The domain name structure

Rather than using IP addresses such as 208.25.112.20 to connect to different computers on the Internet, a system was developed that translates the IP numbers into names that are easier to remember.  The Domain Name System works by separating Internet addresses with periods between domains.  These names are usually called URLs, which is short for Uniform Resource Locator. Type these URLs into the Location or Address bar of your browser.

For example these are URLs:

          http://www.nytimes.com

          www.redwoods.edu

          microsoft.com/ie/

          hightech.redwoods.edu/classes/alt-media/alt-media.htm

Domain names end with the top-level domain such as:

          .com

          .edu

          .org

          .net

          .gov

          .mil

          two-letter country code such as .ca for Canada

and in the future we will probably start seeing the following:

.aero             for airline sites

.biz                for businesses

.coop            for cooperatives

.info              for any site

.museum    

.name            for personal Web sites

.pro               for professionals (doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc.)

*Note that more top-level domain names will probably be added in the future.

How do you pronounce URLs?  In general...

·       http:// is no longer pronounced since unless specified, hypertext transfer protocol is assumed

·       if you need to pronounce a forward slash ( / ) just say "slash."

·       sometimes www is not stated because it is not always necessary

·       The period ( . ) is pronounced "dot."

·       There are no spaces in Internet names.

·       The top-level domains are usually not spelled out. 

·       Spell out any names that are not obvious.

For example...

          To pronounce http://www.redwoods.edu you can say:

            (remember to pronounce each letter)