Internet: The evolution.
Tags: webdev, ai
Published: 2024-04-04 20:54:08



The internet is a massive network of interconnected computers and electronic devices across the globe. It allows for global communication and information sharing through a variety of services like email, social media, and the World Wide Web. Tera posts a meme and gets 1,000 likes, Funsho from Nigeria works remotely for a company in the US, Tessa uses Ai to proofread her essay due for submission, all these are the uses of the internet right now. Wouldn't we like to know how much it has advanced?. 


**Shall we begin?.**

The history of the Internet began with the threat of the Cold War. In the 1950s and 60s, the United States was engaged in a cold war with the Soviet Union. This led to each country finding ways to increase its science and technology capabilities to communicate and be prepared, starting with the transfer of data between computers. This brought about a different method developed by the scientists called Packet Switching. With packet switching, it was easier to transfer data in smaller segments, and if interrupted, it didn't have to start from the beginning. Packet switching allowed computers to connect to each other over a network called ARPANET, the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. 
This is where the internet started to evolve. 


**Should we continue?.** 

In 1969, the first computers communicated over ARPANET from UCLA to SRI in California, and from then, other networks were developed but couldn't communicate with each other. To solve this problem, TCP/IP was developed. Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol were developed (TCP/IP), a set of rules that allows for communication among networks and packets delivered to reach their destination. 
 
In 1991, the World Wide Web(www) was launched. It allows users from any connected device to locate resources and  web pages using URLs. The URL functions as an address that tells the computer to locate where the web pages are on the internet. Most people refer to the Web as the internet. It is actually a service that runs on the Internet and not the Internet itself. 
![World Wide Web](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/xmccaqmdgc9qm31q9qas.jpg)

From then, the email was developed by Ray Tomlinson, sending messages between different computers that were targeted at specific users using the format “user@computer”. 

![Email logo](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/3c95w7d7m974myurbqau.jpg)


And now, we have social media. This era of social media such as Facebook,  Instagram, Twitter, YouTube has created a new world allowing users to communicate and share content with anyone around the world and get information from everywhere without a hassle and it has become a part of our daily life. 

![Social media](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/rat2d9ds10jnwov3y3r3.jpg)

The emergence of Artificial Intelligence(AI) brought about a new thrill and also fear of a new beginning. It is shaping the future of the internet, from proofreading our essays to writing a whole essay with just a few prompts, making codes easier by providing easier ways to solve it and so much more. In a few years to come, AI will be a force to be reckoned with if it isn't already. Are we ready for it?. 

![Artificial Intelligence](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/j6xx5q6g3ivwiiiovpj4.jpg)

**Here are a few common network protocols.**

1. **DNS:** The Domain Name System (DNS) maps human-readable domain names (in URLs or email addresses) to IP addresses. 

2. **IP addresses**: a unique identifier for a specific path that leads to a host on a network. 

3. **File Transfer Protocol (FTP)**: FTP is a client-server protocol, with which a client requests a file and the server supplies it. FTP runs over TCP/IP -- a suite of communications protocols -- and requires a command channel and a data channel to communicate and exchange files, respectively.

4. **HTTP**: Hypertext Transfer Protocol is a file sharing protocol that runs over TCP/IP. But HTTP primarily works over web browsers and is commonly recognizable for most users.

5. **Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)**: SMTP is the most popular email protocol, is part of the TCP/IP suite, and controls how email clients send users' email messages.

**The internet wasn't created by one person but by the works of many brilliant minds of their time and is still being revolutionized every day. Are we excited for what the future holds or apprehensive?.**