URL Encoding
URL encoding, also known as percent-encoding, is a mechanism for converting characters in a URL into a safe format that can be transmitted over the internet. It replaces unsafe or reserved characters with a percent sign (%) followed by two hexadecimal digits representing the character's ASCII code. This ensures that URLs are properly interpreted by web browsers and servers, preventing errors and security issues.
Developers should learn URL encoding when building web applications that handle user input, query parameters, or dynamic URLs to avoid issues like broken links, injection attacks, or data corruption. It is essential for scenarios such as form submissions, API calls with special characters, and constructing URLs programmatically, ensuring compatibility across different systems and protocols like HTTP.