A web browser is a program that a modern user of a PC or mobile device uses almost every day. Meanwhile, such solutions were once a curiosity even for IT professionals. It's hard to believe, but there were times when the "web" of the World Wide Web was already enveloping the planet with might and main, but not a single browser existed. Today, of course, a web browser is an essential component of the software of almost any computer. There are dozens of solutions of this type. How do they differ among themselves? What are the most notable historical facts reflecting the advent of browsers? Which IT brands are leading in the development of such solutions?
What is a browser?
A browser is a program designed to view web pages (usually located on servers on the Internet) - a special kind of documents written in the hypertext markup language - HTML. The main objective of such programs is the correct recognition of algorithms embedded in HTML and the display of all graphic and text elements from the "web" on the user's screen as intended by the creators of the site, designers, programmers.
Today, the browser market is represented by a huge number of solutions. Which of them are world leaders? Which of the programs appeared the very first? Are there any Russian products among the world’s leading browsers?
History of the invention of the browser
According to most IT experts, the world's first web browser appeared in December 1990. Then the programmer Tim Berners-Lee released an application that allowed you to recognize commands written in HTML and translate them into the text displayed on the screen and additional graphic elements. This program is called the "browser".
Tim Berners-Lee has long worked at CERN, one of the most famous laboratories in the world dealing with problems of atomic particle physics. He found that computers located in different parts of the organization work within the framework of a not-so-perfect document-sharing model. CERN scientists lacked a resource that would allow them to quickly find the information they need through a logical transition between the text data of two different files. Then Tim proposed a solution: organize document circulation according to the principles of "hypertext" that appeared back in the 70s.
By the time the programmer began to implement the concept he had invented (it was 1989), the Internet had already begun to spread around the world. Tim decided that he would create a technology that would allow the exchange of data via hypertext, not only within the CERN network, but in a more global format - between computers on the World Wide Web.
In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee created a special hypertext markup language (called HTML - Hyper Text Markup Language). Soon, he wrote a program that allowed you to "translate" HTML documents into plain text. The browser created by Tim and named Nexus was very simple: its capabilities were limited to displaying only letters and numbers. Work on the program was continued by Tim’s colleague, Robert Cailliagu, who created several new versions of the solution. Browser programs began to appear under a variety of platforms, including the growing popularity of Windows.
Windows Browsers
Thus, the world's first browsers appeared in the early 90s, at the dawn of the global expansion of Windows (subsequently the most popular operating system on the planet). For a long time there were no programs for exchanging hypertext information on the Internet through Windows. But in the fall of 1992, a team of programmers from the American corporation NCSA created the Mosaic browser, capable of operating under the control of Microsoft's OS. Soon, the developers of this application establish a separate company and launch a new product on the market - Netscape. This browser (as well as the previous one) possessed, in principle, all the functions that its analogues have in our time: viewing text formatted in a certain way, images and other elements of web pages. Also, it had almost the same basic controls as in modern browsers: address bar, buttons "forward", "back", etc. The source code for one of the versions of Mosaic was bought by Microsoft and in the mid-90s created its own program to browse the web - Internet Explorer (or IE). Which, due to the prevalence of Windows, for many years was the most popular solution in the world. But in the late 90s - early 2000s, new browsers began to appear, which competed successfully with the program from Microsoft. Today IE is no longer the undisputed leader in its segment (although its popularity, of course, is still very high).
In the years when the browser market was emerging, various solutions began to appear that complement their functionality. These include various types of anti-virus modules. In particular, already in 1996, the Russian company Doctor Web developed a unique, according to many experts, solution.
This is the anti-virus module Dr. Web for browser. This tool allowed users to check files for infection through an online form. The Russian program, according to many experts, has become the prototype of the "cloud" anti-virus technologies that are gaining popularity only today.
IE competitors
Among the most successful solutions that have become an alternative to Internet Explorer are Opera, Google Chrome (if we talk about global brands), Yandex-browser (from Russian programs). Due to the fact that after personal computers, mobile gadgets began to gain worldwide popularity, various browsers also appeared for them. In particular, for the iOS platform, this is the Puffin program. We’ll talk about how all these browsers appeared and about their main features.
