Web Browser
Web Browser is a common term which is frequently used by people while discussing the Internet. However, the exact definition of a web browser is known by few only.
#Web Browser Definition: A software application used to access information on the World Wide Web is called a Web Browser. When a user requests some information, the web browser fetches the data from a web server and then displays the webpage on the user’s screen.
It is also important to know in detail about what a web browser is for candidates preparing for Government exams. This is because Computer Knowledge is a common topic for many competitive exams and questions based on web browsers may be
*History of Web Browser*
Today web browsers are easily accessible and can be used on devices like computer, laptops, mobile phones, etc. but this evolution of making browsers available for easy use took many years.
Given below are some salient points which one must know with regard to the history of web browsers:
“WorldWideWeb” was the first web browser created by Tim Berners Lee in 1990. This is completely different from the World Wide Web we use today
In 1993, the “Mosaic” web browser was released. It had the feature of adding images and an innovative graphical interface. It was the “the world’s first popular browser”
After this, in 1994, Marc Andreessen (leader of Mosaic Team) started working on a new web browser, which was released and was named “Netscape Navigator”
In 1995, “Internet Explorer” was launched by Microsoft. It soon overtook as the most popular web browser
In 2002, “Mozilla Firefox” was introduced which was equally as competent as Internet Explorer
Apple too launched a web browser in the year 2003 and named it “Safari”. This browser is commonly used in Apple devices only and not popular with other devices
Finally, in the year 2008, Google released “Chrome” and within a time span of 3 years it took over all the other existing browsers and is one of the most commonly used web browsers across the world
Types of Web Browser
The functions of all web browsers are the same. Thus, more than the different types there are different web browsers which have been used over the years.
Discussed below are different web browser examples and their specific features:
1. WorldWideWeb
The first web browser ever
Launched in 1990
It was later named “Nexus” to avoid any confusion with the World Wide Web
Had the very basic features and less interactive in terms of graphical interface
Did not have the feature of bookmark
2. Mosaic
It was launched in 1993
The second web browser which was launched
Had a better graphical interface. Images, text and graphics could all be integrated
It was developed at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications
The team which was responsible for creating Mosaic was lead by Marc Andreessen
It was named “the world’s first popular browser”
3. Netscape Navigator
It was released in 1994
In the 1990s, it was the dominant browser in terms of usage share
More versions of this browser were launched by Netscape
It had an advanced licensing scheme and allowed free usage for non-commercial purposes
4. Internet Explorer
It was launched in 1995 by Microsoft
By 2003, it has attained almost 95% of usage share and had become the most popular browsers of all
Close to 10 versions of Internet Explorer were released by Microsoft and were updated gradually
It was included in the Microsoft Windows operating system
In 2015, it was replaced with “Microsoft Edge”, as it became the default browser on Windows 10
5. Firefox
It was introduced in 2002 and was developed by Mozilla Foundation
Firefox overtook the usage share from Internet Explorer and became the dominant browser during 2003-04
Location-aware browsing was made available with Firefox
This browser was also made available for mobile phones, tablets, etc.
6. Google Chrome
It was launched in 2008 by Google
It is a cross-platform web browser
Multiple features from old browsers were amalgamated to form better and newer features
To save computers from malware, Google developed the ad-blocking feature to keep the user data safe and secure
Incognito mode is provided where private searching is available where no cookies or history is saved
Till date, it has the best user interface
Apart from these, Opera Mini web browser was introduced in 2005 which was specially designed for mobile users. Before the mobile version, the computer version “Opera” was also released in 1995. It supported a decent user interface and was developed by Opera Software.
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