A network of documents and recources linked to one another and viewable in a user-friendly, point-and-click HyperText environment. The Web uses its own protocol on the Net, HTTP, the "Hypertext Transport Protocol," for transferring files from a Web server to a local user's computer and Web client program (like Netscape Navigator or Mosaic, also known as Web "browsers"). Since the Web concept includes backward compatibility with earlier Internet protocols like FTP and Gopher, any Web client program now provides the easiest and most advanced way to use the whole Internet. With the Web interface provided by the client program, retrieving information on the Net is done via hypertext or hypermedia links, rather than by making choices on hierarchical menus or by typing commands at a system prompt. The Web enables users to access information in all kinds of formats and file types (text, image, graphics, sound, and video) through one user interface or "front end."
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