Introduction to the Web -- Who Controls What

There are four "players" who make decisions about how a Web user experiences an navigates the Web. On the server-side, the document author determines the content, while the web server controls access to the content. On the client side, the web client, in combination with the user controls the display of the document, and how the documents are explored.

The Web Client

• Controls the general appearance of the document, and the navigational interface (buttons for navigating).
• Determines functionality (what graphics can be displayed, audio/video capabatilites, etc.)
• User-customization features (default fonts, colors, etc.)
• Version of HTML supported.

The User

• Customizable features (default home page, default font/colors, etc.), image loading or not.
• How the documents are navigated -- the user clicks the links.

The Web Server

• Access control to server resources -- can restrict access to certain users.
• Programmatic resources -- search engines, database access, etc., are all done on the server.

The Web Author

• Logical structure of document -- hot they are linked together
• General idea of physical structure (but not the details)
• The content to be delivered, and the structure for the content -- how documents are divided.