Understanding web development

Developing for the web means developing with Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), so we will start by reviewing this important foundational technology.

Understanding HTTP

To communicate with a web server, the client, also known as the user agent, makes calls over the network using HTTP. As such, HTTP is the technical underpinning of the web. So, when we talk about websites and web services, we mean that they use HTTP to communicate between a client (often a web browser) and a server.

A client makes an HTTP request for a resource, such as a page, uniquely identified by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), and the server sends back an HTTP response, as shown in Figure 14.1:

Figure 14.1: An HTTP request and response

You can use Google Chrome and other browsers to record requests and responses.

Good Practice: Google Chrome is available on more operating systems than any other browser, and it has powerful, built-in developer...