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I see where both of you are coming from, but I can't help but notice the number of competing network protocols and formats that HTTP/HTML defeated in the market
by dasil003 14y ago
I see where both of you are coming from, but I can't help but notice the number of competing network protocols and formats that HTTP/HTML defeated in the market. Did the web succeed despite its technical failings or because of them?
- dredmorbius 14y agoPossibly a mix. The fact that the protocols were free an unencumbered, and reference implementations of both server and client software were provided helped immensely as well. Any idiot could come along and either pick up working pieces or modify them. And they did. Tim O'Reilly's had a few things to say about watching the Web take off. Its primary competition was closed systems: either entirely closed networks, or proprietary protocols, or both. He wasn't willing to bet his company on any such thing. When the Web emerged, it was clear to him that it was the solution he'd been looking for.