Google chrome
The Google Chrome browser is one of the most popular in the world today. However, his global leadership does not surprise modern IT experts. This browser was created by Google, which by the time the program was launched on the market (fall 2008) received the status of one of the world's IT giants. The future success of the solution was, experts say, only a matter of time. At the same time , the Google-browser released by the company offered the world a lot of original things. It could become unlike the analogues existing at that time (such as, for example, Opera and Mozilla FireFox).
The most interesting thing is that for a long time the Google manual did not even think about creating a browser under the company’s brand. The managers of the corporation believed that the market for programs of this type has long been divided. New browsers, they believed, the world market will not accept. Each user has already chosen a favorite solution for himself, and therefore there are no objective reasons for giving preference to a program from Google. Moreover, there were concerns about a possible browser failure. That would hit the brand’s existing reputation.
However, in the camp of the corporation there were enthusiasts who decided - "Google" -browser will be created. The company hired the best industry experts to develop the product. And not from anywhere, but from Mozilla, which developed one of the best browsers at that time. The result was a solution that had every chance of global success. The Google Chrome browser was a sight for sore eyes: lightweight, convenient to use, fast and very attractive from the point of view of design, it was accepted by the world IT community and, importantly, by many users with a bang. The first versions of Chrome were for Windows. But already in 2009, browser assemblies appeared that could work under Linux and MacOS.
Chrome: an investment in quality
As we said above, many IT experts believe that the Chrome browser from Google has been successful largely due to the position of the development company. According to experts, the financial capabilities of the corporation determined the highest quality of the program. Despite the fact that this point of view has opponents, a lot of facts may indicate that the investment opportunities of Google played an important role in the success of the browser.
It is enough to recall how the corporation organized campaigns to identify vulnerabilities in its program. As part of one of these, Google guaranteed the payment of significant sums of money to those IT professionals who find gaps in its security system that are significant in terms of browser security. In some cases, it was a question of allocating several million dollars for such campaigns. Other companies developing similar solutions could not afford this, experts say. Of course, hackers from all over the world wished to become candidates for the “prize”. They hacked into the security system that equipped the Google browser in the most modern version and told, in exchange for monetary compensation, the development company about how they succeeded. Of course, there was no prosecution under the law (although hacking, as you know, is a punishable act). Accordingly, in the next version, the Chrome browser was released taking into account patched vulnerabilities. This could not please users, experts say. Why the program from Google appeared on an increasing number of computers around the world.
To many Google users, the browser was attractive not only because of security aspects, but because of a laconic and very stylish design that was not typical of most similar solutions. On the contrary, many competitors of Google tried, as experts say, to “stuff” their programs with many different functions. Which, as it turned out, are not really needed by users (and even can really “slow down” the system).
Chromium Facts
Google pleased the IT developers of the world not only with its own browser, but also with the fact that it launched a rather unique product - Chromium. This is also a program for viewing web pages. She, as you can understand, based on harmony with the main browser, is very technologically close to it. But there is a difference, and it is significant. Chrome browser is Google’s core product among similar solutions. It is designed to meet the commercial needs of the company. A significant part of the information related to its development, according to experts, is closed. Chromium, in turn, is an open source web browser. This means that almost all interested programmers from all over the world can use it.
Chromium as a separate browser, according to some experts, is inferior in functionality to its "brother". However, according to experts, this is not surprising. A minimum of "regular" functions - more freedom for the creativity of third-party developers. But the basic user tools in both browsers from Google (as well as those created by other programmers based on Chromium) are the same. The main technological advantages characteristic of Chrome are also in Chromium - speed of operation, simplicity of the interface and management.
The open source code that Google developers presented to the world predetermined the appearance of a large number of Chromium-based browsers. They may differ in names (moreover, be positioned as ardent competitors of each other), but, in fact, be one and the same platform. In particular, such well-known Russian companies as Mail and Yandex created their browsers on the basis of Chromium.
