Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
◾
The destination server (domain name):
This is indicated by a
domain name, such as
bbc.co.uk
(you'll learn more about domain
names in a moment.). In most cases, this domain name is preceded
with the letters
www
followed by a period.
◾
The path:
This is the exact location of the file you are requesting
on the server. For example, the document might be stored in a
folder on the web server called
news
. A path might also include a
specific filename, such as
news/story24871.htm
. If no filename
is included in the path, a default page from the specified folder
location loads.
A full URL would be
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
story24871.htm
. Figure 10.1 identifies each portion of the URL.
Figure.10 1
The URL explained.
Notice the use of the forward slash as a separator. This is in contrast to the backslash used in Windows to
describe a file path.
NOTE
A
domain name
is a name that identifies an entity on the Internet. It's
a key part of a URL. A company or individual can register for a domain
name. That name can then act as an identifier for that company or
person.
domain name
A name that identifies an entity
on the Internet.
In its basic form, a domain name consists of an identifier followed by an
extension, like
microsoft.com
. The extension, also called the
top-level
domain
, is often used to identify the type of organization that the name
represents. For example, the
.com
extension represents a commercial
organization, whereas the
.edu
extension is reserved for educational
institutions, like
harvard.edu
.
top-level domain
The code at the end of a
URL that indicates the type of organization the
name represents, such as COM for commercial
businesses.
Some domain names also include a two-letter country code—for exam-
ple,
.uk
for the United Kingdom,
.ca
for Canada, and
.sa
for Saudi
Arabia. Domain names can also include sub-domains—for example,
training.microsoft.com
or
marketing.microsoft.com
.
Companies that are global in nature should register their domains in multiple countries. For example, if you
type
www.microsoft.se
, you receive Microsoft's home page in Swedish.
TIP
