Domain Names Explained Simply | Generated by AI
You’re asking about the naming mechanism that the Internet adopted to work alongside IP addresses.
The Answer: Domain Names
Explanation:
IP addresses (like 192.168.1.1) are numerical identifiers used by computers to locate each other on the network. However, these numbers are:
- Hard for humans to remember
- Not user-friendly
- Difficult to communicate verbally
To solve this problem, the Internet adopted a parallel naming system called Domain Names.
How Domain Names Work:
Domain names are human-readable addresses that map to IP addresses. For example:
- Domain name:
www.google.com - IP address:
142.251.41.14(one of Google’s servers)
Key Components:
- Domain Name System (DNS) - The infrastructure that translates domain names into IP addresses
- Hierarchical structure - organized in levels like
.com,.org,.edu, etc. - Intuitive naming - uses words instead of numbers
Why Both Systems Coexist:
- IP addresses - needed by computers and networks for actual data routing
- Domain names - needed by humans for easy navigation and memorization
This dual system makes the Internet both technically functional (via IP) and user-friendly (via domain names).