Web Browsers: The unsung heros of the modern world
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I was thinking today about how complicated a web browser must be. Not only that, but it seems that everybody always expects their browser (be it IE, Chrome, Firefox...) to be perfect, load pages super fast, and be easy to use. So, when you go to a website, let's say codeproject.com, your browser first has to resolve the domain to an IP address by asking a DNS server. Then, it has to communicate using the HTTP(s) protocol to that server and ask for the correct page. Then, after receiving the HTML code back for that page, it has to load more images/scripts/css pages, and render it. Of course, let's not forget that almost every webpage contains invalid html (using w3c validator on codeproject reveals 170 errors and 112 warnings (see for yourself). Not to mention it has to execute javascript that might be present and apply css rules. And, to top it all off, the browser has to remain responsive if the user clicks on menu items or opens a new tab, and goes to ANOTHER website! Don't even get me started on what they do for security... It seems that web browsers must be pretty complicated. And of course nobody in the world would even think about paying for their browser. It must take a large team of programmers to actually produce a modern web browser. I was just wondering what your thoughts on this were. Do we take them for granted? Do web pages need to be held to higher standards when it comes to valid markup?
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I was thinking today about how complicated a web browser must be. Not only that, but it seems that everybody always expects their browser (be it IE, Chrome, Firefox...) to be perfect, load pages super fast, and be easy to use. So, when you go to a website, let's say codeproject.com, your browser first has to resolve the domain to an IP address by asking a DNS server. Then, it has to communicate using the HTTP(s) protocol to that server and ask for the correct page. Then, after receiving the HTML code back for that page, it has to load more images/scripts/css pages, and render it. Of course, let's not forget that almost every webpage contains invalid html (using w3c validator on codeproject reveals 170 errors and 112 warnings (see for yourself). Not to mention it has to execute javascript that might be present and apply css rules. And, to top it all off, the browser has to remain responsive if the user clicks on menu items or opens a new tab, and goes to ANOTHER website! Don't even get me started on what they do for security... It seems that web browsers must be pretty complicated. And of course nobody in the world would even think about paying for their browser. It must take a large team of programmers to actually produce a modern web browser. I was just wondering what your thoughts on this were. Do we take them for granted? Do web pages need to be held to higher standards when it comes to valid markup?
Kevin Schaefer wrote:
I was thinking today about how complicated a web browser must be
Its just evolution. The original Mosaic graphical browser from NCSA was pretty simple and they even gave out the source code. Netscape ripped it off and tried to commercialize it by bolting on all kinds of junk, and then Microsoft bought Spyglass and started doing the same thing. Once the browser war started everbody was trying to distinquish themselves with unique features and all browsers turned into Frankenstein monsters. I don't take them for granted because fundamentally they're still simple. And lots of the features in modern browsers are really annoying in the hands of script kiddies. :mad:
QRZ? de WAØTTN
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I was thinking today about how complicated a web browser must be. Not only that, but it seems that everybody always expects their browser (be it IE, Chrome, Firefox...) to be perfect, load pages super fast, and be easy to use. So, when you go to a website, let's say codeproject.com, your browser first has to resolve the domain to an IP address by asking a DNS server. Then, it has to communicate using the HTTP(s) protocol to that server and ask for the correct page. Then, after receiving the HTML code back for that page, it has to load more images/scripts/css pages, and render it. Of course, let's not forget that almost every webpage contains invalid html (using w3c validator on codeproject reveals 170 errors and 112 warnings (see for yourself). Not to mention it has to execute javascript that might be present and apply css rules. And, to top it all off, the browser has to remain responsive if the user clicks on menu items or opens a new tab, and goes to ANOTHER website! Don't even get me started on what they do for security... It seems that web browsers must be pretty complicated. And of course nobody in the world would even think about paying for their browser. It must take a large team of programmers to actually produce a modern web browser. I was just wondering what your thoughts on this were. Do we take them for granted? Do web pages need to be held to higher standards when it comes to valid markup?
Perhaps we are like the first-generations of cave-people who took availability of fire for granted, and remain always puzzled by the fact that the very few people who survived to be older still considered fire a "miracle" ? :) best, Bill
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Aristotle
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I was thinking today about how complicated a web browser must be. Not only that, but it seems that everybody always expects their browser (be it IE, Chrome, Firefox...) to be perfect, load pages super fast, and be easy to use. So, when you go to a website, let's say codeproject.com, your browser first has to resolve the domain to an IP address by asking a DNS server. Then, it has to communicate using the HTTP(s) protocol to that server and ask for the correct page. Then, after receiving the HTML code back for that page, it has to load more images/scripts/css pages, and render it. Of course, let's not forget that almost every webpage contains invalid html (using w3c validator on codeproject reveals 170 errors and 112 warnings (see for yourself). Not to mention it has to execute javascript that might be present and apply css rules. And, to top it all off, the browser has to remain responsive if the user clicks on menu items or opens a new tab, and goes to ANOTHER website! Don't even get me started on what they do for security... It seems that web browsers must be pretty complicated. And of course nobody in the world would even think about paying for their browser. It must take a large team of programmers to actually produce a modern web browser. I was just wondering what your thoughts on this were. Do we take them for granted? Do web pages need to be held to higher standards when it comes to valid markup?
