The biography of U.S. President Barack Obama that appears on White House.gov

A website, also written as Web site,^[1] web site, or simply site,^[2] is a set of related web pages containing content such as text, images, video, audio, etc. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet address known as a Uniform Resource Locator. All publicly accessible websites collectively constitute the World Wide Web.

A webpage is a document, typically written in plain text interspersed with formatting instructions of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML, XHTML). A webpage may incorporate elements from other websites with suitable markup anchors.

Webpages are accessed and transported with the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which may optionally employ encryption (HTTP Secure, HTTPS) to provide security and privacy for the user of the webpage content. The user's application, often a web browser, renders the page content according to its HTML markup instructions onto a display terminal.

The pages of a website can usually be accessed from a simple Uniform Resource Locator (URL) called the web address. The URLs of the pages organize them into a hierarchy, although hyperlinking between them conveys the reader's perceived site structure and guides the reader's navigation of the site which generally includes a home page with most of the links to the site's web content, and a supplementary about, contact and link page.

Some websites require a subscription to access some or all of their content. Examples of subscription websites include many business sites, parts of news websites, academic journal websites, gaming websites, file-sharing websites, message boards, web-based email, social networking websites, websites providing real-time stock market data, and websites providing various other services (e.g., websites offering storing and/or sharing of images, files and so forth).

History[link]

The World Wide Web (WWW) was created in 1990 by CERN physicist Tim Berners-Lee.^[3] On 30 April 1993, CERN announced that the World Wide Web would be free to use for anyone.^[4] Before the introduction of HTML and HTTP, other protocols such as File Transfer Protocol and the gopher protocol were used to retrieve individual files from a server. These protocols offer a simple directory structure which the user navigates and chooses files to download. Documents were most often presented as plain text files without formatting, or were encoded in word processor formats.

Overview[link]

Organized by function, a website may be

• a personal website
• a commercial website
• a government website
• a nonprofit organization website.

It could be the work of an individual, a business or other organization, and is typically dedicated to some particular topic or purpose. Any website can contain a hyperlink to any other website, so the distinction between individual sites, as perceived by the user, may sometimes be blurred.

Websites are written in, or dynamically converted to, HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) and are accessed using a software interface classified as a user agent. Web pages can be viewed or otherwise accessed from a range of computer-based and Internet-enabled devices of various sizes, including desktop computers, laptops, PDAs and cell phones.

A website is hosted on a computer system known as a web server, also called an HTTP server, and these terms can also refer to the software that runs on these systems and that retrieves and delivers the web pages in response to requests from the website users. Apache is the most commonly used web server software (according to Netcraft statistics) and Microsoft's IIS is also commonly used. Some alternatives, such as Lighttpd, Hiawatha or Cherokee, are fully functional and lightweight.

Static website[link]

A static website is one that has web pages stored on the server in the format that is sent to a client web browser. It is primarily coded in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).

Simple forms or marketing examples of websites, such as classic website, a five-page website or a brochure website are often static websites, because they present pre-defined, static information to the user. This may include information about a company and its products and services through text, photos, animations, audio/video and interactive menus and navigation.

This type of website usually displays the same information to all visitors. Similar to handing out a printed brochure to customers or clients, a static website will generally provide consistent, standard information for an extended period of time. Although the website owner may make updates periodically, it is a manual process to edit the text, photos and other content and may require basic website design skills and software.

In summary, visitors are not able to control what information they receive via a static website, and must instead settle for whatever content the website owner has decided to offer at that time.

They are edited using four broad categories of software:

• Text editors, such as Notepad or TextEdit, where content and HTML markup are manipulated directly within the editor program
• WYSIWYG offline editors, such as Microsoft FrontPage and Adobe Dreamweaver (previously Macromedia Dreamweaver), with which the site is edited using a GUI interface and the final HTML markup is generated automatically by the editor software
• WYSIWYG online editors which create media rich online presentation like web pages, widgets, intro, blogs, and other documents.
• Template-based editors, such as RapidWeaver and iWeb, which allow users to quickly create and upload web pages to a web server without detailed HTML knowledge, as they pick a suitable template from a palette and add pictures and text to it in a desktop publishing fashion without direct manipulation of HTML code.

Dynamic website[link]

A dynamic website is one that changes or customizes itself frequently and automatically, based on certain criteria.

Dynamic websites can have two types of dynamic activity: Code and Content. Dynamic code is invisible or behind the scenes and dynamic content is visible or fully displayed.

Dynamic code[link]

The first type is a web page with dynamic code. The code is constructed dynamically on the fly using active programming language instead of plain, static HTML.

