Internet

The Internet is the global seestem o interconnectit computer networks that uise the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) tae link devices warldwide. It is a network o networks that conseests o private, public, academic, business, an govrenment networks o local tae global scope, linked bi a broad array o electronic, wireless, an optical networkin technologies. The Internet carries an extensive range o information resoorces an services, such as the inter-linked hypertext documents an applications o the World Wide Web (WWW), electronic mail, telephony, an peer-to-peer networks for file sharin.

The origins o the Internet date back tae resairch commissioned bi the Unitit States federal govrenment in the 1960s tae big robust, fault-tolerant communication via computer networks.^[1] The primary precursor network, the ARPANET, ineetially served as a backbane for interconnection o regional academic an militar networks in the 1980s. The fundin o the National Science Foundation Network as a new backbane in the 1980s, as well as private fundin for ither commercial extensions, led tae warldwide pairteecipation in the development o new networkin technologies, an the merger o mony networks.^[2] The linkin o commercial networks an enterprises bi the early 1990s merks the beginnin o the transeetion tae the modren Internet,^[3] an generatit a susteened exponential growth as generations o institutional, personal, an mobile computers war connectit tae the network. Awtho the Internet wis widely uised bi academia syne the 1980s, the commercialisation incorporatit its services an technologies intae virtually every aspect o modren life.

Internet uise grew rapidly in the Wast frae the mid-1990s an frae the late 1990s in the developin warld.^[4] In the twa decades syne then, Internet uise haes grown 100-times, meisurt for the period o ane year, tae ower ane third o the warld population.^[5][6] Maist tradeetional communications media, includin telephony, radio, telly, paper mail an newspapers are bein reshaped or redefined bi the Internet, giein birth tae new services such as email, Internet telephony, Internet televeesion muisic, digital newspapers, an video streamin wabsteids. Newspaper, beuk, an ither prent publishin are adaptin tae wabsteid technology, or are reshaped intae bloggin, wab feeds an online news aggregators. The Internet haes enabled an acceleratit new forms o personal interactions throu instant messagin, Internet forums, an social networkin. Online shappin haes grown exponentially baith for major retailers an smaw businesses an entrepreneurs, as it enables firms tae extend thair "bricks an mortar" presence tae serve a lairger mercat or even sell guids an services entirely online. Business-tae-business an financial services on the Internet affect supply chains athort entire industries.

The Internet haes na centralised govrenance in either technological implementation or policies for access an uisage; each constituent network sets its awn policies.^[7] Anerly the owerreachin defineetions o the twa principal name spaces in the Internet, the Internet Protocol address space an the Domain Name System (DNS), are directit bi a mainteener organisation, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The technical unnerpinnin an staundartisation o the core protocols is an activity o the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), a non-profit organisation o loosely affiliatit internaitional participants that onyane mey associate wi bi contreibutin technical expertise.^[8]