Web Browser

Web Browser -  A web browser (or just "Browser") is a software application running on the User's (client) computer that interprets HTML and other code in Web pages and allows the user to view them as text, images and hyperlinks in interactive pages. A browser generally also displays files of other types such as RSS, doc, and pdf, either through built in capabilities or links to other software.  Web browsers format HTML information for display, so the appearance of a Web page may differ between browsers. Though browsers are usually used, and originally intended for Internet information, an increasing number of local network applications use browser interfaces as well. 

Web Browser History

Graphic means of providing access to remote computer services were pioneered by AOL and prodigy. However the development of the World Wide Web and public Internet revolutionized the idea. The first  browsers were primarily Unix clients that could operate applications like Gopher, a primitive search agent. WorldWideWeb, later renamed Nexus) was written for the NeXT computer, which is now a venerated museum piece. The code of Nexus is now public domain. 

ViolaWWW by Pei Wei, a Berkeley student, which ran under Unix X-Windows, was probably the first real browser to run under a popular operating system. It had many advanced features such as object embedding, frames and style sheets that only came to be incorporated in PC browsers many years later.  The first PC compatible Internet browser was probably Cello in 1993, followed by Mosaic. Mosaic, written by Marc Andreessen and Marc Bina was inspired by World Wide Web and incorporated the novel advance of combined text and image display. It was the inspiration for Netscape (1994) and for Mozilla and Firefox. 

Browsers and Browser Popularity

Some of the current PC Web browsers (and their approximate share of the Internet viewing public include Microsoft Internet Explorer (78%), Mozilla Firefox (16%), Safari [for Apple computers] (3.4%), Opera(0.8%) Netscape (0.06%).  Avant, Konqueror, Google Chrome, Flock, Arachne, Epiphany, K-Meleon, AOL Explorer and some others each have tiny user shares.

Internet Explorer had attained as much as 95% market share by 2004. However, Opera and Mozilla Firefox included innovations such as tabbed browsing as well as faster loading and better security, and Firefox began to eat a larger and larger share of the surfer audience.

Web Browser Issues

Web browser issues include compatibility, loading speed, use of CPU and operating system resources and reliability as well as user conveniences such as tabbed browsing.

Web Browser Compatibility - Compatibility is a major headache for Web designers. Each browser implements the HTML standard and various extensions in a slightly different way, so that text, layout, tables and images may look quite different in different browsers or may not even display at all. Web designers are advised to standardize the page on Internet Explorer, which is the most popular browser at present, and to make sure that the page at least displays with all features on all other browsers, especially Firefox. Avoid fancy styling or controls that are based on extensions that may not work in different browsers. You can also insert conditional code in your pages that will be visible only to specific browsers. This approach has several disadvantages however. It is time consuming. It is unreliable, because html agents browsers like Firefox can be set to announce themselves as if they are Internet Explorer or any other browser. Conditional code also clutters up your Web page with junk code that reduces search engine optimization. If your page displays best with a particular type of browser, it may be best to give your viewers that information with a link to the site where that browser can be downloaded. 

Web Browser Loading Speed - Loading speed depends on how the browser agent negotiates with the server through the TCP/IP standard protocol. A browser that can "look ahead" and can download different parts of the Web page simultaneously with several threads will be faster than one that loads each part separately and consecutively. Internet Explorer seems to be considerably slower than Firefox.

Web browser security - Security is an issue because Web sites can exploit "security holes" to download rogue "malware" such as Trojan horses, and man-in-a-browser programs that can subvert your computer, force you to view pages you don't want to see, use your CPU time to download spam mail to other people, or steal your identify from supposedly safe e-commerce sites and then use it to rob your bank accounts. Microsoft products generally have the most security vulnerabilities because they are so popular.

Reliability - Reliability is getting to be less and less of a problem for browsers. A Web browser should never crash at least as long as it is displaying a non-malicious Web page. Internet Explorer seems to have the best record, while Opera and Firefox seem to crash somewhat more frequently.

Use of CPU time and resources - Multiple open tabs, especially if they are running animated graphics, can hog a lot of CPU time and slow down computers. This problem seems to be worse in some browsers than others. Tabbed browsers also seem to use a lot of virtual memory, and some of them, like Opera in some versions, don't give up the memory when you close the tabs - only when you close the browser entirely.

Ami Isseroff

September 30, 2008

Note - Definitions of Search Engine Optimization terms are based on inferences from common usage and definitions given by other sources. Conclusions about search engine behavior are based on understanding of the behavior of the most popular search engines. Both are subject to error or may change. Search engine company management may define or use a term or set or change any policy in any way they see fit, and may make these definitions and specifications public or not. These decisions and definitions are beyond our control.  

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