Re: Glossary: Web Content

DPawson@rnib.org.uk wrote:
> 
> > From: Gregg Vanderheiden
> > Good question.
> >
> > What is the WEB.  It is HTTP retrievable information?  Or any
> > information
> > retrievable over TCP/IP?   Or IP?    Or via other protocols?
> 
> A simple mans view. The web is the bits of wet string that connect
> the machines that allow content to be propogated / found.
> 
> It works on the analogy side too!

This from Tim Berners-Lee [1]:

"My definition of the Web is a universe of network-accessible 
information, and I break the "full potential" into two by looking 
at it first as a means of human-to-human communication, and then 
as a space in which software agents can, though access to a vast
amount of everything which is society, science and its problems, 
become tools to work with us."

[1] http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/Architecture.html

Tim has said that the Web is first and foremost "defined"
by URIs. HTML is just another format. HTTP is just another
protocol.

From Web Characterization [2]:

  "In this context we use them to describe the information 
   space known as the Web."

[2] http://www.w3.org/1999/05/WCA-terms/

So, in my mind, the Web is an information space. The
resources in this space are identified by URIs. 

 - Ian

-- 
Ian Jacobs (ij@w3.org)   http://www.w3.org/People/Jacobs
Tel:                     +1 831 457-2842
Cell:                    +1 917 450-8783

Received on Monday, 21 May 2001 10:48:43 UTC