Web Browser
Introduction
A web browser is a software application for accessing information on the World Wide Web. Each individual web page, image, and video is identified by a distinct URL, enabling browsers to retrieve these resources from a web server and display them on a user's device.
History
The first web browser, called WorldWideWeb, was created in 1990 by Sir Tim Berners-Lee. It was later renamed Nexus to avoid confusion with the World Wide Web. Berners-Lee was a contractor at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), and developed the browser to facilitate communication between scientists who worked in different universities and institutes around the world.
Functionality
Web browsers coordinate various web resource elements for the written web page, such as JavaScript, HTML text, and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). These elements are fetched from web servers and formatted for the visual output that can be viewed by the users.
Types of Web Browsers
There are four leading web browsers: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Google Chrome. Each of these browsers has its own strengths and weaknesses, and is designed to function on specific operating systems.
Web Browser Architecture
Web browsers consist of a user interface, browser engine, rendering engine, networking, JavaScript interpreter, UI backend, data storage, and a layer for accessing and manipulating the network layer.
Security and Privacy
Web browsers are designed to ensure privacy, security and reliability. This is accomplished through techniques such as encryption and secure coding practices.