That's Not My Domain Name!

Domain names are used for organizing information available on the web, helping us to navigate and understand the Web. Without domain names attaches words to the numbers that make up URLs and IP addresses. Hence without them, URLs would be a series of numbers, or IP addresses, which would then make it a hassle for us to remember. By attaching words to a series of numbers, a domain name gives us an address that is easier to recall. A domain name is key to doing just about anything on the Internet, from setting up a website, to sending and receiving email, to building an online store. 

Have you ever wondered how does the web function is helping you to retrieve the right website you have requested? Basically, the domain name functions in helping the web in retrieving webpages. How is this done? Well it is got to do with the structure of the domain name. The domain name can be broken down into three parts, which are the top, second and third level domain. The label furthest right represents the top-level domain and to the left of that label is the second-level domain. Any labels to the left of the second-level domain are considered to be subdomains of the second-level domain (sometimes even called third-level domains).

The third-level domain contains the host name, which usually takes the form of "www." However, it is u to the user's preference.

The second-level domain contains the organization's name that is easy for the web users to remember and the subdomain contains the document or file name.

The top-level domains (TLDs) can be split into two categories. The generic TLDs usually take the form of ".com" which stands for commercial websites and ".org" which stands for websites of organizations. the other category are the country code TLDs, which indicate which country is the webpage from. They usually contain only two letters. Examples include, ".my", ".uk" which stands for Malaysia and the United Kingdom respectively.

So how does the entire process of retrieving a website work? Once you have entered the web address into your browser, this generates a DNS query. The query is then transmitted to an authoritative name server via your ISP. The authoritative name server then matches the query with the right IP address by going through the different levels of the domain name. The website with the IP address that matches the query is then sourced out from the site host and displayed on your screen! Hence you are able to locate the right website without having to remember the IP address. Now that's the mechanics behind the web's process in locating any websites you request via your browser.