title: Is a "file://" path a URL?
body: <p>I sometimes see people refer to file system paths (POSIX/Windows) as both URIs and URLs. I'm no file system buff, but I have yet to find a file system path that conflicts with my understanding of the URL format. That is, of course, given that it includes the scheme name (e.g. file://localhost/path/to/file.txt).</p>
  
  <p>File system paths are most definitely URIs - I mean, what's not - so everyone referring to file system paths as URIs is inside the safe zone. But is it safe to call them URLs?</p>
  
  <p>If the URL was defined by a single (non-obsolete) RFC, rather than being comprised of half a dozen specialized ones, I wouldn't have to ask this question.</p>