Web Server

Hosts and delivers web pagesWeb PagesHTML documents accessed via the internet.
More About Web Pages. A web server is a vital component of the World Wide Web infrastructure. It plays a crucial role in delivering web content to users around the world. Whether you realize it or not, every time you access a website, you are interacting with a web server.

In simple terms, it is a computer program that receives requests from clients (typically web browsers) and responds by delivering the requested web pages or resources. It acts as a middleman, connecting users to the content they want to access.

Web servers operate on the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), a protocol that allows communication between clients and servers over the internet. When you type a web addressWeb AddressThe unique location of a web page on the internet.
More About Web Address into your browserBrowserA software application that enables you to view and interact with websites.
More About Browser, it sends an HTTP request to the web server associated with that address. The server then processes this request and sends back the appropriate response.

Now, let’s dive deeper into the functionality of a web server. When a request is received, the server processes it by performing several tasks. First, it resolves the domain nameDomain NameThe address that people use to find your website on the internet.
More About Domain Name to an IP addressIP AddressInternet Protocol address is a numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.
More About IP Address using the Domain Name System (DNSDNSA protocol that translates human-readable domain names into numerical IP addresses used by computers to locate each other on the internet.
More About DNS). Then, it establishes a TCP/IP connection with the client to facilitate the transfer of data.

Once the connection is established, the web server retrieves the requested resources, which could be HTMLHTMLThe fundamental language used to create and structure content on web pages.
More About HTML files, images, videos, or any other type of content stored on the server. It then packages this data into an HTTP response, which includes headers containing metadata and the actual content itself.

The web server sends the response back to the client over the established connection. Upon receiving the response, the client’s web browser renders the content, allowing you to view the web page or access the requested resource.

Web servers come in various forms, each with its own set of features and capabilities. The most common type is the ApacheApacheA web server software widely used for hosting web applications.
More About Apache HTTP Server, which is open-source and widely used. Other popular options include NginxNginxA high-performance, open-source web server and reverse proxy server software.
More About Nginx, Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS), and LiteSpeed.

In addition to serving static content, web servers can also handle dynamic content generation. This is often done using server-side scriptingScriptingThe process of creating a series of commands or instructions that are executed by a computer or software application.
More About Scripting languages like PHPPHPHypertext Preprocessor is a programming language primarily used for web development.
More About PHP, PythonPythonA high-level, interpreted programming language known for its readability, simplicity, and vast range of libraries and frameworks, making it powerful for various applications.
More About Python, or Ruby, which allow the server to generate web pages on the fly based on user input or other dynamic factors.