URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator and is used to locate sources on the web. An absolute URL provides complete location information, while a relative URL is based on the current location. Absolute URLs are unique and necessary for links to separate sites with different domain names.
The acronym URL stands for the phrase Uniform Resource Locator and refers to the representation that people use to locate sources and destinations on the World Wide Web. The content of the URL is called a representation because it is often made more readable by humans than what they would see without it, that would be the protocol, usually http:// for HyperText Transfer Protocol, and the Internet Protocol address (IP address) it represents. An IP address consists of four three-digit number segments with a value between 0 and 255 and separated by periods. The URL replaces the IP address with the domain name or its subdomain. An absolute URL is a type of URL; the other type is a relative URL, and the choice to use an absolute or relative URL can most commonly arise in a HREF (Hypertext REFerence), the code used to link to another page or other element.
Relative means “relative to” and a relative URL indicates a URL location in terms of your current location. Let’s say a webmaster is setting up a website and links an image named “picture.jpg” on the home page into an HREF, using a relative URL that specifies a folder at the same level within the same hierarchy and labeled “Pictures”. Since the folder with the image is at the same level, the relative address to find the image is /Images/picture.jpg. That’s all it takes because that’s enough information to get us from the current here. Since the relationship between “here” and “there” can change, an absolute URL is a better choice.
An absolute URL provides complete location information. Start with http:// and continue, including every detail. This means that if the webmaster were to change the location of the original file, an absolute URL specification would find the image, while a relative URL specification would not.
There are many other important features that make absolute URLs valuable. First, it’s a unique location. Considering there could be many files called picture.jpg in files called Pictures on the Internet, the absolute URL only refers to one possible location and one possible file. Also, links that lead to a separate site, i.e. a location with a different domain name, must be designated by an absolute URL to be located.
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