A URL is a complex object. It contains at least six separate pieces of information. More can be included as optional values.
A URL such as http://127.0.0.1:5000/dealer/hand/player_1?$format=json has several fields:
- http is the scheme. https is for secure connections using encrypted sockets.
- 127.0.0.1 can be called the authority, although network location is more commonly used. This particular IP address means the localhost and is a kind of loopback to the localhost. The name localhost maps to this IP address.
- 5000 is the port number, and is part of the authority.
- /dealer/hand/player_1 is the path to a resource.
- $format=json is a query string.
The path to a resource can be quite complex. It's common in RESTful web services to use the path information to identify groups of resources, individual resources, and even relationships among resources.
How...
