The First Web Server

giuliomagnifico · 2025-12-26T11:12:28.000Z

Discussion: The First Web Server

Posted14 days agoActive13 days ago

giuliomagnifico

39 points

6 comments

dfarq.homeip.netTech Discussionstory

informativepositive

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20/100

HistoryTim Berners-LeeWorld Wide Web

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History

Tim Berners-Lee

World Wide Web

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Dec 26, 2025 at 6:12 AM EST
14 days ago
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Dec 26, 2025 at 9:26 AM EST
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13 days ago
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Discussion (6 comments)

Showing 8 comments

belter

14 days ago

1 reply

Source Code of the Server:

https://www.w3.org/Daemon/

https://www.w3.org/Daemon/Implementation/

simonw

14 days ago

Love that note at the top of the page:

> We no longer maintain the CERN httpd. In particular, there is at least one known Y2K-related bug in the latest (July 1996) release of this software.

TeaVMFan

14 days ago

2 replies

Sir Berners-Lee tells the story himself in this great memoir: https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/tim-berners-lee/this-is...

Lots of detail and inside stories about the work it took to keep the web open and free.

belter

14 days ago

The title of the book reminds me of the end of "Roadside Picnic" by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky...

apitman

13 days ago

Can also recommend Weaving the Web by TBL.

Kim_Bruning

14 days ago

https://info.cern.ch/

Site is still up. (ish)

rapnie

14 days ago

Fun fact, in my student group at university of twente two people claimed to have developed the first web server for Windows. They called it W4Server and at fist thought of erecting a company called Antelope Software, but later prioritised their studies and let it drop. Another fun fact is that on a web search the first result is a CVE relating to their work..

https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/19622

syncsynchalt

13 days ago

The page talks about what I'd consider the first web _site_, but is missing info on the first web _server_, which was preserved and is displayed at a CERN museum.

Wikimedia link to an image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Web_Server.jpg

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ID: 46391077Type: storyLast synced: 12/26/2025, 8:25:49 PM

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