Opera browser: Scandinavian challenge to world leaders
In the early 90s, two Norwegian programmers, Jon Stephenson von Techner and his caller Geir Ivarsey, worked for one of the largest telecommunications corporations. In 1993, they faced the challenge of creating a website for their company. They did this, but soon became convinced that the most popular solution at that time - Mosaic - was not very suitable for displaying web pages. Despite the fact that even then new browsers appeared in the world, designed to become an alternative to Mosaic, Jon and Geir decided that they would create their own program that could work with web documents more correctly. The first version of the application appeared in the same 1993. The program was called MultiTorg Opera and was used exclusively for the needs of the employer firm Jon and Geir. But a year later a browser appeared, designed to become recognizable on a planetary scale. The name was completely borrowed from the previous decision. The new browser was characterized, according to experts, by the minimal consumption of system resources. Many IT experts of those years predicted the program worldwide popularity.
In 1995, Jon and Geir founded their own company, Opera Software AS. Already in 1996 there was a program created under the new brand and name - Opera 2.0. According to experts of those years, the browser did an excellent job with the task of quickly launching web pages. Soon the third "Opera" appeared. The Internet browser has become, according to many IT experts, completely revolutionary - in it, in particular, it has become possible to work in multi-window mode. The program also introduced the function of automatically filling in web forms, and implemented a reliable security protocol. The fourth version of the browser has a separate email client.
In 2000, the Russian version of Opera was released. Over the years, the Norwegian browser has been constantly improved. In it, new opportunities and functions appeared continually. In particular, in version 8.0, released in 2005, voice control appeared. In various modifications of the program, original controls were implemented (such as, for example, "scrolling with the mouse"). A suitable version of the Opera browser was created for Linux, MacOS. The mobile version of the program has become very popular.
The Opera browser, experts believe, perfectly reflected the needs of the time when the Internet was slow enough (and if fast, very expensive), and computers of most users were not very productive. Gradually, the speed of online channels increased, access to it became cheaper. Computers have become incomparably more powerful. And therefore, the main historical advantage of the browser - the speed of processing web pages - has ceased to be so important. This experts explain that the current market position of Opera is far from leading. But, it should be noted that in Russia this browser is among the most popular (according to some reports, about 15% of Internet users from the Russian Federation prefer the Norwegian program).
Yandex browser
Yandex is one of the most recognized Russian IT brands in the world. Now it is the largest search engine in the Russian Federation, one of the most popular mail and news services. On the computers of so many Russian users, the Yandex page is the main page. In 2010, the company launched its own web browser. The specifics of the solution that appeared on the market was closely integrated with Yandex branded services - search engine, mail, satellite maps, etc. Yandex browser surprised many users with the ability to give out various prompts that accelerate finding the required data. The program interface seemed nice to many , while others appreciated the ease of use.
Is it possible to say that the web browser created by Yandex is a 100% Russian development? Of course not. The program is based on the source code of Chromium, which is completely open to IT professionals around the world. As we said above, anyone can create their own browser based on it (in fact, this is what happens - now, based on Chromium, hundreds, if not thousands, of well-known and not so programs for viewing web pages have been created). Therefore, it is worth recognizing (without in any way belittling the merits of the Yandex company) - Google plays the main role in the emergence of the popular Russian browser.
Puffin: browser for iOS
In the second half of 2000, mobile gadgets began to gain popularity in the world. One of the technological trendsetters in this segment was Apple, which released several lines of devices running the branded operating system - iOS. Under this platform (as well as competing ones - Android, Windows Mobile, etc.), new browsers from leading world developers began to be released. Opera, Google and other well-known corporations have created solutions compatible with Apple's gadgets. However, along with these solutions, the Puffin Web Browser has become very popular. What are the features of this program?
The peculiarity of the iOS platform is that it does not support one of the most popular multimedia technologies in the world - Flash. For this reason, many of the sites whose content is built on the basis of this standard may not be displayed correctly on Apple devices. The Puffin browser has become a solution that is designed to make it easier for users of iOS devices to browse sites that have Flash content. Experts and users who have tested this program are generally very positive about it. The main task assigned to the browser - playing flash files, performs well.