Networking
What is HTTP?
HyperText Transfer Protocol — the foundation of data communication on the World Wide Web.
HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) is the protocol that defines how messages are formatted and transmitted between web browsers and servers. Every time you visit a website, your browser sends HTTP requests and receives HTTP responses.
HTTP is stateless — each request is independent, with no memory of previous requests. Cookies and session tokens are used to maintain state across requests.
HTTP Methods
- GET: Retrieve data
- POST: Submit data to create a resource
- PUT: Replace a resource completely
- PATCH: Update a resource partially
- DELETE: Remove a resource
HTTP vs HTTPS
HTTPS is HTTP transmitted over an SSL/TLS encrypted connection. All data is encrypted in transit, preventing interception and tampering.
FAQ
What is the difference between HTTP/1.1 and HTTP/2?
HTTP/2 supports multiplexing (multiple requests over one connection), header compression, and server push — resulting in significantly faster page loads.
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