− | A '''Generic Top Level Domain''' ('''gTLD''') is one of the top level domains ([[TLD]]) in the Domain Name System ([[DNS]]) maintained by the [[IANA|Internet Assigned Numbers Authority]]. There are 21 gTLDs in the root zone of the internet and they are categorized as:<ref>[http://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/# IANA Root Zone Data Base]</ref> | + | A '''Generic Top Level Domain''' ('''gTLD''') is an internet extension with three or more characters. It is one of the categories of the top level domain([[TLD]]) in the Domain Name System ([[DNS]]) maintained by the [[IANA|Internet Assigned Numbers Authority]]. There are 21 gTLDs in the root zone of the internet and they are categorized as:<ref>[http://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/# IANA Root Zone Data Base]</ref> |
| * '''generic''' ([[.com]],[[.info]], [[.net]], [[.org]]) which can be used for general purposes; | | * '''generic''' ([[.com]],[[.info]], [[.net]], [[.org]]) which can be used for general purposes; |
| * '''sponsored,''' ([[.aero]], [[.asia]], [[.cat]], [[.coop]], [[.edu]], [[.gov]], [[.int]], [[.jobs]], [[.mil]], [[.mobi]], [[.tel]] and [[.travel]]) which can only be used by entities engaged within the specific industry; | | * '''sponsored,''' ([[.aero]], [[.asia]], [[.cat]], [[.coop]], [[.edu]], [[.gov]], [[.int]], [[.jobs]], [[.mil]], [[.mobi]], [[.tel]] and [[.travel]]) which can only be used by entities engaged within the specific industry; |
| The gTLDs are managed and operated by their sponsor organizations and or registry operators that were approved by the [[ICANN|Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers]]. | | The gTLDs are managed and operated by their sponsor organizations and or registry operators that were approved by the [[ICANN|Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers]]. |
| + | In 1984, [[Jon Postel]] and [[Joyce Reynolds]] published RFC 920 which introduced the initial top level domain names (TLDs) describing their categories and general purposes. These include: .arpa, the current internet host during that time; .gov (government) .edu, (education) .com, (commercial) .mil (military) .org (organization) and the two-letter code (alpha-2) [[ISO]]-3166-1 list which represents the names of countries.<ref>[http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc920.txt RFC 920]</ref> |