Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: World Wide Web |
World Wide WebNoun1. Computer network consisting of a collection of internet sites that offer text and graphics and sound and animation resources through the hypertext transfer protocol. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Synonym: World Wide WebSynonym: web (n). (additional references) |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
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.
The 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!). Tim Berners-Lee published a more formal proposal for the actual World Wide Web on November 12, 1990 [1] and wrote the first web page [1] on November 13. In Christmas of that year Berners-Lee built all the tools necessary for a working Web [1], the first actual web browser (which was a web-editor as well), and the first web server.
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 at all 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.
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.
The exponential growth of the Internet was primarily attributed to the emergence of the web browser Mosaic, followed by another, 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.
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. Currently, only a limited number of languages are useable on the web, due to software and standard issues, and none would understand all the available languages. These factors would challenge the notion that the World Wide Web will bring a unity to the world.
Second, the increased opportunity to individuals are certainly observable in the countless personal pages, as well as other groups such as families, small shops, which are not among those who publish materials. The emergence of free web hosting services are perhaps an important factor in bringing this possibility into the reality. The activities of alternative media expanded into the web as well.
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 fashon 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 may 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.
Origins
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 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. Java and Javascript
Sociological Implications
Publishing web pages
Statistics
By far the most Web content is in English: 56%; next are German (8%), French (6%) and Japanese (5%). See also
External link
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "World Wide Web."
Crosswords: World Wide Web |
| English words defined with "world wide web": internet site, intranet ♦ Java ♦ site ♦ uniform resource locator, universal resource locator, URL ♦ web page, web site. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "world wide web": browser software ♦ cobweb site ♦ home page ♦ killer app ♦ Portable Network Graphics ♦ W3 Consortium, W3C, web pointer, webmaster, World Wide Web Consortium, world-wide web. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Lyrics | We didn't know about a World Wide Web (AM Radio; performing artist: Everclear) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Periodicals |
|
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | OMIM was developed for the World Wide Web by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). (references) | |
The draft statement was made available on the World Wide Web immediately following its release at the conference and was updated with the panel's final revisions. (references) | ||
For example, a scientist at the University of Washington in Seattle hopes to develop a computerized guide for the World Wide Web that women could use to help them as they approach menopause. (references) | ||
Business | The market is growing steadily, with most new nodes being used to provide for World Wide Web presence. (references) | |
Traditional copper wires, for example, cannot be used for high-speed data transmission or even the World Wide Web at acceptable speeds. (references) | ||
According to ASSINFORM, Italian businesses connected to the World Wide Web were estimated at 1.5 million at the end of 1999, with 3 million users. (references) | ||
Children | Switzerland | To combat child pornography on the Internet, the Federal Office for Police provides an Internet monitoring service on its World Wide Web page. (references) |
Civil Liberties | Switzerland | The Federal Office for Police provided an Internet monitoring service on its World Wide Web page in an effort to combat child pornography on the Internet. (references) |
Economic History | Denmark | Advertising on the world wide web is increasing. (references) |
Travel | Ireland | Internet and e-mail connections may also be used as the number of Irish users of e-mail and those accessing the World Wide Web are increasing daily. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
Expression using "world wide web": world Wide Web Consortium. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "world wide web"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||
Chinese | 萬維網 (literal: ten-thousand dimensional net), 萬維天羅地網 (literal: ten-thousand dimensional net covering heaven and earth), 全球資訊網 (WWW). (various references) | ||||||||||
French | Web, W3. (various references) | ||||||||||
Pig Latin | orldway ideway ebway Gwe Fyd Eang. (various references) | ||||||||||
Misspellings | |
"World Wide Web" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: wolrd wide web, worl wide web, world wide webb, worlw wide web. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "b-d-d-e-e-i-l-o-r-w-w-w" | |
