Web Browser and its Features

 

Web Browser:

A web browser (commonly referred to as a browser) is application software for accessing the World Wide Web. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the web browser retrieves the necessary content from a web server and then displays the page on the user's device.

A web browser is not the same thing as a search engine, though the two are often confused. A search engine is a website that provides links to other websites. However, to connect to a website's server and display its web pages, a user must have a web browser installed.

Web browsers are used on a range of devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smart phones. The first web browser, called World Wide Web, was created in 1990 by Sir Tim Berners-Lee. He then recruited Nicola Pellow to write the Line Mode Browser, which displayed web pages on dumb terminals; it was released in 1991.

1993 was a landmark year with the release of Mosaic, credited as "the world's first popular browser". Its innovative graphical interface made the World Wide Web system easy to use and thus more accessible to the average person. Marc Andreessen, the leader of the Mosaic team, soon started his own company, Netscape, which released the Mosaic-influenced Netscape Navigator in 1994. Navigator quickly became the most popular browser.

Microsoft debuted Internet Explorer in 1995, leading to a browser war with Netscape.  In 1998, Netscape launched what would become the Mozilla Foundation to create a new browser using the open source software model. This work evolved into the Firefox browser, first released by Mozilla in 2004. Apple released its Safari browser in 2003. It remains the dominant browser on Apple devices, though it did not become popular elsewhere. Google debuted its Chrome browser in 2008, which steadily took market share from Internet Explorer and became the most popular browser in 2012. Chrome has remained dominant ever since. Microsoft released its Edge browser in 2015 as part of the Windows 10 release. (Internet Explorer is still used on older versions of Windows.)

In terms of technology, browsers have greatly expanded their HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and multimedia capabilities since the 1990s. One reason has been to enable more sophisticated websites, such as web applications. Another factor is the significant increase of broadband connectivity, which enables people to access data-intensive web content, such as YouTube streaming, that was not possible during the era of dial-up modems.

 

The purpose of a web browser is to fetch content from the Web and display it on a user's device. Once a web page has been retrieved, the browser's rendering engine displays it on the user's device. This includes image and video formats supported by the browser.

Web pages usually contain hyperlinks to other pages and resources. Each link contains a URL, and when it is clicked or tapped, the browser navigates to the new resource. Thus the process of bringing content to the user begins again.

Most browsers use an internal cache of web page resources to improve loading times for subsequent visits to the same page. The cache can store many items, such as large images, so they do not need to be downloaded from the server again. Cached items are usually only stored for as long as the web server stipulates in its HTTP response messages.

Web browsers can typically be configured with a built-in menu. Depending on the browser, the menu may be named Settings, Options, or Preferences. The menu has different types of settings. For example, users can change their home page and default search engine. They also can change default web page colors and fonts. Various network connectivity and privacy settings are also usually available.

Privacy:

During the course of browsing, cookies received from various websites are stored by the browser. Some of them contain login credentials or site preferences. Browsers also usually provide menu items for deleting browsing history, cache entries, and other potentially sensitive data.

An alternative approach is the private browsing mode, in which the aforementioned items are not stored by the browser. But this is a temporary option, only activated when using this special mode.

Features:

The most popular browsers have a number of features in common. They automatically log browsing history or can be used in a non-logging private mode. They also allow users to set bookmarks and customize the browser with extensions. Some provide a sync service.

Most browsers have these user interface (UI) features:

·         Allow the user to open multiple pages at the same time, either in different browser windows or in different tabs of the same window.

·         Back and forward buttons to go back to the previous page visited or forward to the next one.

·         A refresh or reload and a stop button to reload and cancel loading the current page. (In most browsers, the stop button is merged with the reload button.)

·         A home button to return to the user's home page.

·         An address bar to input the URL of a page and display it.

·         A search bar to input terms into a search engine. (In some browsers, the search bar is merged with the address bar.)

However, the limitations of touch screens require mobile browsers to have a simpler UI than desktop versions. The difference is significant for users accustomed to keyboard shortcuts.

 

Security:

Web browsers are popular targets for hackers, who exploit security holes to steal information, destroy files, and other malicious activities. Browser vendors regularly patch these security holes, so users are strongly encouraged to keep their browser software updated. Other protection measures are antivirus software and avoiding known-malicious websites.