HTTP Definition & How does it Work?

-

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is a collaborative, distributed, hypermedia information system app protocol that enables users to communicate data on the World Wide Web. You see HTTP when you visit a website because the protocol is listed in the URL (for ex, https://techiechilly.blogspot.com/).

Like other protocols like File Transfer Protocol, HTTP uses specific request methods to perform various tasks. With HTTP, a web browser requests HTML files from a web server, which are then displayed in the browser with associated text, images, hyperlinks, and assets.

[You can usually remove the protocol from a URL by typing it into the browser's address bar, Because browsers communicate over HTTP].

What’s the History of HTTP ?

In the early 1990s, Tim Berners-Lee has developed the first HTTP standard as part of his work to define the original World Wide Web (www). Three main versions were provided in the 1990s:

  • HTTP 0.9 – It basically supports hypertext documents.

  • HTTP 1.0 - Extensions to support large websites.

  • HTTP 1.1 – The standardized protocol designed to address the performance limitations of HTTP 1.0 specified in Internet RFC 2068.

In 2015, the latest version of HTTP 2.0, became a recognized standard. It maintains backwards compatibility with HTTP 1.1, but provides extra performance improvements.

The HTTPS standard adds encryption to HTTP by using secure socket layer, or later, transport layer security, while the HTTP standard does not encrypt traffic sent over a network.

How does HTTP Works ?

It is an app layer protocol built on top of TCP and uses a client-server communication model. Most information sent over the Internet, including website content and API calls, uses the HTTP protocol. HTTP clients and servers communicate using requests and response messages. There are the three main HTTP message types are GET, POST & HEAD.

  • HTTP GET - The GET method requests a representation of the specified resource. With GET, Requests should only retrieve data.

  • HTTP POST – The POST method sends an entity to the specified resource, often causing a state change or side effects on the server.

  • HTTP HEAD – The HEAD method requests a response, which is identical to a GET request but without the response body. The server simply returns the header information (contained in the HTML section).

The browser initiates communication with an HTTP server by initiating a TCP connection to the server. By default, Web browsing sessions use server port 80, although other ports such as 8080 are sometimes used. It triggers the sending and receiving of HTTP messages by visiting the web page, once a session is established.

HTTP is a so-called stateless system. Means, unlike other file transfer protocols like FTP, the HTTP connection will be dropped once the request is complete. After your web browser sends the request and the server responds with the page, the connection will be closed.

How to Fix HTTP Error ?

The messages transmitted over HTTP can fail for several reasons:

  • User error.

  • Web browser or web server malfunction.

  • Website creation error.

  • Temporary network outages.

The protocol captures the cause of the error and reports an error code to the browser known as the HTTP status code/line, when these errors occur. Errors start with a specific number to indicate what type of error it is.

For ex- errors with an error code beginning with four indicate that the page request could not be completed successfully or that the request contains incorrect syntax. For ex- 404 errors mean that a website cannot be found; some websites even offer fun custom 404 error pages.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Exactly is a File System?

-
Image
Computers use certain types of file systems to store and organize data on media, such as a hard drive or flash drive , or CDs, DVDs, and BDs in an optical drive. A file system can be thought of as an index or database that contains the physical location of all data on the device. Data is usually organized in folders called directories, which can contain other folders and files. Any place where a computer or other electronic device stores data uses some type of file system. This includes your Windows computer, your Mac, your smartphone, your bank's ATM, even the computer in your car! Windows File Systems Historically, Microsoft Windows operating systems have supported different versions of the FAT file system. FAT stands for File Allocation Table, a term that describes what it does: It keeps a table of the disk space allocation of each file. In addition to FAT, all Windows operating systems since Windows NT support a newer file system called NTFS (New Technology File Syst
Read more

What is a Server?

-
Image
A server is a network computer, computer program or device that processes requests and deliver data to another computer over the Internet or a local network. It is a web server, in which web pages can be accessed through a client such as a web browser over the Internet. There are many types of servers, including local servers such as file servers that store data within an intranet network. For example – Network servers (which manage network traffic) & file servers (which store and retrieve files for clients). What is the Use of a Server in a Computer Network ? The server is the software that performs a specific task. However, the powerful hardware that supports this software is also known as a server. It can do anything a standard desktop computer can do and then do it. By contrast, computers can run server processes, but they do so much less productively. Most computer networks support one or more servers that perform specialized tasks. In terms of clients, in general, the
Read more

What is POP - Post Office Protocol ?

-
Image
POP is a type of computer networking & Internet standard protocol that extracts and retrieves email from a remote mail server for access by the host machine. POP has been updated twice since its origin in 1984 as Post Office Protocol1. Pop2 was released in 1985. POP3 was released in 1988 and included new authentication mechanism & other actions. The most recent version is POP 3, and is supported by virtually all email clients and servers. POP uses the TCP/IP protocol stack for network connection & works with SMTP for end-to-end email communication, where POP pulls messages & SMTP pushes them to the server.  How Does POP Works? POP works by downloading your emails from your provider's mail server, and then marking them for deletion there. This means you can only ever read those email messages in that email client, and on that computer. You won't be able to access any previously downloaded emails from any other device, with any other email client, or through webma
Read more