The Difference between Internet and World Wide Web (WWW)
The Internet and World Wide Web (WWW) are often used interchangeably, but they are two different things. Understanding the differences between the two is vital for anyone trying to make it in the digital world.
What is the Internet?
The Internet is a vast network of computers that are interconnected globally. It’s a collection of networks that connect billions of devices worldwide, enabling them to communicate and share information. The internet has been around since the 1960s, and it’s continuously evolving. It is the foundation upon which the World Wide Web and other online services are built.
The Internet is not limited to just web pages; it is used for various ways to communicate and share different types of data. Email, instant messaging, file-sharing, web services, and other applications all use the Internet.
What is the World Wide Web (WWW)?
The World Wide Web (WWW) is an information system that is built on top of the Internet. Tim Berners-Lee created the WWW in the late ’80s while working at CERN in Switzerland. The WWW is a vast collection of linked documents and pages that are accessible via URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) or links.
The WWW is what most people mean when they talk about the Internet. It consists of pages that are hosted on web servers and are accessible using a web browser. The WWW is also home to other applications, such as online shopping, social media, and more.
The Main Differences Between Internet and WWW
The primary difference between the Internet and WWW is that the Internet is the infrastructure, and the WWW is an application that runs on top of that infrastructure. The Internet is a vast network of interconnected computers that enables communication and data transfer. The World Wide Web, on the other hand, is a vast collection of linked documents and pages that users access via the Internet.
Another significant difference between the two is that the WWW is just one of many services offered on the Internet. While the WWW dominates the internet in terms of usage, there are others as mentioned earlier like emails, instant messaging, web services, and more.
Conclusion
In summary, the Internet and World Wide Web (WWW) are related but different. The Internet is a global network of interconnected computers that allow data transfer and communication, while the WWW is an application that operates on top of that infrastructure. Understanding this difference is necessary, whether for personal or business use, to help make informed decisions and navigate the digital world more effectively.
Table difference between internet and www
| Internet | World Wide Web (WWW) |
|---|---|
| The internet is a global network of computers and servers that communicate with each other using standard protocols such as TCP/IP. | The World Wide Web is a collection of multimedia resources that are accessed through the internet using a web browser. |
| The internet encompasses a wide range of technologies such as email, file sharing, messaging, gaming, and more. | The WWW is a subset of the internet that consists of websites, web pages, and web applications that are interconnected using hyperlinks. |
| The internet is decentralized and does not have a central authority. | The WWW is not decentralized and is governed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) which provides web standards and guidelines. |
| The internet is a platform for communication, information exchange, and commerce. | The WWW is a platform for accessing and sharing information in the form of text, images, audio, and video. |