How the Internet Works (in 10 Minutes)

The internet is computers talking

The internet is billions of computers connected together and sending each other messages. Two roles matter:

• Client: the computer asking for something (your laptop or phone, through a browser)
• Server: the computer answering (a machine in a data center that stores the website)

What happens when you visit a website

1. You type noob2dev.com and press Enter.
2. DNS (the internet's phone book) looks up that name and finds the server's address, a number like 104.21.33.12.
3. Your browser sends a request to that server: "Please send me the home page."
4. The server sends back a response: the page's HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
5. Your browser renders it, turning the code into the page you see.

This request → response conversation uses a language called HTTP. HTTPS is the encrypted version: nobody in between (like someone on the same café Wi-Fi) can read it.

A web address, taken apart

Where you fit in

As a developer you'll build both sides:

• Front end: what runs in the browser (HTML, CSS, JavaScript). You'll start that soon.
• Back end: what runs on the server (APIs, databases). That comes in Phase 3.

Fun fact: this site works exactly like this. Your browser sent a request, a server answered, and the code you run in exercises runs right in your browser.