What is a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), and what is its form?

• A URL is a network extension of the UNIX file naming conventions. A URL can point to any file in any directory of any machine. It also describes the Internet service available for use with the resource.

service://hostname:port/path/filename

where

service

the name of the service to be used with the resource. Examples include "file", "ftp", "telnet", "gopher", "wais", "news", "http", "rlogin", and "tn3270".

hostname:port

the Internet address of the machine and the port through which the service is provided. The identification of the port is required only if a non-standard implementation is being used.

path

the directory path to the file.

filename

the name of the file.

Examples:

Anonymous FTP:

ftp://fgdc.er.usgs.gov/pub/metadata/meta.6894.ps

World Wide Web:

http://www.rpi.edu/Internet/Guides/decemj/icmc/top.html

Gopher:

gopher://bingsuns.cc.binghamton.edu/11/acad/geogenv

Telnet:

telnet://fedworld.doc.gov

News:

news:compinfosystems.gif

Local file on your (DOS) computer:

file:///c|/wp51/mad/letter.wp

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