isr.co.ro : glossary Browser The program you use for viewing pages and navigating from page to page on the World Wide Web and similar webs within organizations. The best-known examples are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer, but many others exist--including some text-only browsers, such as Lynx, for systems that don't support graphics. Originally, browers were designed to act only as Web clients (packages that ran on your local computer to show you Web pages supplied by a Web server program running on a network host computer). But most major browser programs have been evolving rapidly, adding such additional functions as reading and creating Internet mail and the ability to display pages that use more complex features, including tables and animations. To further extend their versatility, major browsers also support plug-ins (accessory software module) and helper programs to handle additional data formats. For a combination of historical and marketing reasons, most firms that produce browsers either give their programs away for free or allow generous "evaluation" periods--and hope to make up the difference on other products, such as the server systems that provide the information over the Web. More generally, a program that allows viewing and navigating within a specific type or format of data but does not allow changes by users. With some types of files, browsers may also compile an overview or summary, allowing the user to zoom in for a more detailed view. You might, for example, have a spreadsheet browser or a database browser.