Chapter 15: Decoding HTTP

At some point, most of us have accessed a web page to download information. But just what's involved when retrieving a web page? In this chapter, we'll take a closer look at the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP). We'll start with an overview and review some of the objects and elements that we can obtain when requesting content. We'll then compare the available HTTP versions, 1.0, 1.1, and 2.0, along with the methods used, such as GET, POST, and HEAD. HTTP has three versions, each with a default method to establish and maintain a connection. So that you understand the mechanics of the different methods, we'll compare the differences between a non-persistent and persistent connection.

HTTP is a stateless protocol. You'll learn how HTTP uses cookies to maintain state by keeping track of the details of each transaction. To help you troubleshoot a web connection, we'll review what takes place during a transaction and examine...