sub ParseURL
{
  my($url)= shift;
  my($protocol, $site, $login, $password);

  $url=~ /^(\w+):\/*([^\/]+)\/(.*)$/; # chunk the URL components
  $protocol= uc($1);		# preserve matches in real variables
  $site= $2;
  $path= $3;

  if ($site=~ /\@/)
  {				# check for the optional login field
    ($login, $site)= split("\@", $site);
    ($login, $password)=	# check for the optional password field
      split(":", $login);

    return($protocol, $site, $login, $password, $path);
  }
  else
  {				# no account information
    return($protocol, $site, "", "", $path);
  }
}