what is the role of www in the url?
2006-11-16 16:27:50 · 12 answers · asked by ajith s 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Internet
To understand this, you need to know a little about how host names are constructed. A host name is the name that identifies a particular computer, such as myhost.example.com . The last part of the host name will always be a domain name (example.com in this case), and before that comes the name of the individual computer (myhost). (It's possible to have more elements, but I'll stop here for the sake of simplicity.)
The name of the individual computer can be just about anything, but there's a very popular naming scheme that basically says that you name your servers after what they do. So your FTP server would be named ftp, your mail server would be named mail, and so on. Add the domain name and you get names like ftp.example.com and mail.example.com . By the same token, a Web server would be called www, or www.example.com in full.
These days, most hosts are set up so that http://example.com will get you to the same place as http://www.example.com . But this is not universal, and there are many cases where only one form or the other will work. And of course a Web server doesn't have to be named www: look at examples like web.mit.edu , my.yahoo.com , or del.icio.us .
2006-11-16 16:48:06 · answer #1 · answered by MarnenLK 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In layman's terms, skipping details:
The first part of a url (usually www) refers to the program (usually referred to as server) that has to respond to the requests of your browser (e.g., Firefox) when you want to view a web page. Some people think a server is a computer, but the fact of the matter is: any computer can have multiple servers running on it.
The second part (e.g., yahoo) refers to the organization that owns aforementioned server, and that creates the web pages that are described by the url.
The last part (.com, .mil) usually describe the type of organization (.com being a commercial organization, .mil being the military of the United States) or the country (.us, .uk) where that organization is based.
Most companies only have a www server, so when the www part is omitted, it is assumed that your request to view a web page is intended for that server. If you want to use a different server, you'll have to specify it explicitly.
Some examples of url's that are all owned by the same organization are:
www.yahoo.com
answers.yahoo.com
mail.yahoo.com
In case you're wondering: the 'http' part that a url often starts with, is the 'language' that your browser should use when talking with the server. As I wrote, the language that is most often used is http, so if you don't explicitly specify it, it is assumed to be http.
2006-11-17 00:47:37 · answer #2 · answered by Uninformed hence not consenting 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
www stands for world wide web, it was added beacuse when the government first created the internet they figured other countries would create their own internet rather than use the one already created. www was meant to single out the american internet from any other that they thought were going to be created. But since no other country has made and internationally used internet other than the american based one www remains but is unecessary. So with some internet addresses it has become common logic that there is only one internet and www is not required.
2006-11-17 00:34:22 · answer #3 · answered by pitbullonfire 1 · 0⤊ 5⤋
the world wide web prefix (www) cannot be used on URL's that contain a "cname" - such as my.yahoo.com. If you put the prefix www in front of a URL with a cname, it cannot be resolved to an IP address (which all URL domains do - they resolve to an internet protocol address)
2006-11-17 00:35:23 · answer #4 · answered by lisa_tilton 3 · 0⤊ 5⤋
You don't really need to use www (world wide web), most sites will load without typing it. I still type www though, out of habit =P
2006-11-17 00:35:50 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 4⤋
It really depends upon how their DNS is set up as well as the webserver. A good Sys Admin will take both into consideration, keeping the public's best interest in mind.
2006-11-17 00:36:01 · answer #6 · answered by bogus_dude 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
well different endings meen different thing and some of them arnt required such as .mil = military website .gov = goverment website .org = orginization website and so on the endins are abreveations but for .com after http:// it will be typically www. but for the majority of the ones up above i listed and there are many more like that such as .net = network .en=england for country so for those ones you just dont im not expert but i know enoguh abotu htmil to run my own webstie host it wich that is cmd and design it with css script and make programs. so yeah.
2006-11-17 00:34:38 · answer #7 · answered by scenekid13542 2 · 0⤊ 5⤋
The www seems to be the Home page of websites.. the others are secondary pages.
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2006-11-17 00:39:15 · answer #8 · answered by Elaine B 6 · 0⤊ 5⤋
i never use urls just type the address and it always opens. only 1 in 1000 websites may not open
2006-11-17 00:32:45 · answer #9 · answered by Trinity 4 · 0⤊ 4⤋
there shouldnt be any left that are in need of th "www" (or world wide web) sign in front of it. There really is no purpose.
2006-11-17 00:33:18 · answer #10 · answered by Jessica H. 3 · 0⤊ 5⤋