Permalink

A permalink or permanent link is a URL that is intended to remain unchanged for many years into the future, yielding a hyperlink that is less susceptible to link rot. Permalinks are often rendered simply, that is, as friendly URLs, so as to be easy for people to type and remember. Most modern blogging and content-syndication software systems support such links. Sometimes URL shortening is used to create them.

A permalink is a type of persistent identifier and the word permalink is sometimes used as a synonym of persistent identifier. More often, though, permalink is applied to persistent identifiers which are generated by a content management system for pages served by that system. This usage is especially common in the blogosphere. Such links are not maintained by an outside authority, and their persistence is dependent on the durability of the content management system itself.

In the early years of the web, all content was static, and thus all hyperlinks pointed at a filename. Soon, though, many web pages became dynamic, and many URLs began to include query terms.

One cited early use of the term permalink in its current sense was by Jason Kottke on March 5, 2000, in a post titled: "Finally. Did you notice the".Matt Haughey had discussed a permalink style feature with Blogger co-founders Evan Williams and Paul Bausch the previous weekend, and Bausch had pointed out that it was technically feasible to produce permanent links in Blogger, using a feature (written by him) that allowed the ID of a post to be placed in a Blogger template. In response to Kottke's blog, on March 6, 2000, Matt Haughey posted the technical details on his own weblog, which helped open the way to widespread adoption.

Permanence in links is desirable when content items are likely to be linked to, from, or cited by a source outside the originating organization. Before the advent of large-scale dynamic websites built on database-backed content management systems, it was more common for URLs of specific pieces of content to be static and human readable, as URL structure and naming were dictated by the entity creating that content. Increased volume of content and difficulty of management led to the rise of database-driven systems, and the resulting unwieldy and often-changing URLs necessitated deliberate policies with regard to URL design and link permanence.

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