A website with dynamic code refers to its construction or how it is built, and more specifically refers to the code used to create a single web page. A dynamic web page is generated on the fly by piecing together certain blocks of code, procedures or routines. A dynamically-generated web page would recall various bits of information from a database and put them together in a pre-defined format to present the reader with a coherent page. It interacts with users in a variety of ways including by reading cookies recognizing users' previous history, session variables, server side variables etc., or by using direct interaction (form elements, mouse overs, etc.). A site can display the current state of a dialogue between users, monitor a changing situation, or provide information in some way personalized to the requirements of the individual user.

Dynamic content[link]

The second type is a website with dynamic content displayed in plain view. Variable content is displayed dynamically on the fly based on certain criteria, usually by retrieving content stored in a database.

A website with dynamic content refers to how its messages, text, images and other information are displayed on the web page, and more specifically how its content changes at any given moment. The web page content varies based on certain criteria, either pre-defined rules or variable user input. For example, a website with a database of news articles can use a pre-defined rule which tells it to display all news articles for today's date. This type of dynamic website will automatically show the most current news articles on any given date. Another example of dynamic content is when a retail website with a database of media products allows a user to input a search request for the keyword Beatles. In response, the content of the web page will spontaneously change the way it looked before, and will then display a list of Beatles products like CDs, DVDs and books.

Software systems[link]

There is a wide range of software systems, such as ANSI C servlets, JavaServer Pages (JSP), the PHP, Perl, Python, and Ruby programming languages, ASP.NET, Active Server Pages (ASP), YUMA and ColdFusion (CFML) that are available to generate dynamic web systems and dynamic sites. Sites may also include content that is retrieved from one or more databases or by using XML-based technologies such as RSS.

Static content may also be dynamically generated either periodically, or if certain conditions for regeneration occur (cached) in order to avoid the performance loss of initiating the dynamic engine on a per-user or per-connection basis.

Plug ins are available to expand the features and abilities of web browsers to show active content or even create rich Internet applications. Examples of such plug-ins are Microsoft Silverlight, Adobe Flash, Adobe Shockwave or applets written in Java. Dynamic HTML also provides for user interactivity and realtime element updating within web pages (i.e., pages don't have to be loaded or reloaded to effect any changes), mainly using the Document Object Model (DOM) and JavaScript, support which is built-in to most modern web browsers.

Turning a website into an income source is a common practice for web developers and website owners. There are several methods for creating a website business which fall into two broad categories, as defined below.

Content-based sites[link]

Some websites derive revenue by selling advertising space on their site either through direct sales or through an advertising network. (see Contextual advertising).

Product- or service-based sites[link]

Some websites derive revenue by offering products or services for sale. In the case of e-commerce websites, the products or services may be purchased at the website itself, by entering credit card or other payment information into a payment form on the site. While most business websites serve as a shop window for existing brick and mortar businesses, it is increasingly the case that some websites are businesses in their own right; that is, the products they offer are only available for purchase on the web.

Websites occasionally derive income from a combination of these two practices. For example, a website such as an online auctions website may charge the users of its auction service to list an auction, but also display third-party advertisements on the site, from which it derives further income.

Spelling[link]

The form "website" has become the most common spelling, but "Web site" (capitalised) and "web site" are also widely used, though declining. Some academia, some large book publishers, and some dictionaries still use "Web site", reflecting the origin of the term in the proper name World Wide Web. There has also been similar debate regarding related terms such as web page, web server, and webcam.

Among leading style guides, the Reuters style guide,^[5] The Chicago Manual of Style,^[6] and the AP Stylebook (since April 2010)^[7] all recommend "website".

Among leading dictionaries and encyclopedias, the Canadian Oxford Dictionary prefers "website", and the Oxford English Dictionary changed to "website" in 2004.^[8] Wikipedia also uses "website", but Encyclopædia Britannica^[9] (including its Merriam-Webster subsidiary^[10]) uses "Web site".

Among leading language-usage commentators, Garner's Modern American Usage acknowledges that "website" is the standard form,^[11] but Bill Walsh, of The Washington Post, argues for using "Web site" in his books and on his website^[12] (however, The Washington Post itself uses "website"^[13]).

Among major Internet technology companies and corporations, Microsoft uses "website" and occasionally "web site",^[14][15][16] Apple uses "website",^[17] and Google uses "website".^[18]

Types of websites[link]

Websites can be divided into two broad categories - static and interactive. Interactive sites are part of the Web 2.0 community of sites, and allow for interactivity between the site owner and site visitors. Static sites serve or capture information but do not allow engagement with the audience directly.

