What are web browsers?
The browser is an application that people use to send and receive messages via the internet.
In other words, the browser is a program that runs on your device, with its purpose being to fetch information in different formats from the internet and show it on the device.
It also does the reverse, receiving your input (say, a click), translating it to code, and transmitting it to some other machine across the internet.
History of browsers?
In the early 1990s, the internet was a fledgling entity, largely text-based and navigated through little pieces of code typed out and transmitted to machines somewhere else, waiting for them to respond.
Then, in 1990, the English computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee introduced the concept of the World Wide Web
It came the first web browser, also named ‘WorldWideWeb’.
It didn’t just display web pages; it also allowed users to edit them.
The next watershed moment was the debut of the Mosaic browser in 1993.
Developed by a team at the U.S. National Center for Supercomputing Applications, it introduced the concept of displaying images alongside text.
This is when the internet became visually engaging.
Netscape Navigator burst onto the scene a year later and rapidly became the most popular browser of its time.
It brought feature innovations like bookmarks and a user-friendly URL bar, simplifying navigation and making the web more accessible.
Then, the late 1990s Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) and Netscape Navigator were the primary contenders.
This competition spurred rapid innovation, with each browser striving to outperform the other in terms of speed, features, and compatibility.
By 2000, IE had emerged as the dominant browser, due in large part to its integration with the Windows operating system.
This monotony was broken in 2004 the emergence of Mozilla Firefox.
Developed by a community of volunteers and based on open-source principles.
Firefox introduced ground-breaking new features like tabbed browsing and pop-up blocking, and also allowed users to ‘extend’ their personal browsers with add-ons.
In 2008, Google launched Chrome, which swiftly gained in popularity for its speed and minimalist design.
Chrome’s success also revitalised the browser market and encouraged innovation across the board.
Other browsers, like Mozilla Firefox, Apple’s Safari, and Microsoft Edge also evolved, providing users with a range of choices tailored to their preferences.
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