Elements Of The World Wide Web And Web Development Tools

Elements of the World Wide Web

The World Wide Web is made up of web pages, which are HTML documents that are interpreted and viewed in a web browser, which are connected via the internet. Web pages take many forms and can be interactive or not, depending on the use of scripting languages such as Javascript and PHP. Web pages often contain multimedia elements, which are the different types of media used in web development for example, many websites make use of a mixture of video, text, images, audio, and animation.

A web browser is a software required to translate and display HTML documents to the user. A number of browsers are available including Google Chrome and Firefox, which give a graphical user interface for displaying HTML files retrieved from web servers or stored locally.

The name HTML refers to Hypertext Markup Language. HTML is a markup language for creating documents that are translated and viewed in a web browser. A markup language is a system for creating a document where the coding language is distinguishable from the text, so that when the HTML file is translated by the browser for display, the markup language is not shown, and is only used to format the text. HTML does not allow for dynamic elements alone but is for formatting web pages. Hypertext is text on a webpage, email or document with links to other pages and documents, HTML documents use Hyperlinks to connect HTML files to each other and the user can connect from one to another by clicking the Hyperlinks.

In order to access a website, a user will generally use a website’s Uniform Resource Locator (URL). This is the reference or link, generally to a website, that is used in a web browser to access content such as HTML documents from networks. URLs are most commonly associated with websites but can also be used for file transfer (ftp), email (mailto), and more.

The World Wide Web Consortium

An international organisation led by Tim Berners-Lee that develops and sets web standards. It is made up of a number of organizations that fund the W3C through member fees, alongside research grants and individual donations. Their broad mission statement is to ‘lead the Web to its full potential’. The W3C develops protocols and guidelines for web content to ensure stability and long-term growth. In practice this means that the W3C sets the standards for HTML, CSS, browser compatibility and other factors of web development. Their principle of ‘Web for all, Web on everything’ is part of this, the standards seek to ensure that web content is available to all despite the device or connection speed of the user. The W3C’s HTML validator is considered an authoritative checker for the validity of code and the adherence to W3C standards for HTML and CSS documents.

Web Development Tools

Websites are a collection of linked HTML documents accessible to a user via the internet or local storage. These documents are created by developers using two main variants of web development tools – text editors and WYSIWYG (What You See is What You Get) editors. Text editors are used to create web pages, where a program such as Notepad++ is used to create an HTML document that can then be viewed in a browser. The main point to note here is that the content of the editor is just the HTML code for the web page, and no content or media is visible without bringing up the HTML file in a browser. With WYSIWYG editors such as Adobe Dreamweaver, the content of the web page is shown as a preview to the developer – it closely resembles the finished page, often alongside the HTML code. WYSIWYG editors often include pre-made website templates and the ability to create your own template files. WYSIWYG editors still rely on CSS in order to structure web pages and create required layouts.

Web developers use scripting languages to make websites interactive, allowing users to change elements of a page via interactions e.g. mouseclick or rollover, or allow users to log in to sites and interface with databases stored on remote servers. Scripting languages can be processed either Client or Server side, meaning that the processing of the script takes place on either the user’s own PC, or processed in the server-side environment.

With Client-Side Scripting, scripts are run in the client’s browser. The processing takes place on the client’s computer. Code is transferred from the server to the client’s computer and is run directly in the browser. For this to work the scripting language needs to be enabled on the client’s computer. If off due to security reasons, a popup will often display informing the user that a script is attempting to run. JavaScript and VBScript are executed client side by the user’s browser and enable web pages to have different content depending on user input, environmental conditions, or other variables. Client-side scripts can be embedded within an HTML document or contained in a separate file

Server-Side Scripting, also known as to as back-end processing, is where the server-side environment (the webserver) processes scripting languages as opposed to client-side scripting where scripts run in the client’s browser. A client’s request is processed server-side then the HTML is sent to the client browser. Often used to provide interactive websites that use data or interface with databases on the server. The advantage to this is the security of databases is maintained as sensitive information is not processed in the client’s environment.

A client’s browser and web experienced can also be improved or altered via the use of Plug-Ins. Plug-Ins are software, they are add-ons or extensions for browsers that add features or functions to the browser or web page such as search engines, virus scanners, or the ability to use a new file type such as a new video format. Common Plug-Ins are Adobe’s flash player for animation and Apple Mac’s Quick Time Player for video.

HTML Checkers, known as validators, check HTML documents for compliance with the standards set by W3C and for errors. W3Cs HTML validator allows you to check your HTML for adherence and errors and is considered an authoritative source. Validation is important for browser compatibility and site usability and for ensuring the technical quality of web pages. The validator will display any errors or issues with the code for any HTML or CSS documents the user uploads, allowing for quick identification of errors.

Another tool used by web developers is the File Converter. Available online, converters are used to convert files from type to type. This is mainly used to compress and save space as it is important to use as small files as possible for web responsiveness and hosting. This is because users typically will not wait more than 10 seconds for media to load, and file size is a major factor affecting load time, as well as bandwidth and the processing power of a user’s computer. All media must be compressed as much as possible while retaining quality in order to adhere to W3C standards.

Factors Affecting Web Development

Web Development is affected by several factors, many of which are out with the control of the developers such as a user’s internet connection type and bandwidth.

Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be transferred across a network per second, measured in Megabits per Second (Mbps). This can be considered the speed of a user’s internet connection, with speeds of 20Mbps commonly available in the UK via ADSL through BT phone lines, and up to Gbps via costly leased connections, however, in many parts of the world connections at 56Kbps are still commonplace. The lower the bandwidth, the slower web pages will load, so it is important for developers to consider this when creating web pages.

The size of a file affects its download time. This is because the file needs to be transferred across the network using the internet or local connection, with larger files taking longer to be transferred or downloaded than smaller files. This is independent of connection type and bandwidth, as it is the size of the file that affects download speed, so a large file will take longer to download than a smaller file but the real-world time difference would be affected by connection speed. This is important to note because users will not generally wait long for a page to load, therefore if the content is meant to be visible then it is important to ensure quick load times.

The main way of increasing load speed and responsiveness is by compressing files, and ensuring files are in the most appropriate format, compressed as much as possible whilst retaining quality. Many different file types exist to support different types of media. Often these media files have compression formats associated with them to reduce the file size. For images, common file types include .jpg / .jpeg, .png which allows for transparency and .gif which allows for transparency and animation. Common audio and video files are .avi, .mpeg, .mp3 and .wav. Also, file compression into .zip or .rar compresses files even further into folders.

Finally, a client’s browser performance also must be considered. Poorly performing browsers will slow the responsiveness of web pages, and there are various factors that can influence browser performance. The browser cache is a temporary storage location on the client’s computer for files that are downloaded by the client’s browser to display web pages. When you revisit a website, the browser checks for previously downloaded files and downloads only what is new or updated. This speeds up access to the website, but over time the cache can get large and slow down performance overall and should be cleared. Antivirus software and other security feature such as smart-filtering run in the background and require processing power from the client’s PC – the technical specifications of which are also a factor affecting web development – also slow browser responsiveness. These factors all tie into the importance of adhering to W3C standards and ensuring optimal file type and compression in order to provide quality web pages to users regardless of the device or connection type.