NET vs WEB 

Many people think that the terms internet (net) and World Wide Web (web) can be interchanged because they mean the same. The fact is that these terms are closely related but their definitions are different. There are many metaphors that could be applied to make these concepts more understandable. One can think the internet as a container and the web as part of that container, or it could also be said the net is a restaurant and the web the most popular dish (Gil, n.d). However, the most significant differences between the net and the web are related to their structure and their function. 

The Net differs from the web in the structural part. While the former is an interconnection of computer networks; that is, different kinds of computers (businesslike, personal, governmental or commercial) all linked like roads and highways in the form of hardware and cables (Gil, n.d), the latter is a large software that uses graphical interfaces and hyperlinks to allow the navigation through more than 40 billion public pages. They also differ in the functional aspect. Internet was conceived to allow the access of the information from one computer to other and even communicate worldwide (Rouse, 2000). Things like Telnet, FTP, Internet gaming, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), and e-mail are all part of the Internet, it is where all the information resides (WWW, n.d). On the other hand, the web is the structure utilize to house any kind of information, multimedia and content in the form of web pages accessible to any user of internet (Boswell, n.d). In conclusion, the net and the web are not the same thing but they truly work together. Internet provides the underlying structure, and the Web utilizes that structure to offer content.

Boswell, W. (n.d). The World Wide Web and the Internet. [Online blog]. Retrieved May 1, 2012 from the World Wide Web: http://websearch.about.com/od/whatistheinternet/a/world wideweb.htm 


Gil, P. (n.d). What Is the Difference Between the Internet and the Web? [Online blog]. Retrieved May 1, 2012 from the World Wide Web: http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/ internet101/f/the_difference_
between_internet_and_web.htm


Rouse, M. (2000). Internet. [Online blog]. ]. Retrieved May 1, 2012 from the World Wide Web: http://searchwindevelopment.techtarget.com/definition/Internet 


WWW (n.d). [Online glossary]. Retrieved May 1, 2012 from the World Wide Web: http://pc.net/glossary/definition/www