A URL has the standard form
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service://machine:port/file.file-extension
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HTML hyperlinks typically use the service http for linking to other documents and media files. Some other internet services can also be used such as
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ftp://machine/file.file-extension.
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In this way, a Web server can provide other Internet services through the browser interface.
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The machine is an Internet address and can either be a symbolic name provided by the Domain Name Service (DNS) or the IP numbers.
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If the port is not specified, it defaults to 80.
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The file.file-extension is given by any Unix path name starting from the directory known to the server as "document root". Which path names are valid is one of the options of the server - whether "public_html" is automatically put into the path name and whether paths starting with "~username" are allowed.
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In the http service, the file-extension is used to tell the browser what helper application to use to view the file. Typical file extensions are html, gif, jpeg, mpeg, au, ram, etc.
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