WORLD WIDE WEB

Introduction

The World Wide Web (WWW) is an information system that allows people to access and share
information on the internet. It was created in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee, a British computer
scientist, and was first deployed in 1991. The WWW is based on the concept of hypertext,
which allows users to navigate through linked documents, images, and other media. The main
components of the WWW are web browsers, web servers, and HTML (Hypertext Mark-up
Language). Web browsers are software applications that allow users to access and view web
pages. Examples include Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge. Web servers
are computers that store and deliver web pages to users. They are responsible for hosting web
content and responding to user requests. HTML is a mark-up language used to create web
pages. It consists of tags that define the structure, content, and appearance of a web page. The
WWW has revolutionized the way people access and share information. It has made it easier
to find and connect with others who share similar interests and has provided a platform for
businesses to reach customers around the world. The WWW has also raised concerns about
privacy and security, as users may unknowingly share personal information with third-party
companies or be vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Despite these challenges, the WWW continues to
evolve and shape the way we communicate, learn, and do business.

NB: - Internet and the Web are not the same thing. The Web uses internet to pass over
Information.

Diagram: Evolution of the Web.

WWW Architecture

The web is dived into several layers as shown below: -

Identifiers and Character Set

Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) is used to uniquely identify resources on the web
and UNICODE makes it possible to built web pages that can be read and write in human
languages.
Syntax
XML (Extensible Markup Language) helps to define common syntax in semantic web.
Data Interchange
Resource Description Framework (RDF) framework helps in defining core representation of
data for web. RDF represents data about resource in graph form.
Taxonomies
RDF Schema (RDFS) allows more standardized description of taxonomies and
other ontological constructs.
Ontologies
Web Ontology Language (OWL) offers more constructs over RDFS. It comes in following
three versions:
• OWL Lite for taxonomies and simple constraints.
• OWL DL for full description logic support.
• OWL for more syntactic freedom of RDF
Rules
RIF and SWRL offers rules beyond the constructs that are available
from RDFs and OWL. Simple Protocol and RDF Query Language (SPARQL) is SQL like
language used for querying RDF data and OWL Ontologies.
Proof
All semantic and rules that are executed at layers below Proof and their result will be used to
prove deductions.
Cryptography
Cryptography means such as digital signature for verification of the origin of sources is used.
User Interface and Applications
On the top of layer User interface and Applications layer is built for user interaction.

How WWW Works

WWW works on client- server approach. Following steps explains how the web works:
1. User enters the URL (say, http://www.tutorialspoint.com) of the web page in the
address bar of web browser.
2. Then browser requests the Domain Name Server for the IP address corresponding to
www.tutorialspoint.com.
3. After receiving IP address, browser sends the request for web page to the web server
using HTTP protocol which specifies the way the browser and web server
communicates.
4. Then web server receives request using HTTP protocol and checks its search for the
requested web page. If found it returns it back to the web browser and close the HTTP
connection.
5. Now the web browser receives the web page, It interprets it and display the contents of
web page in web browser’s window.
Web Server

Web server is a computer where the web content is stored. Basically web server is used to host
the web sites but there exists other web servers also such as gaming, storage, FTP, email etc.

Web Server Working

Web server respond to the client request in either of the following two ways:

• Sending the file to the client associated with the requested URL.
• Generating response by invoking a script and communicating with database

Architecture

Web Server Architecture follows the following two approaches:

1. Concurrent Approach

2. Single-Process-Event-Driven Approach.

Concurrent Approach

Concurrent approach allows the web server to handle multiple client requests at the same time.
It can be achieved by following methods:

• Multi-process
• Multi-threaded
• Hybrid method.
Multi-processing

In this a single process (parent process) initiates several single-threaded child processes and
distribute incoming requests to these child processes. Each of the child processes are
responsible for handling single request.
It is the responsibility of parent process to monitor the load and decide if processes should be
killed or forked.

Multi-threaded

Unlike Multi-process, it creates multiple single-threaded process.

Hybrid

It is combination of above two approaches. In this approach multiple process are created and
each process initiates multiple threads. Each of the threads handles one connection. Using
multiple threads in single process results in less load on system resources.

Example of Web Servers include; Apache HTTP Server, Internet Information Services (IIS),
Lighttpd, Sun Java System Web server, Jigsaw Server Etc.

Search Engine

Search Engine refers to a huge database of internet resources such as web pages, newsgroups,
programs, images etc. It helps to locate information on World Wide Web.

User can search for any information by passing query in form of keywords or phrase. It then
searches for relevant information in its database and return to the user.

Search Engine Components

Generally there are three basic components of a search engine as listed below:

1. Web Crawler

2. Database

3. Search Interfaces

Web crawler

It is also known as spider or bots. It is a software component that traverses the web to gather
information.

Database

All the information on the web is stored in database. It consists of huge web resources.

Search Interfaces

This component is an interface between user and the database. It helps the user to search
through the database.
Search Engine Working

Web crawler, database and the search interface are the major component of a search engine
that actually makes search engine to work. Search engines make use of Boolean expression
AND, OR, NOT to restrict and widen the results of a search. Following are the steps that are
performed by the search engine:

• The search engine looks for the keyword in the index for predefined database instead of
going directly to the web to search for the keyword.
• It then uses software to search for the information in the database. This software
component is known as web crawler.
• Once web crawler finds the pages, the search engine then shows the relevant web pages
as a result. These retrieved web pages generally include title of page, size of text portion,
first several sentences etc.
• User can click on any of the search results to open it.
Architecture

The search engine architecture comprises of the three basic layers listed below:

• Content collection and refinement.

• Search core
• User and application interfaces
Search Engine Processing
Indexing Process

Indexing process comprises of the following three tasks:

• Text acquisition
• Text transformation
• Index creation
Text acquisition

It identifies and stores documents for indexing.

Text Transformation

It transforms document into index terms or features.

Index Creation

It takes index terms created by text transformations and create data structures to suport fast
searching.

Query Process

Query process comprises of the following three tasks:

• User interaction
• Ranking
• Evaluation
User interaction

It supporst creation and refinement of user query and displays the results.

Ranking

It uses query and indexes to create ranked list of documents.

Evaluation

It monitors and measures the effectiveness and efficiency. It is done offline.

Multimedia

Multimedia refers to the use of multiple forms of media, such as text, graphics, audio, video,
and animation, in a single presentation or application. Multimedia is used in a wide range of
contexts, including entertainment, education, marketing, and communication.
One of the key advantages of multimedia is its ability to convey information in multiple
formats, which can improve the effectiveness of communication and learning. For example, a
multimedia presentation might include a combination of text, images, and video to convey
information on a particular topic.

Multimedia is also used extensively in entertainment, such as in video games, movies, and
music. The use of multimedia in these contexts can enhance the user experience and create
more engaging and immersive content.

However, multimedia also presents a number of technical challenges, particularly in terms of

data storage and transmission. Multimedia files can be large and require significant storage
capacity and processing power, which can pose challenges for devices with limited resources.
In addition, the transmission of multimedia over networks can be complex and require
specialized protocols and technologies, such as streaming and compression.

Overall, multimedia is a powerful and versatile tool for communication, education, and
entertainment. Its use in a wide range of contexts has transformed the way we interact with and
consume media, and advances in technology continue to drive new possibilities for multimedia
applications.