The Three Pillars
Tim Berners-Lee's 1989 invention combined three technologies that, together, create the Web:
| Pillar | What It Does | Analogy | Learn More |
|---|---|---|---|
| HTTP | The protocol — how client and server communicate | The postal system (how mail gets delivered) | HTTP |
| HTML | The content — what gets displayed | The letter itself (the message) | Tutorial 14 |
| URLs | The addresses — where things are | The mailing address (where to deliver) | URLs |
Everything else — CSS, media assets, JavaScript, databases, frameworks, APIs — builds on top of these three. HTML references the included media assets. CSS styles the HTML and media assets. JavaScript adds interactivity. Databases store data. We can go further and add abstractions to hide complexity or frameworks to organize it. But at the core, it's first and foremost HTTP carrying HTML from a URL.