A URL is a standard way of referring to an Internet resource. URLs are usually used in Web clients like Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator.

Example of a URL

http://www.PetShop.com/test/index.htm

Several components make up a URL:

• Protocol
• Host name or TCP/IP address
• Path
• Resource name

Protocol
Connection protocol used in Internet browsers. Some of the popular protocols found in URLs are:

• HTTP
• FTP
• FILE
• TELNET

http://www.PetShop.com/test/index.htm

Host name or TCP/IP address

The next part of the URL is the host name or the TCP/IP address. Given a host name in the format xxx.thing.extension the xxx refers to the local host name like www, ftp etc, thing is the domain name and extension is the domain extension like .com, .edu or .net.
http://www.PetShop.com/test/index.htm