Understanding the World Wide Web

The World Wide Web was developed in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee of the European Particle Physics Lab (CERN) in Switzerland. The initial purpose of the Web was to use networked hypertext to facilitate communication among its members, who were located in several countries. Word was soon spread beyond CERN, and a rapid growth in the number of both developers and users ensued. In addition to hypertext, the Web began to incorporate graphics, video, and sound. In recent years, the use of the Web has now reached global proportions. Almost every protocol type available on the Internet is accessible on the Web. Internet protocols are sets of rules that allow for intermachine communication on the Internet. The following major protocols are accessible on the Web:

E-mail (Simple Mail Transport Protocol or SMTP) distributes electronic messages and files to one or more electronic mailboxes.

Telnet (Telnet Protocol) facilitates login to the computer host to execute commands.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) transfers text or binary files between an FTP server and client.

Usenet (Network News Transfer Protocol or NNTP) distributes Usenet news articles derived from topical discussions on newsgroups.

HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) transmits hypertext over networks. This is the protocol of the WWW.

Many other protocols are available on the Web. To name just one example, the Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) allows users to place a telephone call over the Web.

The World Wide Web provides a single interface for accessing all these protocols. This creates a convenient environment. It is no longer necessary to be conversant in these protocols within separate, command-level environments. The web gathers together these protocols into a single system. Because of this feature, and because of the web’s ability to work with multimedia and advanced programming languages, the World Wide Web is the fastest-growing component of the Internet.

Vocabulary Notes

Hypertext ['haIpq"tFkst] — гіпертекст (текст для перегляду на комп'ютері, який містить зв'язки з іншими документами («гіперзв'язки» чи «гіперпосилання»))

growth [grquT] — зростання

to ensue [In'sjH] — виникати, відбуватися

to incorporate [In'kLpqreIt] — об’єднувати, приєднувати

computer host [hqust] — ведучий комп’ютер

electronic [Ilek'trOnIk] mailbox — електронна поштова скринька

to facilitate [fq'sIlIteIt] — полегшити

to execute ['eksIkjHt] commands — виконувати команди

binary ['baInqrI] files — бінарні файли

Telnet Protocol — мережевий протокол для реалізації текстового інтерфейсу по мережі

Usenet (Network News Transfer Protocol or NNTP) — протокол передачі новин у інтернет-мережі

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) — протокол передачі файлів

E-mail (Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) — протокол передачі електронної пошти

HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) — протокол передачі гіпертексту

Voice over Internet Protocol ( – VOIP) — голосовий інтернет-протокол

to be conversant [kqn'vWs(q)nt] — бути обізнаним, бути поінформованим