Date: Mon, 13 Sep 93 12:02:17 -0400
From: "Chris Weider" <clw@merit.edu>
Message-Id: <9309131602.AA03682@merit.edu>
To: METITIER@ITOCSIVM.CSI.IT, uri@bunyip.com
Subject: Re: URL/URN exact definition
The URN and URL have very different functionality. The URL encodes access
information to a resource at a specific location on the net. Thus, the URL
is no longer a valid pointer to that resource if it moves. The URN, on the
other hand, is a persistent identifier for a resource on the net, and is
location independent. You can think of the URL as the current location of
a library book on shelf 49, 14th book from the left, and the URN as the
call number of the book. The analogy is not precise, but isn't bad.
Chris Weider