HTTP: The Protocol Every Web Developer Must Know Part 1

HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. It’s a stateless, application-layer protocol for communicating between distributed systems, and is the foundation of the modern web. As a web developer, we all must have a strong understanding of this protocol. Let’s review this powerful protocol through the lens of a web developer.

We’ll tackle the topic in two parts. In this first entry, we’ll cover the basics and outline the various request and response headers. In the follow-up article, we’ll review specific pieces of HTTP – namely caching, connection handling and authentication.

Although Pavan Padila will mention some details related to headers, it’s best to instead consult the RFC (RFC 2616) for in-depth coverage. He will be pointing to specific parts of the RFC throughout the article.