RFC 1630 (rfc1630) - Page 2 of 28

Universal Resource Identifiers in WWW: A Unifying Syntax for the Expression of Names and Addresses of Objects on the Network as used in the World-Wide Web

RFC 1630                      URIs in WWW                      June 1994


   The world-wide web protocols are discussed on the mailing list www-
    and the newsgroup comp.infosystems.www is
   preferable for beginner's questions. The mailing list uri-
    has discussion related particularly to the URI
   issue.  The author may be contacted as .

   This document is available in hypertext form at:

   http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/Addressing/URL/URI_Overview.html

The Need For a Universal Syntax

   This section describes the concept of the URI and does not form part
   of the specification.

   Many protocols and systems for document search and retrieval are
   currently in use, and many more protocols or refinements of existing
   protocols are to be expected in a field whose expansion is explosive.

   These systems are aiming to achieve global search and readership of
   documents across differing computing platforms, and despite a
   plethora of protocols and data formats.  As protocols evolve,
   gateways can allow global access to remain possible. As data formats
   evolve, format conversion programs can preserve global access.  There
   is one area, however, in which it is impractical to make conversions,
   and that is in the names and addresses used to identify objects.
   This is because names and addresses of objects are passed on in so
   many ways, from the backs of envelopes to hypertext objects, and may
   have a long life.

   A common feature of almost all the data models of past and proposed
   systems is something which can be mapped onto a concept of "object"
   and some kind of name, address, or identifier for that object.  One
   can therefore define a set of name spaces in which these objects can
   be said to exist.

   Practical systems need to access and mix objects which are part of
   different existing and proposed systems.  Therefore, the concept of
   the universal set of all objects, and hence the universal set of
   names and addresses, in all name spaces, becomes important.  This
   allows names in different spaces to be treated in a common way, even
   though names in different spaces have differing characteristics, as
   do the objects to which they refer.








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