Tim Berners Lee

Introduction

This discussion will elaborate on the life and accomplishments of Tim Berners Lee. In order to do so adequately, the discussion will explore Tim Berners Lee's contribution to the networked world; with focus on the design aspects in particular. The discussion will then proceed to place Tim Berners Lee's work in a context, and explore how Tim Berners Lee has helped to shape the world of today. A number of sources will be utilized in the development of this discussion with special consideration towards sources that pertain directly to the subject of discussion.

Discussion

Tim Berners Lee was born on the 8 of June, 1955, in London, England. His interest in electronics and technology was apparent from his active interest in electronics and mechanics from when he was a child. His model railway sets were the first tinker-toys that sparked his interest in electronics (Berners-Lee and Fischetti). After completing his Physics degree from Queens College, Oxford, in 1976, Tim Berners Lee then went on to join Plessey, an electronics, defense and telecommunications company. Following this he became an active part of D. G. Nash. His primary achievements during his tenure at D. G. Nash constituted his work on the type-setting software he helped create for printers. Tim Berners Lee's career and professional development took a turn for the better when he began working for CERN (CERN). During his time in CERN his work on the concept of hypertext helped to bring about major positive changes in information sharing practices in CERN.

I want you to realize that, if you can imagine a computer doing something, you can program a computer to do that (Berners).

ENQUIRE was Tim Berners Lee's first information sharing and updating software that made the advantages of the use of hyper-text in information management fully apparent. While ENQUIRE was not completely successful in the long run, it helped to uncover the need for effective and efficient information sharing protocols (Berners-Lee and Fischetti). The winter of 1980 saw Tim Berners Lee work for John Poole's Image Computer Systems, Ltd, in Bournemouth, England, before he returned to CERN in 1984. He resumed his work on hyper-text transfer protocols and it was because of his efforts that the potential for the establishment of the World Wide Web became evident in 1989. Tim Berners Lee developed a proposal to suggest the utilities of bringing together the transmission control protocol and the hyper-text system with domain name system (Fischetti). This led to the foundation of what is now commonly known as the World Wide Web.

It was in 1990 that Tim Berners Lee finalized the proposal for the World Wide Web. The proposal borrowed concepts from the ENQUIRE system and recommended implementation of the system on an enhanced and broader level. The proposal also constituted what was to become recognized as the first Web server in the future (Fischetti). 1994 saw Tim Berners Lee bring together companies functioning in the area of information and communication technology in order to encourage them to work on the standards ...