What Is a Browser?

A browser is a program that allows you to view and interact with web pages or web applications. Examples of popular browsers include Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.

The process by which a browser operates is as follows:

1. Data Request: When a user enters a URL, the browser requests the corresponding page from the web server.

2. Data Reception: The web server sends files needed to display the website, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, to the browser.

3. Rendering: The browser interprets (parses) the received files and displays them on the screen.

A web page is essentially a long document made up of code.

The process where a browser reads and understands this lengthy code is called Parsing.

The browser creates a tree-like structure as a result of interpreting the code, known as the DOM (Document Object Model) tree.

Each branch of the tree represents different elements of the web page, such as headers (h), images (img), and buttons (button).

Through the DOM tree, JavaScript can access each element of a web page, allowing for modification or interaction with HTML elements.

Think of the DOM tree as the nervous system of a website with JavaScript acting as the brain that controls the website.

For instance, when a user clicks a button, JavaScript finds the corresponding button in the DOM tree and executes the code associated with the button click.

We will delve deeper into the DOM in the next lesson.