In September of this year (2017), I will have been connected to the Internet for 30 years. I remember sending my first e-mail in 1987 from the computer room of Concordia University's Hall Building, in downtown Montreal. I was hooked!
The Word-Wide Web had not yet been invented. In other words, browsers did not exist and would be a few years in the future.
A few years ago, when I posted on my Facebook timeline that I had been connected to the Internet for however-many years that it was at the time, someone commented that it wasn't the Internet as we know it now. This comment was not technically correct. I felt the urge to correct the person, but decided against it. This posting will attempt to explain the difference between the Internet and the World-Wide Web and the other protocols that use the Internet.
The Internet (infrastructure work-horse)
The Internet may be seen as a massive collection of computers (nodes) that are connected together to form one gigantic network. Information may flow through each node on its way from point A to point B.
Information is split into a sequence of data packets of a uniform size. Once the sequence of packets reaches its destination, it is reassembled into its original form. These data packets move from computer to computer in an endless torrent of data that crisscrosses the planet.
The data flows between computers at the electrical level using the Ethernet Protocol (EP). Layered on top of this protocol is the Transfer Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). This is the layer that actually carries the data packets. It is these packets that require the use of your unique IP address.
Internet Applications (what to do once you're connected)
Since the Internet is just one big, massive collection of computers, what can we do with this infrastructure?
Apparently, we can lots of stuff with this infrastructure.
One application of the Internet is to browse the Word-Wide Web using the Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) and its secure alternative, HTTPS. This is the Web with which everyone is familiar.
An application is to transfer files to and from our computers using the File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
An application is to send an e-mail using the Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP).
An application is to receive e-mail using the Post Office Protocol, version 3 nonetheless (POP3).
Each of these protocols are layered on top of the TCP/IP protocol that is the backbone of the Internet's packet relay system.
(It can be seen that the Word-Wide Web is merely an application of the Internet and not a synonym for the Internet. This misunderstanding is primarily responsible for people assuming the the Internet and the Word-Wide Web are interchangeable terms. They are technically not interchangeable!)
I'd like to offer an analogy on how the Internet and its applications may be seen.
Imagine the existing network of streets that traverses the globe. These streets are merely concrete paths that have been laid down. They are not very useful on their own; We must find some applications for this infrastructure.
An application is to drive a car on the street to go shopping for food.
An application is to ride a bicycle on the street to commute to work.
An application is to ride a motorcycle on the street to visit a friend.
An application is to drive a truck to deliver food to the grocery store.
It is obvious, here, that the road and driving a car are semantically different concepts. Driving a car requires a road upon which to do the driving. It is the same with the Internet and the Word-Wide Web. One requires the other in order to operate.
In Conclusion
I hope that this article was helpful in explaining the difference between the various applications and the Internet upon which they depend.
By the way, this article was requested by your browser using the HTTPS protocol. See, its right up there at the beginning of the URL, in your browser's address bar.
How were the data packets for this article actually transmitted to your computer? Using the Internet and its TCP/IP protocol (and the underlying EP).
