🤔 Today's Trivia Question:

What Person is Credited with Inventing the World Wide Web?

Correct Answer: A) Tim Berners-Lee

💻 Tim Berners-Lee and the Creation of the World Wide Web

In 1989, British scientist Tim Berners-Lee, working at CERN, invented the World Wide Web (WWW) to meet the need for automated information-sharing among scientists across the globe. The Web was designed to merge computers, data networks, and hypertext into a user-friendly global information system.

The Genesis of the Web

Berners-Lee penned the first proposal for the Web in March 1989, followed by a second proposal in May 1990. With Belgian systems engineer Robert Cailliau, he formalized these ideas into a management proposal by November 1990. This proposal introduced the concept of "WorldWideWeb," a hypertext project where a "web" of documents could be viewed using browsers.

By the end of 1990, Berners-Lee had developed the first Web server and browser on a NeXT computer at CERN. The server was labeled with a red ink warning: "This machine is a server. DO NOT POWER IT DOWN!!" The world's first website, info.cern.ch, was launched, providing information about the WWW project and links to other web servers.

Expanding Access and Functionality

Initially, only a few users with NeXT computers could access the sophisticated browser. To widen access, Nicola Pellow, a student at CERN, developed a simpler line-mode browser that could run on any system. In 1991, Berners-Lee released the WWW software, including the line-mode browser, Web server software, and a developer library. This software became available to CERN colleagues in March and was announced to the wider internet community in August.

Going Global

The first Web server in the US went online in December 1991 at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) in California. To further develop the Web, Berners-Lee invited other developers to contribute. Notable early browsers included MIDAS, Viola, and Erwise. In early 1993, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois released Mosaic, a user-friendly browser that significantly boosted the Web's popularity.

The Web's Rapid Growth

By the end of 1993, CERN had made the WWW source code available for free, leading to the proliferation of web servers and increased internet traffic. The First International World Wide Web conference, held at CERN in May 1994, marked the Web's growing influence. By the end of 1994, there were over 10,000 web servers and 10 million users worldwide. The Web was rapidly becoming an essential tool for global communication and commerce.