01.27
A Web browser is actually a software application which runs on your Internet-connected computer. It allows you to view Web pages, as well as utilize other content and technologies such as video, graphics files, and digital certificates, to name a few. Some browsers will translate only text while others do support graphics and animation. Web browsers are not all created equal, and Web pages also will not be displayed the same in different browsers.
Web browsers, often referred to just as browsers, are software applications used to locate and display Web pages on the World Wide Web. While this is the most popular usage, browsers can also be used to access and view content on a private or local network as well. Most, but not all browsers are graphical browsers, which means that they can display graphics as well as text. In addition, most modern browsers can present multimedia information, including sound and video, though they require plug-ins for some formats.
How Web Browsers Work
Browsers are able to display Web pages largely in part to an underlying Web protocol called Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP). HTTP defines how messages are formatted and transmitted, and what actions Web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands. It is what allows Web clients and Web servers to communicate with each other. When you enter a Web address (URL) in your browser, this actually sends an HTTP command to the Web server directing it to fetch and transmit the requested Web page and display the information in your browser. All Web servers serving Web sites and pages support the HTTP protocol.
Example: The URL to reach the definition of browser like : http://www.tejaspmehta.com/test.html
Once you enter the URL “http://www.tejaspmehta.com/test.html” into your address line, the browser breaks that Web address down into three distinct parts.
1. The Protocol: “http”
2. The server name: “www.tejaspmehta.com”
3. The file name, which follows the server name: “test.html”
In order for your browser to actually connect to the Web server to retrieve the information you request, it communicates with a name server to translate the server name into an IP address. Your Web browser is then able to connect to the Web server at the resolved IP address on port 80. Once your browser has connected to the Web server using HTTP, the browser then reads the HyperText Markup Language (HTML), the authoring language used to create documents on the World Wide Web, and the data is then displayed in your Web browser.
Most Popular Web Browsers
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Mozilla Firefox
Opera