Portal vs. Web

Hi,

A portal is a web site with links to other sites, organized for web surfers to give the web surfer recommendations to sites. For example a book portal contains links to other book sites. These links to other book sites are found to be superior to other book sites by the owner of the web site portal.

The main reason for a portal is to give the web surfer choices and info about other sites in the category that the surfer needs. For example, the book portal lists other good book sites and has info on strengths and why each book site is good for the surfer.

The web is the whole internet.

I have to disagree with seotips here, the web is not the whole Internet.  The Web, or the World Wide Web is part of the whole Internet.  It allows ecommerce to operate, which it can't on the Internet given it's technology.  This article will explain the difference:

http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2002/Web_vs_Internet.asp

I've always understood a portal to be an entrance to a collection of works that fall under the same topic -or- a collection of people. 

For a long time AOL and Excite! considered themselves a portal to the Web because of it's larger user base.  That concept is pretty much passe'  and you don't hear the large search properties refer to themselves as portals anymore.

However, topical sites still do.  For example:  http://www.mednets.com/  is a topical portal into the world of medicine. 

All great answers, here's a forbes article with