Difference between Search Engines and Web Directories?

Question

Hi ! I have a homework in my EBM (evidence based medicine) course and it is : List 4 major differences of Search engine and Search directory. please be brief and clear. tnx :)

Answer 1

To the best of my knowledge, the web directory is like a phone book (but more complex) out on the web . . .
For example , CNNs web page is a directory of the news stories of the day .
Where a search engine actually does work . . .
You enter a topic or name or thing and the engine works to find references to that in the databases on oun the web, Like google or yahoo .

Some business provide both though , as Google and Yahoo have a basic directory on the home page
and CNN has a search engine box / feature on it's home page .

Answer 2

Search engine crawl or spider the internet in search of pertinent information. Web directories is where people with web sites go to list their site and information about it.

It is also to be noted that search engines robots, spiders, or crawlers visit web directories in search of information which internet users are looking for. DMOZ is the largest and better known web directory.