Explanation of a URN All three URI, URL, and URN are used to identify any resource or name on the internet, but there is a subtle difference between them. A URL defines where the resource can be obtained, unlike a URN which simply defines the resource's name. But URIs are not confined to web development. Comparison Chart; Definition; Key Differences; Conclusion URL vs. URI vs. URN, What’s the difference / examples. The URL and URI can be differentiated with the fact that URI can represent the URL and the URN of the resource at the same time, but URL just can specify the address of the resource. Most of the confusion with these two is because they are related. You see, a URI can be a name, locator, or both for an online resource where a URL is just the locator. The fact that a URI can identify a resources by both name and location has lead to a lot of the confusion in my opinion. URI vs URL: In this article, we will discuss what URL and URI are and then go over a few subtle differences between both. What is URI. URI vs. URL Ein Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) ist nach Definition der RFC eine kompakte Abfolge von Zeichen, die eine abstrakte oder physische Ressource identifizieren. URI is more common term as compared to URL and URN which are more limited in a sense. The difference between them is straightforward after knowing their definitions: Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) − a sequence of characters that allows the complete identification of any abstract or physical resource Uniform Resource Locator (URL) − a subset of URI that, in addition to identifying where a resource is available, describes the primary mechanism to access it URL is the subset of URI, which tells the only location of the resource. A URI identifies a resource either by location, or a name, or both. But there is a difference between URL and URI. Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) is a string of characters used to identify a name or a resource on the InternetA URI identifies a resource either by location, or a name, or both. A Uniform Resource Identifier is an identifier of a resource. As such, a URL is a non-persistent type of the URI. As such, a URL is simply a URI that happens to point to a resource over a network. The main difference between URL and URI is that the URL allows identifying a web resource only by its location while the URI allows identifying a web resource using the name or location or both.. URL and URI are two terms that are used interchangeably. In short, the main difference between a URI and a URL is that the former acts as a resource identify either by location name or both, while the latter acts as the location. A URI has two specializations known as URL and URN. For starters, URI stands for uniform resource identifier and URL stands for uniform resource locator. URL is a string of characters that helps to identify a resource on the web using the location. URL is an acronym for Uniform Resource Locator. URL always include a network protocol e.g. URL is a useful but informal concept: a URL is a type of URI that identifies a resource via a representation of its primary access mechanism (e.g., its network "location"), rather than by some other attributes it may have. HTTP, HTTPS, FTP etc to retrieve a resource from its location. URLs are a type of URI because they allow you to identify a particular resource on the web. All URIs cannot be URLs, as they can tell either name or location. Content: URL Vs URI. URI vs URL vs URN? Since a URL identifies a resource using one of the URI schemes, it is a subset of URI. URI is the superset of both URL and URN. URLs are a subset of URIs. By the way, the main difference between URL and URI is protocol to retrieve the resource. More often than not, most of us use URIs that defines a location to a resource. URI contains two subsets, URN, which tell the name, and URL, which tells the location. That means all URLs are URIs. Das kann z.B. To put this in terms of a real life example, a URL would correspond to a person's street address. A URI may refer to a web page, a book, or a document. URI URL; URI is an acronym for Uniform Resource Identifier. When comparing a URI vs URL we can conclude that all URLs can be considered URIs, however not all URIs are considered URLs.