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Chapter 03 · 08

From a name to a server: DNS

One loose end. You type shop.example.com, but computers don't actually find each other by name — they use numeric IP addresses like 203.0.113.42. (the Name System) is the web's phone book: before your browser can send a request, it quietly asks DNS to translate the friendly domain name into the numeric address, then connects to that.

   ┌─────────┐   1. "what's the IP   ┌─────────┐
   │ BROWSER │      for this name?"   │   DNS   │
   │         │ ────────────────────▶ │ (phone  │
   │         │ ◀──────────────────── │  book)  │
   └─────────┘   2. "203.0.113.42"   └─────────┘
        │
        │  3. now connect to that number
        ▼
   ┌─────────┐
   │ SERVER  │   shop.example.com  ⇄  203.0.113.42
   └─────────┘
``` You buy a domain, point its DNS records at the server running your app, and from then on the name leads people to your machine. It's a lookup step you'll almost never see, but it's why a memorable name can stand in for a string of numbers.

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