uniform resource name (Internet) (URN)

The Uniform Resource Name (URN) identifies a permanently available resource on the Internet with a unique, location-independent designation. The resource is called up exclusively by the URN address. The URN says nothing about the content of the information or about the server.

The designation is resource-bound and is achieved even if it is moved from one server to another. This is a significant advantage of the URN over the more familiar Uniform Resource Locator( URL), as hyperlinks often point to a URL under which there is no longer a document. When a URN page is called up, the URN is transmitted to a URN server. The URN corresponds to the current URL used to access the document.

Examples of URN designations are the European Article Number( EAN) or the ISBN number of books.