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SPC 1301: Fundamentals of Speech: Static vs Dynamic Web pages

What is a URL?

URL

Uniform Resource Locator, a format for the address of an Internet document that is accessible using one of a variety of protocols; (chiefly as a count noun) a specific address in this format, used by a browser in locating the relevant document.

A URL has three components:

  • 1. the protocol (http, ftp, telnet, etc.), and is followed by a colon;. which tells your computer how to interact with the server of the site you want to visit. The protocol HTTP tells your computer to expect to receive data that’s been structured for websites.;
  • 2. the next part (separated by full stops) specifies the server location;  or name of the server. Think of it like a street address or a phone number.
  • 3. the third (where given, separated by obliques) the path name or other identifier on the server.

Oxford English Definition: http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/258858?redirectedFrom=URL#eid

Weird Symbols

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=web%20addresses%20strange%20symbols

Static Web Pages

A static web page consists of the protocol, server location and path name, like so:

protocol                          server location (Domain name)             path name

    |                                   |                                       |                                           https://westlibrary.txwes.edu/about/policies

 

When you go to a static webpage, you can only read the text on the page.  You cannot do anything else

Dynamic Web Pages

A dynamic web page works with computer coding called scripts that allow you to perform searches, or show the results of a search.

In a dynamic webpage, you can do something

 

A URL address of a dynamic web page can contain many different ("weird") characters, such as ?, %, #, as is shown below

 

http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/258858?redirectedFrom=url#eid

Dynamic Web Pages Symbols

? Anytime you see a “?” in an URL, the characters that follow it is what’s called “query parameters.” With these extra bits of information, the server can respond dynamically, giving you a webpage based on what you want to see;
%20 These characters are added to a URL when there is a space between words in a query
# tells the server to disregard anything following this symbol