tcp - localhost vs real ip address

Question

What is the difference between the localhost and the real ip address?

If I access an application by using http://localhost:8080/index.html and http://192.123.456.001:8080/index.html (for example, 192.123.456.001 is the real ip address of the host computer), what is the difference?

Answer 1

When you access localhost, your /etc/hosts file will tell your computer not to look any further and redirects you to your own computer. When you access the local IP adress, your computer will ask the router to fetch the data, and your router will then point back to your computer.