Browsing and searching are terms of common use when it comes to referring to two different forms of software necessary to retrieve information through the Internet. As we know, the latter is a wide and vast network of computers interconnected at a global level, sharing information, data and offering numerous services.
To access it, therefore, it is necessary a computer equipped with the communication protocols appropriate programs and appropriate programs, as well as access to a telephone line or local banking network.
Although these are different instances of the world of digital communications, it is often not clear what they are and what the differences are between one and the other, since the Internet has the conceptual difficulty of not being “nowhere”, that is, not be a physical place or a tangible tool, nor be contained in a storage device of any kind, which is why it is often referred to as “the cloud”.
However, it should be clarified that both browser and search engine are basic tools of managing this powerful global data network.
Browsers
The name of “Browsers” it obeys a common metaphor when explaining the Internet, which compares it to an “ocean of information”. In this sense, a program that allows you to “navigate” on the Internet is necessary, and there appear browsers or explorers: programs that are installed on the computer and that are designed to mediate between the user and the Internet.
Each one owns different specifications according to its programming and its aesthetics of specific use, and also lends itself more or less to an operating system, computer system or specific user taste. One can install on his computer as many browsers as he wants and prefers.
Examples of browsers or browsers
| Internet Explorer | Brave |
| Mozilla Firefox | Chromium |
| Google Chrome | Vivaldi |
| Apple Safari | DuckDuckGo |
| Opera | Microsoft Edge |
| UC Browser | Epic |
Search engines
If the browsers or browsers are our window to the ocean of the Internet, the search engines or engines search engines are our guide.
These are computer systems that make life on it and that, through a content index present on various servers (that is, on other computers anywhere in the world), allow us to search for information on the subject that interests us, such as and as a library file, but automated. In fact, they work with keywords (keywords) and hierarchical trees by subject.
Search engines usually operate with their own Web page, which we can access through a specific address or, if the case, through other search engines, and are a way of organizing the unfathomable informational universe online for consumption.
Without them, our experience of the Internet would be chaotic, and we would have to know the urls of each page that we would like to visit, which is simply impossible, because many times we do not know what we can find with each search.
Examples of search engines
| Swisscows | |
| Yandex | Bing |
| Yahoo! | StartPage |
| CC Search | DuckDuckGo |
| Qwant | Gibiru |
Although they fulfill the same functions, each search engine offers a different interface and a particular index review, so it means a different search method.
Differences between browser and search engine
The differences between one and the other are elementary, since they are digital tools entirely different in nature, namely:
- Browsers are installed on the hard drive of the computer, while search engines are accessed through a search engine and a specific URL (for example: http://www.google.com). That is, the search engines are on the Internet, and do not require to be installed anywhere.
- A browser resides on the computer and can be uninstalled, lost in a physical accident of the computer or victim of a virus, and can be downloaded and reinstalled (using some other browser, such as those that are incorporated with the operating system). Instead, no matter what happens to our computer, search engines will remain unchanged online.
- With the same browser we can visit different search engines and obtain different results, but we cannot access a search engine if we do not have a browser. The same, a specific search engine can be accessed from any browser that we choose, since they are themselves a Web page to visit.
- A browser can be started in the absence of an Internet connection, since the software will be installed on the computer. You will not be able to navigate, of course, but the application will start and throw an error. In contrast, a browser cannot be accessed without a working Internet connection.
- Many browsers or browsers incorporate a search engine by default, especially those search engines that were developed by a company that also has a search engine, such as Google Chrome and Google, Internet Explorer and Bing, etc. However, it is possible to modify this configuration and use the search engine that we want, without having to give up the browser.
- A browser allows you to visit many types of web pages, including search engine pages.