How Does It Work?
Your computer has a web browser, such as Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, installed on it. When you are looking for information on the Web, your browser has to find the computer that is storing that information. It does this using the HTTP protocol. That storage computer, or server, then sends the new Web page (as a plain text file) back to your computer using the same HTTP protocol. Your browser sees the new Web page and interprets the text and html tags to show you the formatting, graphics, and text that appears on the page.
note: HTTP isn't the only protocol on the Internet. Each protocol is used for a specific network service, such as electronic mail or file transfer (FTP). The HTTP protocol was designed to combine manyn of these network protocols so that you don't have to learn all of them.
Software applications such as Dreamweaver can write the html code for you. But it really helps to understand what it is writing to give you greater control over your site. Sometimes software has a mind of its own.