Permalink

A permalink (from permanent and hyperlink , also permanent link ) on the World Wide Web is a permanent identifier in the form of a URL . When setting up a permalink, the aim is to make the content referenced via it permanently and primarily available via this URL. When used in library catalogs, the permalink is usually called a citation link .

In contrast to permalinks, the content behind a normal URL can vary, or the URL itself can be changed by the webmaster , so that content that can be accessed is no longer available or is only available at a different address . References to this URL then become dead links or point to other content.

example

This field postcard from around 1916 comes from the Baden-Württemberg State Archives and has → this permalink there .

If a URL such as http://www.example.com/aktuelles contains the latest news and therefore different content depending on the retrieval date, this URL is not a permalink. If, on the other hand, only the messages of a single day are summarized under their own URL (such as http://www.example.com/aktuelles/20091206 ) and made permanently available, this is a permalink.

Permalinks on MediaWiki pages

On pages that are generated by the MediaWiki software (such as Wikipedia ), a permalink is usually intended to be able to refer directly to a certain article version that remains static and is therefore suitable as a source. Such a permalink is created by clicking in the left column under Tools on Permanent Link , which then appears as a URL in the web browser's bar.

Permalinks in weblogs

Permalinks are used in blog systems to link references to other entries in weblogs. Modern weblog systems and blog service providers generate permalinks automatically. Even content management systems generate permalinks for created content. Descriptive names are often created for permalinks that contain the title of the article in the address. Another common format uses a timestamp indicating the time at which the article was posted to create a unique permalink. In some cases, sequential numbers are simply assigned.

Permalinks are also used in RSS - or Atom - web feeds to refer to the original entry in the weblog.

Permalinks in library catalogs

Permalinks are used for bibliographic data in library catalogs to provide a reference to the entry. They are mostly referred to as citation links . The aim is less to reference the current status quo of the entry, since the entry usually does not change; rather, the effort for a new database search should be omitted.

origin

The term “permalink” is a case-study made up of “permanent” and “ hyperlink ”. In the World Wide Web permalinks were under this name mainly through the use of the linking of individual contributions in weblogs popular; the principle of clearly and permanently referencing a resource via a URL is, however, already laid out in the basics of the WWW.

principle

Permalinks are intended to ensure that the referenced objects are always linked via a uniform URL instead of in different forms and that the addresses are permanently retained in this form. In contrast to more mature systems such as PURL or DOI , which pursue comparable goals, there are no uniform guidelines and measures for ensuring uniqueness and persistence for permalinks. Since permalinks can be assigned easily and uncontrolled, they have however established themselves as a pragmatic solution in many areas.

implementation

Labelling

If the content of a website is offered via different URLs, descriptions such as “permalink” or “quotable link” are often used to refer to the canonical permalink for linking and quoting. The practice of marking permalinks in blogs with the link type of Bookmarkthe Hypertext Markup Language , which was introduced in version 4.0 of the standard, probably goes back to the Turkish-American computer scientist Tantek Çelik :

<a href="http://www.example.com/permalink/123" title="Permalink" rel="bookmark">Permalink</a>

literature

Tim Berners-Lee: Cool URIs don't change . 1998.
Danny Ayers: Evolving the Link . In: IEEE Internet Computing . Volume 11, No. 3, pp. 94-96, 2007. doi : 10.1109 / MIC.2007.53 .

Web links

Example , Wikipedia permalink to the version of this article dated August 28, 2009 at 10:57 am

Individual evidence

↑ <A> norexic </A> nchors. In: tantek.com , November 24, 2002 (English).
↑ Link types . In: HTML 4.0 Specification . W3C Recommendation, December 18, 1997.

[1] <A> norexic </A> nchors. In: tantek.com , November 24, 2002 (English).

[2] Link types . In: HTML 4.0 Specification . W3C Recommendation, December 18, 1997.