URL

Definition

A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is a string of characters that identifies the location of a resource on the internet[1]. URLs are used to access web pages, as well as other types of resources such as images, videos, and documents.

Examples

A typical URL consists of a protocol (such as HTTP or HTTPS), a domain name (such as example.com), and a path to a specific resource on the website (such as /page/1).

Here is an example of a URL:

https://www.example.com/page/1

In this example, the protocol is HTTPS, the domain name is www.example.com, and the path is /page/1.

URLs can also include a query string, which is a set of characters that is added to the end of the URL and is used to pass additional information to the server.

For example:

https://www.example.com/page/1?key1=value1&key2=value2

In this example, the query string is ?key1=value1&key2=value2.

Parts of a URL

Here are the main parts of a URL:

Protocol

The protocol specifies the method that should be used to access the resource. Common examples include HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP.

Domain name

The domain name is the unique identifier for the website. It typically consists of a combination of a domain name registrar and a top-level domain (TLD), such as .com or .org.

Path

The path is the location of a specific resource within the domain. It is indicated by the string of characters following the domain name.

Query string

The query string is a set of characters that is added to the end of the URL and is used to pass additional information to the server. It is indicated by the ? character and is followed by a series of key-value pairs, separated by the & character.