Kevin Schaefer wrote:
And of course nobody in the world would even think about paying for their browser. It must take a large team of programmers to actually produce a modern web browser.
I dunno. I think they can afford it. ;-) "Google is reportedly paying Mozilla about $900 million over the next three years to remain the default search engine in the Firefox Web browser." http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/12/google-firefox-search.html[^] D
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Kevin Schaefer wrote:
And of course nobody in the world would even think about paying for their browser. It must take a large team of programmers to actually produce a modern web browser.
I dunno. I think they can afford it. ;-) "Google is reportedly paying Mozilla about $900 million over the next three years to remain the default search engine in the Firefox Web browser." http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/12/google-firefox-search.html[^] D
David Cunningham wrote:
"Google is reportedly paying Mozilla about $900 million over the next three years to remain the default search engine in the Firefox Web browser."
Wow, IE has now been established as a noble cause for charity! :rolleyes:
Regards, Nish
My technology blog: voidnish.wordpress.com You've gotta read this : Using lambdas - C++ vs. C# vs. C++/CX vs. C++/CLI
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I was thinking today about how complicated a web browser must be. Not only that, but it seems that everybody always expects their browser (be it IE, Chrome, Firefox...) to be perfect, load pages super fast, and be easy to use. So, when you go to a website, let's say codeproject.com, your browser first has to resolve the domain to an IP address by asking a DNS server. Then, it has to communicate using the HTTP(s) protocol to that server and ask for the correct page. Then, after receiving the HTML code back for that page, it has to load more images/scripts/css pages, and render it. Of course, let's not forget that almost every webpage contains invalid html (using w3c validator on codeproject reveals 170 errors and 112 warnings (see for yourself). Not to mention it has to execute javascript that might be present and apply css rules. And, to top it all off, the browser has to remain responsive if the user clicks on menu items or opens a new tab, and goes to ANOTHER website! Don't even get me started on what they do for security... It seems that web browsers must be pretty complicated. And of course nobody in the world would even think about paying for their browser. It must take a large team of programmers to actually produce a modern web browser. I was just wondering what your thoughts on this were. Do we take them for granted? Do web pages need to be held to higher standards when it comes to valid markup?
Actually, the modern browser process is probably more like: - Import a framework to resolve the domain to an IP address by importing a framework to ask a DNS server. - Import a framework to communicate using the HTTP(s) protocol to that server and ask for the correct page. - Import a framework to load more images/scripts/css pages, and another to render it. - Import a framework to handle invalid html. - Import a framework to execute javascript. - Import a framework to apply css rules. - Import a framework to handle clicks on menu items and another to handle opening new tabs. - Import a framework to handle security. Some days, I think it might actually be better to go back to languages like VB...
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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I was thinking today about how complicated a web browser must be. Not only that, but it seems that everybody always expects their browser (be it IE, Chrome, Firefox...) to be perfect, load pages super fast, and be easy to use. So, when you go to a website, let's say codeproject.com, your browser first has to resolve the domain to an IP address by asking a DNS server. Then, it has to communicate using the HTTP(s) protocol to that server and ask for the correct page. Then, after receiving the HTML code back for that page, it has to load more images/scripts/css pages, and render it. Of course, let's not forget that almost every webpage contains invalid html (using w3c validator on codeproject reveals 170 errors and 112 warnings (see for yourself). Not to mention it has to execute javascript that might be present and apply css rules. And, to top it all off, the browser has to remain responsive if the user clicks on menu items or opens a new tab, and goes to ANOTHER website! Don't even get me started on what they do for security... It seems that web browsers must be pretty complicated. And of course nobody in the world would even think about paying for their browser. It must take a large team of programmers to actually produce a modern web browser. I was just wondering what your thoughts on this were. Do we take them for granted? Do web pages need to be held to higher standards when it comes to valid markup?
Kevin Schaefer wrote:
So, when you go to a website, let's say codeproject.com, your browser first has to resolve the domain to an IP address by asking a DNS server
This is done by the OS. your browser just ask the domain name.