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 asked.
oday 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