At 11:34 31-05-1999 -0700, Michael Everson wrote:
>Ar 10:10 -0700 1999-05-31, scríobh Marion Gunn:
>>Hohberger, Clive P. wrote:
>>> ...
>>> Also: Keep in mind that "http://" is also an escape sequence. My web
>>> address is not "http://www.zebra.com" it is "www.zebra.com" [...]
>>
>>On the contrary, I hope that people will not do as would seem to be
>>suggested above, but rather continue giving their addresses in full, [...]
>
>Yes, but I think Clive means when printing them on business cards or
something.
But why print just a server name on a business card? I disagree with Clive
about his web address. His domain is "zebra.com", his web server name is
"www" within his domain, "www.zebra.com" to the rest of the world. His URL
is "http://www.zebra.com/" and that is his web address, including the
trailing slash.
Although it is common practice to name a web server "www" it is neither a
requirement, nor is it always the case. Suppose you name a server "i18n".
Now if you print "i18n.zebra.com" on a business card, just what is it? An
http server? An ftp server? A gopher server? A LAN client? A directory on
your computer? A file? Printing "http://i18n.zebra.com/" makes it clear.
Printing "ftp://i18n.zebra.com/" also makes it clear.
The "http://", "ftp://" etc, are not "escapes" they are protocols, and they
are an integral part of the URL. The rest of it is a server name without
any indication what kind of server it is.
This is why, for example, if you click on Start, then Run, on Windows 95
(or later) and type "www.zebra.com", you will get a file-not-found message.
If you type the full URL, the system will load your default web browser, or
your default ftp client (which may happen to be the same program), and get
you to that URL using the right protocol.
Adam
--- Visit Count Gracula's Gallery: http://www.whizkidtech.net/gcl/gallery/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : Tue Jul 10 2001 - 17:20:46 EDT