When you’re looking for a tech job, a common (clichéd, even) interview question is “what happens when you type google.com into Chrome and hit the return key.” The aim is to see if you understand the fundamentals of how the Internet works — stuff like DNS, HTTP, and ARP.
If you’ve got an interview coming up, or if you just wanted a refresher on computer networking fundamentals, you’ll want to check this out. Alex Gaynor, a developer with Mozilla, wrote an opus that explains how the Internet works at its lowest level.
Including the table of contents (yes, it has one) and headings, the entire thing runs to 4,907 words; which is insane. It covers everything, from what happens when you press the ‘g’ key, to a step-by-step explanation of how rendering works.
It’s wild. If you’re interested, you can check it out here.
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