There are many varieties of websites, each specializing in a particular type of content or use, and they may be arbitrarily classified in any number of ways. A few such classifications might include:^{[original research?]}

Some websites may be included in one or more of these categories. For example, a business website may promote the business's products, but may also host informative documents, such as white papers. There are also numerous sub-categories to the ones listed above. For example, a porn site is a specific type of e-commerce site or business site (that is, it is trying to sell memberships for access to its site) or have social networking capabilities. A fansite may be a dedication from the owner to a particular celebrity.

Websites are constrained by architectural limits (e.g., the computing power dedicated to the website). Very large websites, such as Facebook, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Google employ many servers and load balancing equipment such as Cisco Content Services Switches to distribute visitor loads over multiple computers at multiple locations. As of early 2011, Facebook utilized 9 data centers with approximately 63,000 servers.

In February 2009, Netcraft, an Internet monitoring company that has tracked Web growth since 1995, reported that there were 215,675,903 websites with domain names and content on them in 2009, compared to just 18,000 websites in August 1995.

Awards[link]

The Webby Awards, Favourite Website Awards, Interactive Media Awards and WebAwards are prominent award organizations recognizing the world's best websites.

See also[link]

Internet portal

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up website in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
• World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
• The Internet Society (ISOC)

Jon Favreau
Favreau at the Austin, Texas premiere of I Love You, Man on March 13, 2009
Born	Jonathan Kolia Favreau (1966-10-19) October 19, 1966 (age 45) Flushing, Queens, New York City, USA
Occupation	Stand-up comedian, actor, director, screenwriter, voice artist, comedian
Years active	1992–present
Spouse	Joya Tillem (2000–present)

Jonathan Kolia "Jon" Favreau^[1] (/ˈfævroʊ/; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, voice artist, and comedian. As an actor, he is best known for his roles in Rudy, Swingers (which he also wrote), Very Bad Things, and The Break-Up. His notable directorial efforts include Elf, Iron Man, its sequel, and Cowboys & Aliens. His most prominent television role was that of Pete Becker, Monica Geller's boyfriend during season three of the television sitcom Friends.

Early life[link]

Favreau was born Jonathan Kolia Favreau in Flushing, Queens, New York, the son of Madeleine, an elementary school teacher who died of leukemia in 1979, and Charles Favreau, a special education teacher.^[2] Favreau's mother was Jewish and his father is a Catholic of Italian and distant French-Canadian ancestry.^[3][4][5] Favreau attended Hebrew school and had a Bar Mitzvah.^[6]

Favreau graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1984 and attended Queens College from 1984 to 1987, before dropping out. His friend from college, Mitchell Pollack, said that Favreau went by the nickname "Hack" because of his talent in the game, Hacky Sack.^[7] He briefly worked for Bear Stearns on Wall Street before returning to Queens College for a semester in early 1988. He dropped out of college for good (a few credits shy of completing his degree),^[8] and in the summer of 1988, moved to Chicago to pursue a career in comedy. He performed at several Chicago improvisational theaters, including the ImprovOlympic and the Improv Institute.

Career[link]

Early career[link]

While in Chicago, Favreau landed his first film role alongside Sean Astin as the pudgy tutor D-Bob in the classic sleeper hit Rudy (1993). Favreau met Vince Vaughn – who played a small role in this film – during shooting. The next year, he appeared in the college film PCU alongside Jeremy Piven, and also stepped into the world of television in the 1994 episode of Seinfeld titled "The Fire" as Eric the Clown. He then moved to Los Angeles, where he made his breakthrough in 1996 as an actor-screenwriter with the film Swingers, which was Vaughn's breakthrough role as the glib and extremely confident Trent Walker, a perfect foil to Favreau's heartbroken Mike Peters. In 1997, he appeared on the popular TV sitcom Friends, portraying Pete Becker, whom Monica Geller dates for several episodes, and who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

He rejoined Piven in 1998 as part of Very Bad Things (1998). In 1999, he starred in the TV movie Rocky Marciano, based on the life of the only undefeated world heavyweight champion. He later appeared in Love & Sex (2000), co-starring Famke Janssen. Favreau appeared in 2000's The Replacements as maniacal linebacker Daniel Bateman, and that same year he played himself in The Sopranos episode "D-Girl", as a Hollywood director who feigns interest in developing mob associate Christopher Moltisanti's screenplay in order to collect material for his own screenplay.

