What Is a URL?

Ask anyone and they'll tell you that (far and away) the feature that makes HTML so worthwhile is the ability to hyperlink from one place to another. All Web pages, Internet resources, files, and so on, have an address. That address is known as a Uniform Resource Locator, or URL. Before you can link to another page (or resource), you have to know its address. You can find the URL for any resource in the Address box (or Location box) of your browser.

Hyperlink

The text that enables you to jump from a Web document to another location.

Caution

Although URL is the commonly accepted term to describe the location of Internet resources, a new term, URI (Uniform Resource Identifier), will likely replace it as XML becomes the standard. You'll find out more about XML in Lesson 17, "Planning for the Future."

The <a> tag (called an anchor) is used to define hyperlinks. Unlike most other HTML tags, the <a> tag requires an attribute. When you use the <a> tag, you must specify whether you want the enclosed text to link to someplace (with the <a href="the URL you want to link to"> tag) or be linked from someplace (with the <a name=" the place in a document you want to link to" docEmphasis">the place in a document you want to link to"> tag). The following section provides some examples.