History of the World Wide Web

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History of the World Wide Web

Tim Berners-Lee is the inventor of the World Wide Web, this great discovery happened in 1989, about 20 years after the first internet connections were established. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/history_of_the_Internet#ARPANET)) Berners was a software engineer at CERN, (HTTP://PUBLIC.WEB.CERN.CH/PUBLIC/) a large particle physics laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. Thousands of researchers traveled to CERN to participate in experiments for extended periods and then return to their home facilities to crunch data. All researchers used their own computers; it was a challenge for CERN to accommodate all the incompatible computers which had to all work with CERN’s main frame. Berners was responsible for helping everyone to work together. (World Wide Web Foundation) He thought it would be simpler if the computers could share their information directly but back then computers didn’t communicate with each other. In 1989 Berners submitted a proposal called “Information Management: A Proposal.” (Greenemeier)
When thinking about the incompatibility problem, Berners realized it would be great if they could share the data from their home labs and run experiments at CERN over a network from wherever they are located. The internet already existed, just a set of lines and protocol for sending information over those wires. Berners idea was to implement a plan so the CERN computers could talk on the internet. His idea would be applied that ran on the internet. Other internet apps did exist include: file transfer protocol, or FTP, and email.
Berners’ ” Information management; A proposal” changed the internet with specific set of technologies that would make the internet more accessible and useful to its everyday users. (Greenemeier) “Berners’ proposal was not accepted right away. It took nearly two years before he and other computer scientists completed the first successful communication between a web browser and server via the internet.” (Greenemeier) He then had to lobby others to create more Web browsers and servers. Berners created three fundamental innovations that remain the foundation of the web today. These fundamental innovations include: HTML, URI, and HTTP. (Greenemeier)

Tim Berners-Lee, CERN (circa 1991) inventor of the WWW.

The first web page was served by the end of 1990. In 1991 users of CERN joined the new web community. In 1993 CERN announced the royalty free use of the World Wide Web and this would be a technology everyone could use.

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