Difference between revisions of "Web history"

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(Precursors to the Web)
(Universal Document Identifier (UDI) - now called Universal Resource Identifier (URI))
 
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In March 1989 Berners-Lee wrote a short document called [http://www.w3.org/History/1989/proposal.html Information Management: A Proposal], describing an information management system using [[hypertext]]. This first paper envisaged browsers on client computers that would have read-only access to hypertext documents and databases stored on several different servers. The documents would be transmitted over the network in a standardized hypertext format.
 
In March 1989 Berners-Lee wrote a short document called [http://www.w3.org/History/1989/proposal.html Information Management: A Proposal], describing an information management system using [[hypertext]]. This first paper envisaged browsers on client computers that would have read-only access to hypertext documents and databases stored on several different servers. The documents would be transmitted over the network in a standardized hypertext format.
  
In November 1990, Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau published a more formal proposal, titled [http://www.w3.org/Proposal.html WorldWideWeb: Proposal for a HyperText Project]. This proposal described the web as a network of links that would allow you to navigate from one node to another, where each node was a hypertext document. It was noted that a world-wide web would require a standard access protocol for requesting documents from remote servers, and a standard information format for the transmitted documents. The proposal also mentioned the possibility of providing a keyword search option (this would later be provided by [[Search Engine]]s).
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In November 1990, Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau published a more formal proposal, titled [http://www.w3.org/Proposal.html WorldWideWeb: Proposal for a HyperText Project]. This proposal described the web as a network of links that would allow you to navigate from one node to another, where each node was a hypertext document. It was noted that a world-wide web would require a standard access protocol for requesting documents from remote servers, and a standard information format for the transmitted documents. The proposal also mentioned the possibility of providing a keyword search option (this would later be provided by [[search engine]]s).
  
 
By Christmas 1990, Berners-Lee had built the basic tools necessary for a working Web:
 
By Christmas 1990, Berners-Lee had built the basic tools necessary for a working Web:
*the first [[Web Browser]], called WorldWideWeb (later renamed Nexus), which was also a Web editor
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*the first [[web browser]], called WorldWideWeb (later renamed Nexus), which was also a Web editor
*the first [[Web Server]] (running on a NeXT computer using the NeXTSTEP platform)
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*the first [[web server]] (running on a NeXT computer using the NeXTSTEP platform)
*the set of first [[Web Page]]s, which described the project itself (archived [http://www.w3.org/History/19921103-hypertext/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html here])
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*the set of first [[web page]]s, which described the project itself (archived [http://www.w3.org/History/19921103-hypertext/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html here])
  
 
Berners-Lee presented the WorldWideWeb browser to the CERN ECP/PT group on February 26, 1991 (a link to the presentation can be found under that date in [http://www.w3.org/History.html this timeline].
 
Berners-Lee presented the WorldWideWeb browser to the CERN ECP/PT group on February 26, 1991 (a link to the presentation can be found under that date in [http://www.w3.org/History.html this timeline].
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==Development of URI, HTTP and HTML==
 
==Development of URI, HTTP and HTML==
Along with the first [[Web Browser]] and [[Web Server]], Berners-Lee also developed the basic Web protocols, including:
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Along with the first [[web browser]] and [[web server]], Berners-Lee also developed the basic Web protocols, including:
*a system for naming individual documents on the Web: the [[Universal Document Identifier]] (UDI) - now called [[Universal Resource Identifier]] (URI)
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*a system for naming individual documents on the Web: the Universal Document Identifier (UDI) - now called [[Uniform Resource Identifier]] (URI)
 
*a network access protocol: the [[HyperText Transfer Protocol]] (HTTP)
 
*a network access protocol: the [[HyperText Transfer Protocol]] (HTTP)
*a publishing language for Web documents: [[HyperText Markup Language]] (HTML)
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*a publishing language for Web documents: [[HTML|HyperText Markup Language]] (HTML)
  
 
===Universal Document Identifier (UDI) - now called Universal Resource Identifier (URI)===
 
===Universal Document Identifier (UDI) - now called Universal Resource Identifier (URI)===
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:file://cernvax.cern.ch/usr/lib/WWW/defaut.html#123
 
:file://cernvax.cern.ch/usr/lib/WWW/defaut.html#123
  
The "file" scheme has since been replaced by the "ftp" scheme, since [[File Transfer Protocol|FTP]] has become the standard internet protocol for file transfer.
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The "file" scheme has since been replaced by the "ftp" scheme, since [[File Transfer Protocol]] has become the standard internet protocol for file transfer.
  
 
The general form of a name under the "http" protocol [http://www.w3.org/History/19921103-hypertext/hypertext/WWW/Addressing/HTTPAddressing.html was specified in 1992] as follows (the parts in brackets are optional):
 
The general form of a name under the "http" protocol [http://www.w3.org/History/19921103-hypertext/hypertext/WWW/Addressing/HTTPAddressing.html was specified in 1992] as follows (the parts in brackets are optional):
  
:http://hostname[: port]/path[?searchwords]
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:http : //hostname[: port]/path[?searchwords]
  
 
For example, the name of an HTML document on one of the cern servers was:
 
For example, the name of an HTML document on one of the cern servers was:
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:http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html
 
:http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html
  
Berners-Lee originally called this sort of hypertext document name a [[Universal Document Identifier]] (UDI). However (see the footnote [http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/Model.html here]), this was changed to [[Universal Resource Identifier]] in discussions within the URI working Group of the [[Internet Engineering Task Force]] (IETF).
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Berners-Lee originally called this sort of hypertext document name a Universal Document Identifier (UDI). However (see the footnote [http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/Model.html here]), this was changed to Universal Resource Identifier in discussions within the URI working Group of the [[Internet Engineering Task Force]] (IETF), and is now called the [[Uniform Resource Identifier]]
  
 
Meanwhile, the term [[Uniform Resource Locator]] (URL) was introduced to denote a string that provided an address for a resource, while the term Uniform Resource Name (URN) came to represent a string that merely names a resource. URL and URN are types of URIs (see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Resource_Identifier URI].
 
Meanwhile, the term [[Uniform Resource Locator]] (URL) was introduced to denote a string that provided an address for a resource, while the term Uniform Resource Name (URN) came to represent a string that merely names a resource. URL and URN are types of URIs (see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Resource_Identifier URI].

Latest revision as of 23:49, 16 September 2011