> Web servers would just server static sets of pages without some means to run dynamic code.
Web applications respond to requests. That's all they do. Web servers parse those requests and deliver responses appropriately. You're reducing the role of all intermediaries (DNS servers, caches, etc) and unfairly praising the web application. The web server serves both non-changing static files and the generated documents.
Web applications respond to requests. That's all they do. Web servers parse those requests and deliver responses appropriately. You're reducing the role of all intermediaries (DNS servers, caches, etc) and unfairly praising the web application. The web server serves both non-changing static files and the generated documents.