Description: A Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) is a string of characters that uniquely identifies a particular resource. URIs are fundamental in the realm of the web and technology, as they enable the location and access of online resources such as documents, images, services, and more. A URI can be a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or a URN (Uniform Resource Name), and its structure typically includes a scheme and a path that specifies the location of the resource. The ability of a URI to be unique and accessible is crucial for interoperability in distributed systems, facilitating communication between different applications and services. URIs are used in various contexts, including invoking functions in serverless architectures and accessing resources efficiently, ensuring that cloud applications can interact seamlessly. Additionally, in terms of Quality of Service (QoS), URIs play an important role by allowing precise identification of resources, which is essential for ensuring that performance and availability requirements are met in critical applications.
History: The concept of URI was introduced in 1994 by Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, as part of his work on developing standards for the web. The original URI specification was formalized in RFC 3986, published in January 2005, which defined the syntax and use of URIs on the web. Since then, URIs have evolved and become an essential component of the Internet architecture, enabling the standardized identification and location of resources.
Uses: URIs are widely used on the web to identify resources such as web pages, images, videos, and web services. They are also employed in serverless computing, allowing for efficient invocation of functions and access to resources. Additionally, in quality of service applications, URIs allow for precise identification of resources, which is crucial for ensuring that performance and availability requirements are met.
Examples: An example of a URI is ‘https://www.example.com/resource’, which identifies a specific web page. In serverless architectures, a URI could be used to invoke a function through an API Gateway endpoint, such as ‘https://api.example.com/myFunction’.
