A
linkback is a method for
WebThe World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. With a web browser, one can view Web pages that may contain text, images, videos, and other multimedia and navigate between them using hyperlinks...
authors to obtain notifications when other authors
linkIn computing, a hyperlink is a reference in a document to an external or internal piece of information. The most common usage is in the Internet to browse through web pages: some text in the current document is highlighted so that when clicked, the browser automatically displays another page or...
to one of their documents. This enables authors to keep track of who is linking to, or referring to their articles. The three methods (
RefbackA Refback is one of three types of Linkbacks, methods for Web authors to request notification when somebody links to one of their documents. This enables authors to keep track of who is linking to, or referring to their articles....
,
TrackbackA trackback is one of three types of linkbacks, methods for Web authors to request notification when somebody links to one of their documents. This enables authors to keep track of who is linking, and so referring, to their articles...
, and
PingbackA pingback is one of three types of linkbacks, methods for Web authors to request notification when somebody links to one of their documents. This enables authors to keep track of who is linking to, or referring to their articles...
) differ in how they accomplish this task.
Any of the four terms -- Linkback, Trackback, Pingback, or (rarely) Refback -- might also refer colloquially to items within a section upon the linked page that display the received notifications, usually along with a reciprocal link; Trackback is used most often for this purpose.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Linkback' Start a new discussion about 'Linkback' Answer questions from other users |
A
linkback is a method for
WebThe World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. With a web browser, one can view Web pages that may contain text, images, videos, and other multimedia and navigate between them using hyperlinks...
authors to obtain notifications when other authors
linkIn computing, a hyperlink is a reference in a document to an external or internal piece of information. The most common usage is in the Internet to browse through web pages: some text in the current document is highlighted so that when clicked, the browser automatically displays another page or...
to one of their documents. This enables authors to keep track of who is linking to, or referring to their articles. The three methods (
RefbackA Refback is one of three types of Linkbacks, methods for Web authors to request notification when somebody links to one of their documents. This enables authors to keep track of who is linking to, or referring to their articles....
,
TrackbackA trackback is one of three types of linkbacks, methods for Web authors to request notification when somebody links to one of their documents. This enables authors to keep track of who is linking, and so referring, to their articles...
, and
PingbackA pingback is one of three types of linkbacks, methods for Web authors to request notification when somebody links to one of their documents. This enables authors to keep track of who is linking to, or referring to their articles...
) differ in how they accomplish this task.
Any of the four terms -- Linkback, Trackback, Pingback, or (rarely) Refback -- might also refer colloquially to items within a section upon the linked page that display the received notifications, usually along with a reciprocal link; Trackback is used most often for this purpose. Also, the word Trackback is often used colloquially to mean any kind of Linkback.
Linkback is also the name of an
OLEObject Linking and Embedding is a technology that allows embedding and linking to documents and other objects developed by Microsoft. For developers, it brought OLE Control eXtension , a way to develop and use custom user interface elements...
-like open source
frameworkA framework is a basic conceptual structure used to solve or address complex issues. This very broad definition has allowed the term to be used as a buzzword, especially in a software context....
for
Mac OS XMac OS X is a line of computer operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc., and since 2002 has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
.
|
Refback A Refback is one of three types of Linkbacks, methods for Web authors to request notification when somebody links to one of their documents. This enables authors to keep track of who is linking to, or referring to their articles....
|
Trackback A trackback is one of three types of linkbacks, methods for Web authors to request notification when somebody links to one of their documents. This enables authors to keep track of who is linking, and so referring, to their articles...
|
Pingback A pingback is one of three types of linkbacks, methods for Web authors to request notification when somebody links to one of their documents. This enables authors to keep track of who is linking to, or referring to their articles...
|
| Trigger mechanism |
Visitor to linking site clicks on the link, and his browser takes him to the linked site |
Code on linking server examines added or updated documents, extracts links, and sends notification to linked server for each link found |
Code on linking server examines added or updated documents, extracts links, and sends notification to linked server for each link found |
| Notification medium |
HTTP referer The referrer, or HTTP referrer — also known by the common misspelling referer that occurs as an HTTP header field — identifies, from the point of view of an internet webpage or resource, the address of the webpage of the resource which links to it...
value |
HTTP POST |
XML-RPC XML-RPC is a remote procedure call protocol which uses XML to encode its calls and HTTP as a transport mechanism.-History:XML-RPC was created in 1998 by Dave Winer of UserLand Software and Microsoft...
call |
| Capture mechanism |
Examination of incoming HTTP referer The referrer, or HTTP referrer — also known by the common misspelling referer that occurs as an HTTP header field — identifies, from the point of view of an internet webpage or resource, the address of the webpage of the resource which links to it...
values |
Trackback capture script |
XML-RPC XML-RPC is a remote procedure call protocol which uses XML to encode its calls and HTTP as a transport mechanism.-History:XML-RPC was created in 1998 by Dave Winer of UserLand Software and Microsoft...
function |
| Information sent by linking server |
None |
- Linking site name (Optional)
- Linking post title (Optional)
- Linking post excerpt (Optional)
- Linking post URL
|
Linked post URL
Linking post URL |
| Additional information presented to linked server |
HTTP referer The referrer, or HTTP referrer — also known by the common misspelling referer that occurs as an HTTP header field — identifies, from the point of view of an internet webpage or resource, the address of the webpage of the resource which links to it...
sent by a visitor's browser upon clicking the link |
IP address of linking server |
IP address of linking server |
| Autodiscovery mechanism (how the linking server finds out how and where to send the notification) |
None |
Specially-formatted information within the body of the linked page |
Special HTTP header or LINK tag on the linked page |
| Action required when notification is received |
Extract referrer The referrer, or HTTP referrer — also known by the common misspelling referer that occurs as an HTTP header field — identifies, from the point of view of an internet webpage or resource, the address of the webpage of the resource which links to it...
value from incoming HTTP headers
Retrieve referring page
Parse retrieved page for desired information |
Gather desired information from
- Given parameters
- or retrieving and parsing the given URL
|
Retrieve page at "linking post URL"
Parse retrieved page for desired information |
| Advantages |
Requires no special code on linking server (the link itself becomes the notification when someone clicks on it) |
All the information desired by the linked server (Linking site name, post title, excerpt) is present in the notification itself |
Notification mechanism has a complete technical specification
Less susceptible to spamming |
| Disadvantages |
No notification unless someone actually clicks on the link
Relies upon visitors' browsers sending proper HTTP referer The referrer, or HTTP referrer — also known by the common misspelling referer that occurs as an HTTP header field — identifies, from the point of view of an internet webpage or resource, the address of the webpage of the resource which links to it...
information
Linked site must retrieve and parse linking site's page to extract the information it wants |
Notification requires positive action by linking server
Notification mechanism has only a partial technical specification
Autodiscovery information may prevent XHTML validation |
Notification requires positive action by linking server
Linked site must retrieve and parse linking site's page to extract the information it wants |
External links