asp.net mvc - Why should I use @Url.Content("~/blah-blah-blah")?

Question

I can't understand the benefit(s) that I can get from Url.Content() method in ASP.NET MVC. For example, you see src='@Url.Content("~/Contents/Scripts/jQuery.js")'. Why should I use it? What reasons might exist for using it? What benefits, advantages, etc. over using plain old simple references like src='/scripts/jquery.js?

Update: Based on the answers, I'd like to know if there is any other reason for using it, other than handling virtual folders? Because I haven't seen using virtual applications that much (which of course doesn't mean that it hasn't been used that much).

Answer 1

Usually, your web application is published as: www.yoursite.com/. The ~ character matches the root of the site /.

However, if you publish your site withing a virtual directory www.yoursite.com/mywebapp/, the the ~ character would match "/mywebapp/". Hard-coding Urls with "/" character would cause wrong page references.