What is a Browser

As the name suggests, a browser is an application that lets you browse something. When it comes to computer browsers the same principle apply more or less. A typical computer browser is an application that will let you go through, or "navigate" the information stored on the computer.

Essentially, a browser can be of two broad types -

The File Browser

The file browser on the computer will let you go through or navigate between the different files stored on your storage devices. There are various different names associated with this application but they have essentially the same function and purpose. For instance, the File Manager application for Windows 3.1 is one such example. With the file browser you can search through your files, organize your files and folders, delete and rename files and folders, or move/copy files from one place to another location.

The Web Browser

The web browser is a software application similar to the file browser, but most importantly, it lets you browse the internet. Now what does browsing the internet actually mean? The web browser essentially has the ability to communicate with different computers and web servers using the internet.

The communication between your web browser and the web servers involves a particular protocol. The information exchanged is usually in the HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) format. The web browser locates the web server from an URL (the Uniform Resource Link) that is specific and unique for every web server. The URL of a web server is its "address" where it can be reached. Web browsers locate web sites through different address protocols. For instance, HTTP, FTP (File Transfer Protocol), Gopher, RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol) or HTTPS (this is the SSL version of the http).

Web browsers are efficient and powerful applications that let you view web pages, and in general, let you "remain online". Another thing you can do with these applications is download files from a website or upload files to a website. All such data transfers are again executed using one of the above mentioned protocols.

Currently the distinction between the file browser and the web browser has become rather non-existent, from a practical point of view. If you are using the Internet Explorer (the most commonly used web browser), you can also use this application to browse or open files on your hard disk.

Internet Explorer doubles-up as a file and web browser. If you are viewing some folder on your drive, all you need to do is enter an URL you want to view in the address bar, and the file browser converts in to a web browser. The utility of web browsers has greatly improved with the use of add-ons and toolbars. For instance, you can install the Google Toolbar inside your web browser to be able to do one click log-in's or do a quick Google search without having to visit google.com