URL - Uniform Resource Locator (Components and Applications)

The URL full form is Uniform Resource Locator (यूनिफॉर्म रिसोर्स लोकेटर). It is simply the website link or web address used to locate and access a resource like a webpage, image, video or file in the internet ecosystem.

The components of a Uniform Resource Locator are Scheme (https), Domain Name (nextias.com), Path to a file or page, Query String, and Fragment to locate a particular part of a webpage.

For Example: https://www.nextias.com/current-affairs . Here, https is the protocol, nextias.com is the domain, /current-affairs is the path.

The URLs are of 2 types: Absolute and Relative. The Absolute URL is the complete web address that comprises the information required to find a resource on the Internet. The Relative URL is a partial web address that specifies the file location with respect to the current website.

• The idea of URL came from the concept of ‘World Wide Web’ (www) which was developed by Tim Berners in 1989. The URL determines the location of a resource and the method to access it. It enables the web browser (chrome and firefox) to find the location of a webpage.
• The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is an international standard organization that helped in defining the URL. In simple terms, the IETF creates the technical rules like Domain Name System (DNS).
• The URLs are important because they have replaced the complex Internet Protocol (IP) addresses with an easy to understand web path for humans. It helps people to smoothly navigate or browse through the Internet.

• The URL of a website is to be mentioned in a web browser. However, we can click on the hyperlink as well. Firstly, the web browser read the scheme (https) to analyse the protocol and security method to be used for the user request.
• The web browser recognizes the Domain Name (nextias.com). Afterwards, it utilizes the Domain Name System to convert into the IP address of the server.
• The web browser sends the ‘https’ request to the particular server which includes the path, and query parameter.
• The request is then processed by the server and the user is redirected to the Webpage, Image, and File.
• At last, the web browser displays the webpage and https encrypts the communication for security purposes.

• Web Browser: The URL is used to visit websites, watch videos, read documents, and download files using the internet.
• Hyperlink: The Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) utilizes the URL such as <img>, <video>, <link> to establish a connection between webpage and resource like media, and script.
• Application Programme Interface (API): The URL is used by the APIs to exchange data between server and client. It also authenticates the user and allows access to live information like weather forecast, Google Map, and Payment transaction status.
• Online Marketing: This is the commercial application of URL where a short URL is used by Digital Marketing team to create a vanity URL to calculate the origin of website traffic, user engagement, and online campaign analysis.