URL

“Ncert.nic.in” gets you to NCERT’s server. But the server has thousands of pages. To reach the one Class 12 textbook page you want, you need its full address, down to the folder and the file.

1What a URL is

URL

URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. It is the complete address of a resource (a web page, a picture, a file) on the web. It gives both where the resource is and how to get it (the protocol). Every page on the web has its own URL. A URL is also called a web address.

2The parts of a URL

NCERT’s example, taken apart:

http://www.ncert.nic.in/textbook/textbook.htm

Part	In the example	What it tells
Protocol	http	The rules to use — could also be https, ftp…
Subdomain	www	Part of the server's name
Domain name	ncert.nic.in	Which web server
Path (folder)	/textbook/	Which folder on that server
File	textbook.htm	The exact page

A URL, part by part

Pick an address or type your own, then step through its parts. Drag sideways to turn.

http://www.ncert.nic.in/textbook/textbook.htm

Press ▶ Play, or 👣 step through the parts of the URL.

If you leave out https:// or www, the browser usually fills them in for you, which is why typing just cbse.gov.in works.

Think of a full postal address

“Sunrise School” finds the building (the domain name). “Sunrise School, Block B, Room 12, the second shelf” finds one book (the URL).

3URL vs domain name

	Domain name	URL
What it is	The name of a server	The complete address of one resource
Contains	Just the name	Protocol + domain name + path + file
Example	ncert.nic.in	http://www.ncert.nic.in/textbook/textbook.htm
Relation	Is one part of a URL	Contains the domain name

In one line

Every URL contains a domain name, but a domain name alone is not a URL.

4From the board papers

Expand and explain the term URL.CBSE board exam 2025 · expand URL alone in sample paper 2023-24 and compartment exam 2024

2 marks

▶Show the answer

Uniform Resource Locator. It is the complete address of a web page or other resource on the web. It contains the protocol, the domain name and the path to the file, for example http://www.ncert.nic.in/textbook/textbook.htm.

Differentiate between URL and domain name with the help of an appropriate example.CBSE board exam 2023 · “Differentiate between the terms Domain Name and URL in the context of World Wide Web”, compartment exam 2022

2 marks

▶Show the answer

A domain name is the name of a web server, like ncert.nic.in. A URL is the complete address of one resource and includes the protocol, the domain name and the path, like http://www.ncert.nic.in/textbook/textbook.htm. The domain name is part of the URL.

5Check yourself

Quick Check

In https://cbseacademic.nic.in/web_material/SQP/paper.pdf, what is the domain name?

Quick Check

Which of these is a URL, not just a domain name?

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