What sparked the creation of the World Wide Web at CERN in 1989?

  • Thread starter Thread starter jtbell
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The World Wide Web was developed at CERN in 1989, initially for sharing experimental data, with its public debut occurring on April 30, 1993. The first public website, reconstructed by CERN, can be accessed at this link. Early web development was characterized by simplicity, with minimal use of images and reliance on text-based browsers like Lynx. The transition from Gopher servers to the World Wide Web marked a significant evolution in online information sharing.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of HTTP protocol and its role in web communication
  • Familiarity with early web technologies, including Gopher and HTML
  • Knowledge of web server setup and configuration
  • Basic skills in CSS for web design and layout
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the history and evolution of web protocols, focusing on HTTP/1.0 and HTTP/1.1
  • Explore the differences between Gopher and the World Wide Web
  • Learn about the development and impact of CSS in modern web design
  • Investigate the phenomenon of link rot and its implications for web archiving
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for web developers, historians of technology, and anyone interested in the evolution of the internet and web technologies.

jtbell
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Homework Helper
Messages
16,027
Reaction score
7,828
Development of the protocol and software started at CERN in 1989, and they were already being used for sharing experimental data, but the project didn't "go public" until 30 April 1993. To mark the anniversary, CERN has reconstructed its first public Web site:

http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html
 
Computer science news on Phys.org
Web page writing was so much simpler then.

Also unfortunately, off-site links are those of twenty years ago and have moved on as well another problem with past websites keeping up with other sites.
 
Yes, the original case of "link rot." :biggrin:

My first website in 1996 (iirc) wasn't very complicated, either. No images at all, except as downloads behind links, because I had only an ASCII text mode browser (Lynx). Now I use CSS to produce a two-column layout, and style the headings a bit, but still almost no on-page images.
 
Last edited:
Have you ever used Gopher?
 
Yes, our first web server's predecessor was a Gopher server that I installed in early 1993, during spring break I think. It was shortly afterward that I started reading about the WWW.
 

Similar threads

Courses What upper division undergrad courses for CS?
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
Anonimity: Time to take the internet back.
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
4K
Requesting suggestions for languages, libraries, and architectures for parallel (and sometimes non parallel) numerical and scientific computations
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
4K