If Internet addresses are off-putting, Web addresses are even more finger-twisting. It helps to know what the elements are because that reduces the chance of omission or other error. A typical web address will look somewhat like the following:
http: //www. csua.berkeley. edu/cdaveb/update.htmlThe first element, before the colon, is the HyperText Transfer Protocol which lets the browser know to expect a web page. The second element, immediately following the colon and two slashes, is the sub-domain which is an extension of the domain name. While WWW is most common, other names such as Web3 and w3 are also used. The third element, following the first dot [and in this case extending beyond the second dot], is the unique domain or the name which the organization sponsoring the net site has chosen. The fourth element, which may follow the second or third dot, is the high-level domain which identifies the type of location of an organization, such as com for commercial, edu for education, gov for government. The fifth element is the directory where the Web page is stored. The sixth element, which follows the last dot, is the Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML) file that the browser uses to display the page. The net addresses are case sensitive; so avoid using caps and avoid spaces within or between elements.
A library seeking to create a web page should register its domain name with InterNIC at (703) 742-4757.
