias and traditional libraries, the | | | | there. |
| World Wide Web has enabled a sudden and | | | | |
| extreme decentralization of information and | | | | Material |
| data. Many individuals and some companies and | | | | |
| groups have adopted the use of "Web logs" or | | | | Many web site operators offer materials that |
| blogs, which are largely used as | | | | they realize will not be appropriate for all |
| easily-updatable online diaries. | | | | audiences. The range of material is much |
| | | | wider, from pornography to highly specialized |
| Browsers | | | | technical Web-casts. There are many free and |
| | | | commercially available software programs with |
| Even before the World Wide Web, there were | | | | which a user can choose to block offensive |
| search engines that attempted to organize the | | | | Web sites on individual computers or |
| Internet. As the Web grew, search engines and | | | | networks, such as to limit a child's access |
| Web directories were created to track pages | | | | to pornography or violence. |
| on the Web and allow people to find things. | | | | |