Teaching Kids Programming – URL Simply Explained | Algorithms, Blockchain and Cloud

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A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is a string of characters used to identify and locate resources on the Internet. The components of a URL include the protocol, domain name, port number, path, query parameters, and fragment identifier. Let’s take a closer look at each of these components:

Protocol: In the given URL, the protocol is “https”. It is the method used to transfer data between the client and the server. HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, which is a secure version of HTTP. HTTPS uses encryption to protect the data exchanged between the client and the server from interception and tampering.

Domain name: The domain name is “www.example.com” in the given URL. It identifies the server where the resource is located. In simple terms, a domain name is the address of a website. It consists of a name (example) and a top-level domain (com) (TLD). A Domain can consist of a subdomain for example wwww is a subdomain.

Port number: The port number is “123” in the given URL. It is an optional component of a URL that specifies the port to be used for the communication between the client and the server. By default, HTTP uses port 80 and HTTPS uses port 443. However, if a different port is used, it must be specified in the URL. A valid Port Number is from 0 to 65536 Inclusive.

Path: The path is “/a_path/to_file/abc” in the given URL. It specifies the location of the resource on the server. It is usually a file or a directory path. In this example, the path indicates that the file “abc” is located in the “to_file” directory, which is in the “a_path” directory.

Query parameters: The query parameters are “x=1&y=2” in the given URL. They are optional components of a URL that are used to pass data to the server. Query parameters are separated from the path by a question mark (?) and from each other by an ampersand (&). In this example, the query parameters indicate that the values of x and y are 1 and 2, respectively.

Fragment identifier (Anchor Tag): The fragment identifier is “tag” in the given URL. It is an optional component of a URL that is used to identify a specific section of the resource. The fragment identifier is separated from the rest of the URL by a hash (#). In this example, the fragment identifier indicates that the section identified by the tag is of interest.

In summary, a URL is made up of several components that work together to identify and locate resources on the Internet. Understanding the components of a URL can help in troubleshooting issues related to web pages not loading correctly or in constructing URLs for use in applications or links.