-3 letters: worldwide. | |
-4 letters: bewilder, erodible, rebodied, reboiled, wildered. | |
-5 letters: bielded, blowier, boweled, bowered, bowlder, bridled, broiled, debride, dowdier, doweled, dowered, dreidel, elbowed, lowbred, lowered, reoiled, roweled, widowed, widower, wielded, wielder. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)57 6F 72 6C 64 57 69 64 65 57 65 62 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
|
Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01010111 01101111 01110010 01101100 01100100 00100000 01010111 01101001 01100100 01100101 00100000 01010111 01100101 01100010 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)W o r l d   W i d e   W e b |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0057 006F 0072 006C 0064 0057 0069 0064 0065 0057 0065 0062 |
Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)57818478702577570712577168 |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Quotations: Non-fiction 8. Expressions | 9. Expressions: Internet 10. Translations: Modern 11. Derivations 12. Anagrams | 13. Orthography 14. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
| Note to the press & webmasters - this dictionary can be linked, indexed, or referred to using the following non-English expressions: woordeboek, fjalor, معجم, قاموس, diccionariu, речник, diccionari, diksyonario, diksinario, 字典, gérlyver, slovník, ordbog, woordenboek, shimiyuc p'anca, orðabók, orðbók, dictionnaire, wurdboek, wörterbuch, λεξικό, אוצר מילים, szótár, uqausiit tukingit, dizionario, 字引 , じい, じびき, じて", ディクショナリー , じり", じしょ, '"かい, ディクショナリ , 사 , dizionari, recnik, fockleyr, dikshonario, słownik, dicionário, dicţionar, dicziunari, словарь, lolomi fefiloi, foclair, abardair, faclair, briathrachan, pukuntau, leksikon, rečnik, vocabbulariu, diccionario, sí-chazamagâma, ordbok, lexikon, พจนานุกรม, sözlük, ansiklopedik sözlük, словник, довідник, có tính chất sách vở, geirlyfr, geiriadur, for dictionary; definisie, qartësi, përcaktim, saktësi, الوضوحية في الشيء, حد, تحديد, تعريف, التحديد, الإيضاحية, яснота, сила, очертания, дефиниция, 定義 , 定义, definice, deskriptordefinition, definitie, määritelmä, définition, ορισμός, "'"ר", "'בל", meghatározás, definíció, definizione, 確定 , ディーゼル電気車 , デ'ドロ酢酸 , デフィニション , ディフィニション , ていぎ, かくてい, 의, geyrid, meenaghey, keeayllaght, baght, definishon, definição, definiţie, determinare, definire, определение, definicija, definición, definition, açıklama, belirleme, belirtme, kesinleştirme, tanım, tarif, seçiklik, tanımlama, чіткість, тлумачення, виразність, визначення, дефініція, ясність, чітка чутність, sự định rõ, sự định nghĩa, lời định nghĩa sự định, diffiniad, darnodiad, for definition; vertaling, transferim, transmetim, ترجمة من لغة أجنبية للغة الأم, ترجمة, إفتتان, транслация, огъване, превод, предаване, поддаване, тълкуване, превеждане, 翻译, překlad, oversættelse, translatie, taajuusmuutos, translaatio, traduction, oersetting, Übersetzung, μετάφραση, תור'מ ות, תר'ום, "עתק", "עתק, fordítás, traduzione, 翻訳 , へい"ういどう, やくしょ, やくしゅつ, "うどく, ほ"やく, トランスレーション , やくじゅつ, ほ"やくしょ, 번역, tradukshon, tradução, translaţie, tãlmãcire, traducere, сдвиг, трансляция, перемещение, перевод, tumačenje, traducción, översättning, tercüme, процес перекладу, переклад, пояснення, переміщення, sự dịch, sự biến th nh sự giải thích, trosiad, for translation; Sjinees, Chinees, kinez, الصينية, لغة الصين, صيني, الصيني أحد أبناء الصين, Chinu, китайски, Ininsik, 汉语, 中 , 漢 , 中國 , èínský, èínština, èíòan, kineser, kinesiskt, kinverskur, kiinalainen, Chinois, Sineesk, Chinesisch, Κινέζος, κινέζικα, κινέζικοσ, κινέζοσ, σινικόσ, kínai, Kínverji, Sínis, cinese, チフス菌 , チャイニーズ , 중국, Cina, Sheenish, Sheenagh, Hainamana, chines, Chińczyk, chinês, chinés, chinezesc, chinezeşte, chinezã, chinez, китайский, китаец, Saina, kineski jezik, kineski, chino, snesi, sneysi, kinesisk, çinli, çince, çin ile ilgili, çin, китаянка, китайська мова, китайський, кита"ць, for Chinese; Franse taal, Frans, franceze, francez, frëngjisht, frëng, frëngjishte, فرنسي, اللغة الفرنسية, الشعب الفرنسي, gall, френски език, френски, Pranses, 法國 , 法文 , 法語 , 法语, francouzština, francouzský, franskur, franskt, ranskalainen, français, Frânsk, französisch, γάλλοσ, γαλλικόσ, γαλλική γλώσσα, γαλλίδα, צרפתי, צרפתית, francia, Fraincis, francese, フレコン化 , フランス" , 仏文 , 仏 , ふつぶ", フレンチ , フランセ , ふつ, "랑스, Perancis, Ny Frangee, Mooinjey ny Frank, frances, franses, francês, francezii, francezã, franţuzesc, franţuzeşte, французский, Falani, francuski jezik, francuski, francuzi, francés, sí-Fulentji, fransk, franska, fransızca, Fransiz, fransızca ile ilgili, fransız, fransa ile ilgili, французька мова, французький, Ffrengig, isiFulentshi, for French; Wallies, i uellsit, gjuha e uellsit, shkel premtimin, populli i uellsit, ik pa paguar, ويلزي, الولزية لغة إقليم ويلز, تهرب من دفع الرهان, не си плащам дълга, измъквам се от задължение, уелски език, уелски, 威"士, 威爾士語 , waleština, waleský, Wels, valisiskt, gallois, walisisch, δεν πληρώνω τα οφειλόμενα, ουάλλοσ, ουαλλικόσ, walesi, Breatnais, gallese, Bretnagh, galês, gallés, limba velşã, din ţara galilor, velş, уэльский, velški jezik, podvaliti, velški, velšanin, galés, walesisk, galler ile ilgili, sözünü tutmamak, gal dili, bahisleri ödemeden kaçmak, şartları yerine getirmemek, ödemeden kaçmak, у"льський, валлійська мова, валлійці, валлійський, не віддати гроші, Cymreig, for Welsh; |
