The Hypertext Transfer Protocol

The World Wide Web (WWW), or simply the Web, is a way of accessing information using the Internet. The Internet is a vast network of networks, a networking infrastructure. Its purpose is to connect billions of devices together, all around the globe, so that they can communicate with one another. Information travels through the Internet in a rich variety of languages, called protocols, that allow different devices to share content.

The Web is an information-sharing model, built on top of the Internet, which employs the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) as a basis for data communication. The Web, therefore, is just one of several ways information can be exchanged over the Internet; email, instant messaging, news groups, and so on, all rely on different protocols.

How does HTTP work?

HTTP is an asymmetric request-response client-server protocol. An HTTP client – for example, your web browser – sends a request message to an HTTP...