URL

Abstract

---

• Stands for Uniform Resource Locator
• Specifies the location of a resource and how to access it using a Network Protocol such as http, https, or ftp

URL Path

• Specific part of the URL that identifies the location of a resource on the server
• For example, in https://blog.yxy.ninja/resume.pdf, the URL Path is /resume.pdf. Note: This is not the same as a URL Path Parameter!

URL Path Parameter

• Path parameters are dynamic segments in a URL path used to identify resources or pass information to the server

Code

Given http://localhost:3000/users/123/posts/456

• 123 is the value for the path parameter userId
• 456 is the value for the path parameter postId

In Express.js, path parameters are accessed through the req.params object. For the given URL, req.params would look like: { userId: '123', postId: '456' }.

URL Query

• A URL Query allows the client to customise the resource it is trying to obtain from a particular URL Path
• The query string is appended after the URL path, starting with a ? and followed by key-value pairs

Format

Single query parameter: ?KEY=VALUE

Multiple query parameters: ?KEY=VALUE&KEY=VALUE

Code

Given http://localhost:3000/users/123/posts?sort=asc&limit=10

• sort=asc is a query parameter specifying the sort order
• limit=10 is a query parameter specifying the number of results to return

In Express.js, query parameters are accessed through the req.query object. For the given URL, req.query would look like: { sort: 'asc', limit: '10' }.

Slug

• A human-readable, simplified part of a URL used to identify a specific page or resource on a website (The URL Path)
• A normal URL can be something like https://notes.yxy.ninja/article.php?id=123&title=Interesting%20Facts%20About%20Coding. A Slug-based URL is something like https://notes.yxy.ninja/interesting-facts-about-coding

The Origin of the term Slug

The origin of the term “slug” in the context of URLs has its roots in the traditional newspaper publishing industry.

In the days of typesetting and physical layouts, a “slug” was a short, often single-word headline or identifier used to label a story as it moved through the editing and printing process.

Similar to a newspaper slug briefly summarizing a story, a URL slug acts as a condensed, descriptive identifier for a specific web page. This analogy led to the adoption of the term in web development.