How The Internet Works — Easy
There is a lot to learn about how the internet works, but here I’ll keep it simple.
This explanation is for you if:
- You are not technical (nor trying to be).
- You are thinking about creating products.
- You are working with technical people.
A Web Conversation (Simplified)
One: A user types a web address into their device.
Human tells Computer (Client) that they (Human) wants to talk to another Computer (Server). E.g. Google’s Computer (Server)
Two: The device (Client) sends an HTTP Request
Client translates Human’s request into something other Computers (Servers) can understand.
Three: A DNS Server routes that request to the appropriate Server
What is essentially a Mailman Computer (DNS Server) takes the Client’s request and sends it along to the right Server.
Four: The Server responds with an HTTP Response containing a file (.html, .css, .pdf, .png, .json, .mp3, etc. etc.)
The Server (if it exists, and is working, and understands the message) responds in the same language (HTTP)
Five: The Client renders the file in the browser.
The Client translates the response so the Human can understand it.
New Concepts
Client — Computer in your house
Server — Computer at the company
DNS Server — Mailmen Computers all over (http://www.root-servers.org/)
HTTP — Simple language for requests and responses
Request — Message sent by Client and received by Server
Response — Message sent by Server and received by Client
On The Development Side
When we are developing, we usually differentiate the code that lives in the Client from the one that lives in the Server. The languages are different, security concerns are different, and typically engineers are different.
When we do frontend, we are writing code that lives in the Client. It helps the client (like a browser) understand what to do with the file. In this case, the .html/.css files it gets from the server.
When we do backend, we write the code that lives in the Server. We are encoding the functionality that, given a URL address, decides what to send back to the user.
Like we said, HTTP is the language of the interwebs. It is very simple and is only allowed to say two things:
- GET — to retrieve a document from the server
- POST — to send data to the server and use it to retrieve a document.
An example of a POST is the submitting of a form. The Server gets some information from you (in addition to the URL) and it responds accordingly.
In reality, the Client (website) will send a lot of requests to the Server on your behalf. When you click a button for example, or when you scroll down your feed, or when you open a chat, GET and POST requests are being sent to ask for more data from the server on your behalf.
Conclusion
The internet is basically a back and forth for files and messages between your computer and a ton of computers out in the world. The senders and receivers are very limited in what they can do, but we get creative with our posts and gets, our frontend and backend code and we can make a ton of interesting stuff happen.
If you want to learn more, check out our APIs post.
Are you interested in building an app? Do you want help or guidance through the process? We provide structural support as well as technical services that help you move forward with your idea quickly. Here is a list of our services. If you want to learn more don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@getitbuilt.today
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