The World Wide Web is the part of the Internet devoted to what is commonly referred to as multimedia. The mixture of text, graphics, sound, and the interconnection of these medias. We will refer to the two major components as the server computer and the client computer.

Keeping in mind that the Internet is not owned or controlled by anyone person or organization, various computers can be used as servers and/or clients. This means that a UNIX Server may provide information to a Macintosh and an IBM computer at the same time. If we make the comparison to the United nations General Assembly where the delegates speak various languages, we can start to appreciate the complexity of the problem.

The World Wide Web solution was to standardize on a language called HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) and a protocol known as HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol).

If we think of a computer language as a spoken language, then a computer protocol can be compared to the rules of procedure (i.e. in a classroom, the teacher lectures, the student takes notes, and if a student has a question, he/she raises his/her hand until being recognized by the instructor).

Therefore we can think of a browser as an interpreter who will translate the information found on a server to a language which can be understood by our computer, be it a MS-DOS machine or an Apple or some other computer.

HTML has evolved since its beginning. Each version as it is called includes additional command options. As a result, browsers must also evolve.

At first we might ;assume that HTML standards changes and then browsers follow, however, this is not always the case. Some browsers are interpreting HTML codes before they are standardized. If we think of browsers as interpreters with dialects, we can make the comparison using the English language (or if you prefer the American language). The following joke will make the point.

An American and an Englishman were arguing about the proper name for a part of the automobile. Was it a "glove compartment" or a "pocket?"
The American argued that it was a glove compartment by saying, "We invented the automobile."
With which the Englishman replied, "...But we invented the language!."

Some common browsers are:

Mosaic

Netscape

Wildcat Navigator