[uf-discuss] URIs vs URLs (reference)

[Danny Ayers]

On 10/26/05, Dr. Ernie Prabhakar <drernie at opendarwin.org> wrote:

> Did you read the RFC? I mean what the RFCs say it means:

Yep, no excuses.

> http://www.w3.org/TR/uri-clarification/#contemporary
> > according to the contemporary view, the term "URL" does not refer
> > to a formal partition of URI space; rather, URL is a useful but
> > informal concept: a URL is a type of URI that identifies a resource
> > via a representation of its primary access mechanism (e.g., its
> > network "location"), rather than by some other attributes it may have.
>
> The RFC first defines the contemporary view, then they recommend
> formally affirming it.

> > So, direct question #2: how do you see URL being advantageous?
>
> I know what they mean: they refer to what I get when I follow that
> link.  They have a concrete realization, not just an abstract
> idealization.  It avoids all sorts of nasty epistemic hairballs;
> plus, in case of doubt I can just follow the darn link and get *some*
> clue...
>
> Is it a huge deal?  Maybe not, but its a great convenience.

Maybe not. I find it more convenient the other way - there's this big
black box called the Web, I can talk to it over HTTP, but I have to
say which resource I want to look at/change.

Cheers,
Danny.

--

http://dannyayers.com