Web Browsers
A Web browser is a software application which enables you to access and view information on the World Wide Web. Web pages are written in a language called HTML (for more information about HTML, refer to the topic HTML -- the Language of the Internet). The Web browser interprets (or "parses") the HTML, and displays the Web page that you see. With a Web browser, you can navigate from Web page to Web page ("browsing" or "surfing" the Internet). The two most popular Web browsers today are Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.
- Internet Explorer is developed by Microsoft, and comes installed on most computers with the Windows operating system.
- Netscape Navigator was the prevalent browser in the early days of the Internet. Today, Netscape is owned by AOL/Time Warner.
Both of these browsers are available for free from their respective Web sites (www.microsoft.com and www.netscape.com).
Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer each read code slightly differently. Sometimes pages written for Internet Explorer will not display properly in Netscape Navigator, and vice versa. Web pages are often "double-coded," so they will display properly under either browser.
Mosaic was the very first Web browser. It was the first piece of software that allowed people to interact with the World Wide Web in a point and click environment. All of today's browsers are based at least in part on Mosaic.
Other web browsers include:
- Opera It requires less processing speed than Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, which makes it attractive to wireless device users.
- NeoPlanet based on Internet Explorer technology, but offers more interchangeable graphic interface.