Demystify the classic Venn diagram of Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI), Locators (URL), and Names (URN) with real-world technical examples.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Is a Data URI considered a URL?
Yes, according to the WHATWG specification, Data URIs are considered URLs because they define both the scheme (data:) and the method to access/decode the embedded payload.
Q2. What is a common example of a URN in software?
Common URN examples include urn:uuid:f81d4fae-7dec-11d0-a765-00a0c91e6bf6, urn:isbn:978-0132350884, and XML namespace identifiers like urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:assertion.
Q3. Should I say URI or URL in API documentation?
In web APIs, when the endpoint address tells the client where to send HTTP requests (e.g. GET https://api.example.com/v1/users), URL is the most precise and commonly used term.