One of the most deceptive of these statements is "Surfing the Web" -- it makes it sound as if you travel all over the world viewing things on web servers at distant points on the Internet. This concept clouds our view to what is really happing when nothing could be further from the truth.
Certainly our computer does contact servers all over the Interent but we don't see web pages on those servers. In fact, servers do not display web pages at all. Servers hold the coded documents and serve them to our web browser when asked.
Here's how the process works:
You enter an Internet address, or Universal Resource Locator (URL), into the address box in your web browser software (ie: Internet Explorer, Netscape, Opera, Mozilla, etc.) or click on a link on an already open web page in order to travel to a new page. You don't actually travel anywhere.
Your browser program first looks up the Internet Protocol (IP) address (almost like a phone number) for the server that is hosting the web page you want to see. It does this using Domain Name Service (DNS) search servers, somewhat like telephone directory assistance. When it locates the IP address of the server it wants, your browser software sends a request for the page. The server sends a copy of the page to your browser.
Next, your browser reads through the document taking not of various instructions (coded HTML, JavaScript, etc.) and looks for any code calling for pictures or other objects like music, etc. The browser looks up the IP addresses for any such pictures or other objects and sends requests to the servers where they are located, which could be the same server as the original page or it could be another server. Each picture and object is requested by your browser and the appropriate server sends copies of them along to your computer.
Your browser then constructs and displays the web page on your computer. You are looking at the page on your own computer, not on a server somewhere out on the internet. In fact, the web page doesn't even exist out on the 'net, just the component parts that are brought together by your browser and assembled on your computer.
eBay auction listings are much the same. Your listing description is stored on the eBay server along with the top and bottom parts of the auction page. When you 'look at an auction' your browser contacts the eBay server and request the web document. eBay's server sends it to your computer and your browser reads it to find out if any pictures or other objects are required. Your browser then requests those objects from the appropriate servers, such as your picture host, and constructs the auction listing page which you view on your computer.
It's always the right time to use good code!
Surfing the Web - Where Do I Really Go?
As the Internet and the World Wide Web has grown to become a part of almost everyone's life all over the globe, there has been a proliferation of urban legends, folklore, half-truths and techno-speak that makes you wonder if you are viewing some alien landscape.
