| Contents

# URLs

> A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is a string that specifies the location of a resource on the Web. The specification of a URL's syntax and semantics are described in RFC 1738. In summary, the syntax is:

> > scheme : scheme-specific-parts

> where scheme identifies the URL's type. For example, the following is a URL for the `ldap` scheme:

> >     ldap://localhost:389/cn=Ted Geisel, ou=People, o=JNDITutorial

> URL strings are used in several places in the JNDI. Their usage can be categorized into two groups: as names and as addresses. They are used as names as follows:

> - As names to the initial context
> - As names returned by naming enumerations
> They are used as address as follows:
> - As references for federation
> - As data for configuration
> This lesson describes these uses of URL strings in the JNDI. See the Referrals lesson for descriptions and examples of how URL strings are used as LDAP referrals.

| Contents