protocoldomainportpath

The term protocoldomainportpath refers to a common structure used to identify the location of a resource on a network. It is composed of three main parts: the protocol, the domain name, and the port number, often followed by a path.

The protocol specifies the set of rules used to transfer data between the client and server. Common protocols include HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) for web browsing, HTTPS (HTTP Secure) for encrypted web browsing, FTP (File Transfer Protocol) for file transfers, and SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) for sending emails.

The domain name, also known as the hostname, is a human-readable label that identifies a specific server or network. Examples include example.com, google.com, or wikipedia.org. This domain name is translated into an IP address by the Domain Name System (DNS).

The port number is a numerical identifier that specifies a particular application or service running on a server. Standard ports are often omitted as they are implicitly understood. For instance, HTTP typically uses port 80, HTTPS uses port 443, and FTP uses port 21. If a non-standard port is used, it must be explicitly stated.

The path, which follows the domain name and port, indicates the specific resource being requested on the server. This could be a file, a directory, or a specific page on a website. For example, in the URL https://www.example.com/images/logo.png, "https" is the protocol, "www.example.com" is the domain, and "/images/logo.png" is the path. The port number is omitted because it uses the default HTTPS port 443.