XML Companion, The, Third Edition

Common errors

Inconsistent and variable software tolerance to corrupted URL references has caused some confusion about this standard. URLs that work in one package tend to be broken when processed by other software. The most significant issues are incorrect path step separators, missing URL components and missing slashes.

Wrong path step separators

While UNIX systems use '/' to separate path steps, some systems use different characters. Under MS-DOS and Windows, '\' is used. On Macintosh systems, ':' is used. While Web browsers may accept URLs that contain these characters, it is important to recognize that they are not true URLs:

file:///C:\xml\entities.xml

Missing components

It has now become common practice for only part of a URL to be quoted ...