2024-03-19 10:34 UTC (Access Key = T)
Universal Time Coordinated - Definition of the time standard. Time anywhere on Earth.
2024-02-20
Tim Cliffe - Blog
How to Make the Web Run Faster
Yes, you can help to make the web faster, for everyone, simply by knowing a basic fact about how the web works. It's all in the oblique, i.e., / (aka forward-slash).If everyone, who uses the web, made one simple and quick change to the way they use URLs (web site addresses), the web would work faster, for everyone.
URLs and the Oblique
Have you noticed, if you copy a URL, such as http://www.timcliffe.uk and then paste it into your browser, when the web site is displayed, the URL becomes http://www.timcliffe.uk/ (note the / at the end of .uk)?
The same works if you copy the URL http://www.timcliffe.uk/blog and then paste that into your browser, you get http://www.timcliffe.uk/blog/
Why, and What Difference Does It Make?
The simple answer is... web directories.http://www.timcliffe.uk/ and http://www.timcliffe.uk/blog/ are web directories, and web servers work faster if a web directory's URL ends with /.
How is that Possible?
When you enter, www.timcliffe.uk/blog into your browser, a request is sent, to the server hosting the website, to display the webpage at that location. The first thing the server does is look for a file with the same URL, in this example, that would be blog.html. When the server doesn't find a file, it then looks for a directory. When it finds a directory with the same URL, the server effectively executes, what is called, a redirect and adds / to the end of the URL and then goes to the directory and returns, what is called, the index document.So, How Will That Make The Web Faster?
In the above example, the server needs to look for the URL twice, if you omit the trailing /.If you include the trailing / for domains and directory URLs, you are reducing the number of look-ups by 50%. If everyone, who uses the web, includes the trailing / every time they should, hundreds of millions of look-ups will not be necessary, every single day.
That's how you can make the web faster, for everyone.
Genesis of the World Wide Web
Tim Berners-Lee, then at CERN, submitted a proposal (Access the W3C website Tim Berners-Lee proposal page (External link, opens in a new tab/window)) that would be the genesis of the World Wide Web.To celebrate the 30th anniversary (March 2019) of the web, the original WorldWideWeb browser (Access the CERN website CERN 2019 WorldWideWeb Rebuild page (External link, opens in a new tab/window)) has been re-created at CERN.
What is the Difference Between the Internet and the World Wide Web?
Firstly, the Internet was created before the World Wide Web.The Internet is a global network of connected computers.
The World Wide Web uses the Internet to make information available via hyperlinks using a system called HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), or HTTPS, which is the secure (encrypted) version used in e-commerce.
A more detailed description is available here (Access the Techopedia website Difference Between the Internet and the World Wide Web page (External link, opens in a new tab/window)).
Resources
eLearning:
- 3D Printer Developments by 3D Printing Industry
(External link, opens in a new tab/window); - Augmented Reality from Tobias Kammann
(External link, opens in a new tab/window); - Browser Statistics by w3schools.
Browser Type, Operating System, Screen Resolutions
(External link, opens in a new tab/window); - Cambridge Dictionary The Cambridge Dictionary - leading authority on the English Language - Dictionary and Thesaurus - Free to use
(External link, opens in a new tab/window); - eLearning Feeds by eLearning Feeds. Ranked and scored e-learning blogs
(External link, opens in a new tab/window); - Global Statistics (on-line) by ITU - Includes Stats for the Web and Mobile
(External link, opens in a new tab/window); - Multi-media Software SourceForce - Open Source software (free) development and distribution community
(External link, opens in a new tab/window); - Punctuation Guide by the renowned Professor Larry Trask
(External link, opens in a new tab/window); - Referencing:
- Typography by Typekit Practice
(External link, opens in a new tab/window); - Virtual Reality Blog by Enter VR
(External link, opens in a new tab/window); - Web Usability by Nielson Norman Group
(External link, opens in a new tab/window).
Security:
- Anonymous Browsing:
- Computer by The Tor Project
(External link, opens in a new tab/window); - Mobile by The Guardian Project
(External link, opens in a new tab/window); - User-Agent String Confirm what information your browser is giving away about itself, your operating system and computer
(External link, opens in a new tab/window);
- Computer by The Tor Project
- Computer Security from Graham Cluley
(External link, opens in a new tab/window); - Email Encryption by GnuPG, for various Operating Systems
(External link, opens in a new tab/window); - Publicised Location Confirm your VPN/Proxy settings; where the Internet thinks you are
(External link, opens in a new tab/window); - Random No. Generator Create random passwords, convert numbers to letters, e.g., 5 = E
(External link, opens in a new tab/window); - UK NCSC Advice and guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre
(External link, opens in a new tab/window); - On-line Privacy by The Tin Hat. Articles and Tutorials
(External link, opens in a new tab/window); - VPN Reviews by TechRadar
The latest reviews of VPNs
(External link, opens in a new tab/window).
- GCA Toolkit Access the UK Police ActionFraud website
Protect small/medium sized business from cyber attacks
(External link, opens in a new tab/window); - Quad9 and DMARC Access the UK Police ActionFraud website
Protect your system and e-mail
(External link, opens in a new tab/window).
Guarding against disinformation and the re-writing of history.
Web Archive Access the Internet Archive Wayback Machine website(External link, opens in a new tab/window)