HTTP

HTTP is a Transport Protocol for Web Applications.

The HTTP protocol has a number of “components”:

• Request:
  • The URL, which indicates what resource is being accessed.
  • Get Parameters. These are name/value pairs. They are separated from the url with a ?. There can be multiple name/value pairs after the question mark, which are separated by a & character.
  • Message Body, which could be of any Message Protocol.
  • HTTP Method, which indicates how the message should be processed. Typical values are:
    • GET: retrieve info,
    • PUT: create something new,
    • POST: create something new, change something, or perform an action,
    • DELETE: delete something,
    • and there are a few more (See REST API for example).
  • Headers, which can be used to send meta-data. (One that is used quite commonly is Content-Type, which indicates what Message Protocol is being used).
• Response:
  • Same as Request, except:
    • URL does not apply,
    • Get Parameters do not apply,
    • Method does not apply
  • HTTP Return code

​​ Sources

• https://httpwg.org/specs/ Open external link
• https://www.w3.org/Protocols/ Open external link