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Browsers

Browsers were very simple in the beginning, since HTML was very simple in the beginning. HTML files are basically text files formatted in a certain way. The browsers look at the formatting and, based on the formatting, present pages in a certain way.

But as the Internet has gotten older, HTML has given way to DHTML, XML, Flash, and many other ways to display information. There are still lots of HTML files around—I would guess that they're still the majority—but even they have become more complicated with the addition of JavaScript, Java, ActiveX, and other technologies. Because of all these technologies, different pages can be displayed in different ways. Keep this in mind as we discuss four well-known browsers, starting with the most ...