The term "web spiders" refers to software programs that crawl web pages to collect information used for search engine indexing. The phonetic transcription of this term is /wɛb ˈspaɪdərz/. The "w" in "web" is pronounced as a voiced labial-velar approximant, while "spiders" has a stressed syllable on the second "i" sound, indicated by the acute accent. The "s" in "spiders" is pronounced as a voiceless alveolar fricative, while the final "erz" is pronounced as a voiceless alveolar fricative followed by a voiced alveolar approximant.
Web spiders, also known as web crawlers or web robots, are automated software programs used by search engines to navigate and collect information from websites on the internet. They are an integral part of the search engine process, enabling search engines to index and rank web pages for search results.
Web spiders work by following links from one web page to another and gathering data from these pages. They start from a specific URL, known as a seed URL, and systematically crawl through the website, visiting all the pages linked from the seed URL and subsequent pages encountered. They scan the content of each web page, extract relevant information such as text, images, and links, and store this data in the search engine's database.
These spiders typically visit websites frequently to ensure the search engine's index is up to date. They prioritize crawling based on factors such as the website's authority, popularity, and how often it is updated. Web spiders enable search engines to discover new websites, update existing listings, and identify changes in website content.
However, web spiders can also be utilized for purposes beyond search engine indexing, such as data mining or content scraping. In these cases, they may be programmed to extract specific information from websites for various applications.
Overall, web spiders play a vital role in the functioning of search engines and are responsible for collecting and cataloging vast amounts of data from the internet.
The term "web spiders" is derived from the combination of the words "web" and "spiders".
The word "web" is derived from the Old English word "webb", which means "woven fabric" or "a woven thing". Over time, it came to describe intricate structures formed by interconnected strands.
The word "spiders" is derived from the Old English word "spīthra", which refers to the eight-legged arachnids known for their ability to spin silk. It is believed to be related to the Proto-Germanic word "spin-throniz".
The combination of these two words, "web" and "spiders", results in the term "web spiders", which is often used to refer to programs or bots, also known as web crawlers or web robots, used by search engines to navigate and index websites on the internet.