He was a guest-director for an episode of the college dramedy Undeclared in 2001, and Favreau got some screen time as lawyer Foggy Nelson in the 2003 movie Daredevil (2003) (considerably more in the Director's Cut version). In 2003, he also starred in The Big Empty, directed by Steve Anderson. His character was John Person, an out of work actor given a strange mission to deliver a blue suitcase to a man named Cowboy in the desert.

Actor-director[link]

In 2001, he made his (film) directorial debut with another self-penned screenplay, Made. Made once again teamed him up with his Swingers co-star Vince Vaughn. In the fall of 2003, he scored his first financial success as a director of the hit comedy Elf starring Will Ferrell and James Caan. Also in 2003, Favreau had a small part in Something's Gotta Give (a film starring Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson); Favreau played Leo, Harry Sanborn's (Nicholson) personal assistant, who visited Harry in the hospital. In 2005, Favreau directed the film adaptation of Zathura. Never to turn his back on acting, Favreau still makes regular appearances in film and television. He reunited with friend Vince Vaughn in the much-hyped hit romantic comedy The Break-Up and appeared in My Name Is Earl as a reprehensible fast food manager. Favreau also made a guest appearance in Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show.

Also in 2005, Favreau appeared as a guest judge and executive representative of Sony corporation in week five of NBC primetime reality TV business show, The Apprentice. He was called upon to judge the efforts of the show's two teams of contestants, who were assigned the task of designing and building a float to publicise his 2005 Sony Pictures movie, Zathura.

Favreau at an Iron Man photo call in Mexico City, April 2008

Favreau also has a TV series called Dinner for Five which airs on the cable TV channel IFC. On April 28, 2006, it was announced that Favreau was signed to direct the long awaited Iron Man movie.^[9] Released on May 2, 2008, the film was a huge critical^[10] and commercial^[11] success, solidifying Favreau's reputation as a director. Favreau was the third director attached to John Carter of Mars, the film adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' swashbuckling space hero. Robert Rodriguez and Kerry Conran were previously attached within the last two years. Mark Protosevich and Ehren Kruger have both written drafts. The Marshal in Revelation has been in development since Swingers was released. It's a western about a Hasidic gunslinger. At one time both Favreau and Vince Vaughn were to co-direct. Neanderthals is a CG animated film that Favreau will write and produce. Johnny Zero will cover the birth of the hot rod movement following World War II. Favreau will write and direct. Iron Man was the first Marvel-produced movie under their alliance with Paramount, and Favreau served as the director and an executive producer. He recently told MTV that he would like to be at the helm of an Avengers film. During early scenes in Iron Man Favreau appears as Tony Stark's loyal friend, and driver, Happy Hogan. He also wrote a mini-series for Marvel Knights titled Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas, that started in September 2008,^[12] and directed the sequel Iron Man 2.

Favreau co-starred in 2009's Couples Retreat, a comedy chronicling four couples who partake in therapy sessions at a tropical island resort, which he also wrote. The film saw him reunited with co-star Vince Vaughn, and Kristin Davis played his wife.^[13]

He voices the character Pre Vizsla in the episodes of the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.^{[citation needed]}

Favreau said in December 2010 that he would not direct Iron Man 3, opting to direct Magic Kingdom instead, though he will co-produce the film. He also remained an executive producer of director Joss Whedon's The Avengers.^[14][15]

In July 2011, Favreau was featured in a YouTube video by visual effects artist Freddie Wong (known on YouTube as the popular channel, "freddiew"), which was a spoof of his upcoming summer blockbuster, Cowboys & Aliens. He lent the gauntlet prop to Wong to use it in the short.

Personal life[link]

Favreau married Joya Tillem on November 24, 2000. The couple have three children: a son, Max, born July 25, 2001, and two daughters, Madeleine, born April 2003, and Brighton Rose, born August 2006. Joya Tillem is a physician and is the niece of lawyer/talk show host Len Tillem.^[16]

Favreau is a very close friend of actor Vince Vaughn^[17] and the two have collaborated on several movies.

Favreau credits Dungeons & Dragons with giving him "...a really strong background in imagination, storytelling, understanding how to create tone and a sense of balance."^[18]

Filmography[link]

Favreau in March 2009

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jon Favreau

• Jon Favreau at the Internet Movie Database
• Jon Favreau fansite
• Q Magazine (The magazine for Queens College alumni and friends) Fall 2006
• Jon Favreau interview
• Jon Favreau's Guest DJ Project on KCRW KCRW Guest DJ set
• Collected Works of Jon Favreau