Web Browsing
Almost everyone reading this book has probably used a web
browser. A web browser allows you to sit at
one computer and display information that resides in a web server somewhere on
the Internet. The information can be in many forms, including simple text,
graphics images, animation, video streams, and audio clips. Even if you've not
heard of the term web browser, you might have heard of Internet Explorer or Netscape, which are the names of
two of the more popular web browsers on the market today.
The browser is actually software that resides on the computer
used by the end user. The browser requests a web page from a web server, and
after the server responds, the web browser displays the information sent to it
by a web server.
A web server consists of software
that resides on the computer that is accessible to the end user via the
Internet. After a browser requests a web page from a web server, the server
replies by sending the contents of the web page back to the browser.
Many people refer to the actual contentthe stuff that shows up
on the screen when you are using a browseras a web page. So, if
you go to http://www.cisco.com, you will see a web page for Cisco
Systems, the largest vendor of networking equipment. If you click other links on
that web page, you'll go to other web pages. If you do that, you will be using
Cisco's website. The term website refers to all the content
in the various web pages built by that company.
The basic model revolving around web services is similar to how
a new retail business works in real life. Someone has an idea about opening a
store to sell something. For instance, perhaps this person wants to sell
clothing for children. There's a lot to do before opening the store, including
ordering inventory, leasing and preparing the store, hiring employees,
advertising, and lots of other things. Finally, the day comes, and the owner
opens the store for the first time and hopes someone will show up to buy
something.
Web services evolve in the same way. Someone has an idea for a
website. Maybe it's a site for this same retail children's clothing store or for
some established business, or maybe it's just someone who has something to say.
This person then builds a website that consists of multiple web pages. The
website resides on a web server that is connected to the Internet. At that
point, it's like opening day at the retail storeyou hope someone shows up at the
website!
The usage of the webthe combination or web servers, web
browsers, and websiteshas become one of the most prolific applications in the
Internet, as well as in enterprise networks. Companies, organizations, and even
individuals can create their own websites on the Internet. Anyone can then ask
for the content in those web pages and see the results. Figure 2-6 shows an example of a couple of web servers on
the Internet, with Fred and Barney browsing their websites.
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