uniform resource locator

uniform resource locator More commonly referred to as a URL. An address used by Web BROWSERS in order to locate a resource on the Web. An anchor in a WEB PAGE specifies the URL a browser will transfer to when the link associated with the URL is clicked. There are three parts to a URL: the protocol designator that specifies which protocol is to be used, the location of the WEB SERVER on which a resource is held, and a path name to that resource through the file system of the server. So, for example, the UNIFORM RESOURCE LOCATOR address http://www.op.ac.uk/SWeb/M874 refers to the protocol HTTP that is used for transferring Web pages; the server location is designated by the name of the Web server (www) and the DOMAIN where it can be found (op.ac.uk); and the final part designates the path to the file M874, the HOME PAGE file, which is in the directory SWeb. This is the normal format of a URL, sometimes extra information is added associated with queries that might be processed by programs which interact with the COMMON GATEWAY INTERFACE. The URL might also differ in that another PROTOCOL might be specified: for example, ftp would replace http if the link was to an FTP SERVER rather than to another Web page.