A GNOME VFS URI is represented by a special GNOME VFS object called GnomeVFSURI. GnomeVFSURI objects are the preferred way to specify files: users of the library can use GnomeVFSURIs to store and manipulate URIs, and the interface between the library and its plug-ins uses GnomeVFSURI objects.
A GnomeVFSURI object is created by using the call
GnomeVFSURI *
gnome_vfs_uri_new (const char *s)
GnomeVFSURIs also have a reference count that can be controlled by using the calls:
void gnome_vfs_uri_ref (GnomeVFSURI *uri)
void gnome_vfs_uri_unref (GnomeVFSURI *uri)
A GnomeVFSURI can be also converted into a printable string by using the following call:
char *gnome_vfs_uri_to_string
(const GnomeVFSURI *uri,
GnomeVFSURIHideOptions hopt)
It is also possible to extract the host, user name and password information from it, as well as compare and combine them. Virtually any path operation that the programmer might need is supported directly through the GnomeVFSURI API.