Introduction to the Internet and World Wide Web - Web Development and Design Foundations with XHTML - page 4

The combination of commercial use, HTTP, and a graphical user interface made the
information on the Internet much easier to access. The World Wide Web—the graphical
user interface to the information stored on computers connected to the Internet—had
arrived!
1.3 Standards and Coordination
You are probably aware that no single person or group runs the entire Internet. Each
separate network is managed individually. However, there are a number of groups that
develop standards and guidelines. These groups are a driving force in the growth and
evolution of the Internet.
The Internet Society , http://www.isoc.org, is a professional organization that provides
leadership in issues related to the future of the Internet. The Internet Society is the orga-
nizational home for the groups responsible for Internet infrastructure standards, includ-
ing the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Internet Architecture Board
(IAB) .
You can think of the IETF as the protocol engineering and development arm of the
Internet. It is the principal body engaged in the development of new Internet standard
specifications. The IETF is an open international community of network designers,
operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of Internet architec-
ture and the smooth operation of the Internet. The actual technical work of the IETF is
completed in its working groups. These working groups are organized into areas by
topic, such as security and routing.
The IAB is a committee of the IETF and provides guidance and broad direction to the
IETF. As a function of this purpose, the IAB is responsible for the publication of the
Request for Comments (RFC) document series.
An RFC is a formal document from the IETF that is drafted by a committee and subse-
quently reviewed by interested parties. RFCs are available for online review at
http://www.ietf.org/rfc.html. Some RFCs are informational in nature, while others are
meant to become Internet standards. In the latter case, the final version of the RFC
becomes a new standard. Future changes to the standard must be made through subse-
quent RFCs.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Numbers and Names (ICANN) , http://www.
icann.org, was created in 1998 and is a nonprofit organization. Its main function is to
coordinate the assignment of Internet domain names, IP address numbers, protocol
parameters, and protocol port numbers. Prior to 1998, the Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority (IANA) coordinated these functions. IANA still performs certain functions
under the guidance of ICANN and maintains a Web site at http://www.iana.org.
1.4 Standards and the
World Wide Web Consortium
As with the Internet in general, no one person or group runs the World Wide Web.
However, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) , http://www.w3.org , takes a proac-