Web Development Time Capsule: 1991 — The Genesis of the World Wide Web
Welcome to the inaugural article of our series, “Web Development Time Capsule.” In this collection, we’ll journey year by year, spotlighting the pivotal technologies, tools, and innovations that have shaped web development.
Our first stop: 1991, a landmark year that witnessed the birth of the World Wide Web and set the stage for the digital revolution.
The late 20th century was a period of rapid technological advancement. Amidst this backdrop, one individual’s vision would lay the foundation for the modern internet as we know it. That individual was Tim Berners-Lee.
Who is Tim Berners-Lee?
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist, is often hailed as the visionary behind the World Wide Web. Born in London in 1955 and an Oxford alumnus, Berners-Lee’s work at CERN in the late 1980s led him to conceptualize a system that harnessed hypertext to disseminate information on a global scale.
The Emergence of Hypertext
Hypertext, a system allowing text to link to other text, became the bedrock of the World Wide Web. While the concept of hypertext dates back to the 1960s, it was Berners-Lee’s foresight that recognized its potential to address CERN’s growing information management challenges. He envisioned a unified information system, facilitating seamless access and sharing of work among global researchers.
NeXT: The Machine Behind the Revolution
After his departure from Apple in 1985, Steve Jobs founded NeXT Inc., focusing on producing computers for higher education and business markets. NeXT computers were known for their avant-garde design and cutting-edge technology. However, their high price point, often targeted at well-funded institutions, made them less accessible to the general public. Despite the steep price, the NeXT machines were instrumental in the early days of the web. It was on a NeXT computer that Tim Berners-Lee developed the first web browser, marking a significant milestone in the history of the internet.
The Web’s Inception in 1991
That vision came to life in 1991 when Berners-Lee introduced “WorldWideWeb,” the world’s first web browser and editor. Developed on the NeXT platform, this tool was not just for browsing but also for crafting web pages.
The rudimentary HTML of that era supported basic tags like <head>, <title>, <body>, and text formatting tags such as <h1> through <h6>, <p>, <ul>, <ol>, and <li>. Advanced features like images, styles, and interactivity were yet to be introduced.
Files were stored on a NeXT computer, which acted as the server. This machine was kept running continuously, ensuring that the information was always accessible to those who wanted to connect.
Developers, in the absence of specialized tools, turned to basic text editors to create HTML documents. These initial web pages, devoid of graphics or intricate styling, primarily served as conduits for scientific information exchange.
Fast forward to today, and thanks to initiatives like CERN’s “Digital Archeology” project, we can revisit and appreciate the simplicity and ingenuity of those pioneering web pages.
In Conclusion
As we journey through the annals of web development history, it’s essential to pause and appreciate the visionaries and the groundbreaking technologies that paved the way for the digital world we inhabit today. The story of 1991 is just the beginning, and there’s so much more to explore in the subsequent years.
Thank you for joining me on this trip down memory lane. I hope you found this dive into 1991 as enlightening as I did.
Stay tuned for more insights in the next installment of our “Web Development Time Capsule” series. Thank you for reading, and until next time!
