When we talk about the internet and the world wide web, we’re talking about the same thing right? Surprisingly, they are not the same thing. People often incorrectly use the two terms interchangeably; they are not synonymous. Lets take a closer look at each term and get to the bottom of this common tech misunderstanding.

The internet is simply a worldwide network of computers. Each computer that connects to the internet can communicate with every other computer on the internet. The internet just provides a vehicle for computers to talk amongst themselves. Whether it be just down the street, or half way across the world, it really makes no difference on the internet. There is no such think as “long distance charges” on the internet. Once you have internet access, you are connected to the biggest network of computers on the globe - PERIOD!

Once connected to the internet, a computer can use any number of languages to communicate with other computers. This is just like a long distance phone call overseas, where 2 people may be using the telephone system to connect; yet, they can speak to each other in a variety of distinct languages (English, French, German, etc.). The world wide web, also known as simply “the web” uses a special set of languages to access information and communicate over the internet. It’s these computer languages that allow fancy colour web pages to be displayed on your screen. There are also other languages that are used for things like E-Mail and File Sharing. These languages are different to those used for the world wide web, just as French is dissimilar to English.

So what does this all boil down to? The internet is just a medium for multiple computers to connect. Information can be transfered across the internet using a variety of computer languages. The World Wide Web uses one set of languages, and E-mail uses another set of languages. In other words, E-mail uses the internet and NOT the World Wide Web in order to connect. In fact, many applications use the internet as a way of connecting. No single application could survive without the internet, but the internet can live independently of email, the web, etc. - Because the internet is just a network of computers! So, if the internet falls apart, prepare for global mayhem!

Of course we could go into much finer detail, but that would just be boring. We’ve got enough information now to see the big picture. That wasn’t hard at all now was it? Enough said.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 6:32 pm and is filed under World Wide Web. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.