In the mid-1990s, the World Wide Web (which would come to be our global communications platform) was getting started and the PC market started to see various web browsers arrive. These were initially distributed as software packages (on floppy disks) and then later as part of the desktop environment (pre-installed on new computers). Mosaic, Netscape Navigator, and Internet Explorer arrived in quick succession to give early adopters access to the emerging information channel. In those days, it was largely academic texts and reference materials; you needed to know where to look to find things and, similarly to early computer use, it wasn't particularly intuitive.
What became clear, however, was that this new medium was starting to facilitate the future of communications and information exchange. People began to see that being the main technology within that space would be critical; and so began the browser wars. As web browsers vied for the top spot, the technology became embedded in the desktop platforms as a way to quickly deliver well-presented content. Initially, those bulky user manuals were moved to HTML (the language of web pages) and bundled with the software download, and then more functionality of each application moved online. As an internet connection became commonplace in most homes, we saw the rise of full web-based applications.
A web application is one that requires no software installation beyond the internet browser already on your computer. They always deliver up-to-date information direct from the source. This is usually customized based on your location, preferences, or even browsing history on the web application or those of partner companies. Additionally, a web application can be improved at any time by the company providing it; often, following experiments where the company sees which version of an application has a better user experience. The following illustration shows a possible architecture for an application delivered over the web.
As the technologies behind web-based applications developed, they became viable alternatives to desktop software. Software companies began to realize that it is a lot easier to deliver your product directly through a website rather than the traditional download model. Not only that, but it also meant that one product would work on almost any computer. Attempts in the past to make a write-once-run-anywhere platform (such as Python and Java) had great success at the time, but after the web technologies reached a certain level of complexity, it became clear that the performance penalties and distribution overheads required by the cross-platform interpreters made web applications far more attractive where possible.