ALSO CALLED: URN
DEFINITION: A URN (Uniform Resource Name) is an Internet resource with a name that, unlike a URL, has persistent significance - that is, the owner of the URN can expect that someone else (or a program) will always be able to find the resource. A frequent problem in using the Web is that Web content is sometimes moved to a new site or a new page on the same site. Since links are made using Uniform  … 
Definition continues below.

UNIFORM RESOURCE NAMES DEFINITION (continued): …  Resource Locators (URLs), they no longer work when content is moved.

A URN looks something like a URL. For example, here's a hypothetical URN:

urn:def://blue_laser

where "def://" might indicate an agency or an accessible directory of all dictionaries, glossaries, and encyclopedias on the Internet and "blue laser" was the name of a term. The result of using the agency could be the "best definition," the "longest definition," or even all definitions that the agency could find of "blue laser."

A comparable URL would need to specify one specific location for a definition … 
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