A URI uses a standard structure to identify the name and position of a file or resource. The route to the file's subfolder may also be included, along with an array of letters for the title. Resources can be reached consistently by other machines on a network or through the World Wide Web using URIs. Software applications like Web browsers and P2P file-sharing apps use them to find and obtain data.

In that they describe the address of a file, URIs and URLs are identical. A URI, however, might make reference to all or portion of an Address. For instance, www.apple.com/imac/design.html is the Address for Apple's iMac Design. This resource's URL can be interpreted as either "design.html" or "/imac/design.html." Since they designate the item in relation to a particular place, these are known as relative URIs. An exact URI is the name given to the full Address.

URIs and URLs are frequently used equally because of their similarity. Since the two words frequently allude to the same object, most of the time this is okay. A URI can be used to characterize a file's name, address, or both, whereas a URL only specifies the location of a resource.