What Is HTTP?

HTTP

HTTPS stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. HTTP is an application-level protocol is used for collaborative, distributed, hypermedia information systems. It is the data communication protocol used to establish communication between the client and server. HTTP is TCP/IP-based communication protocol, it is used to deliver data( like image files, query results, and HTML files) on the World Wide Web.

World Wide Web (WWW) is about communication between clients and servers. The default port is TCP 80. It provides a standardized way for computers to communicate with each other.

HTTP Request / Response

Communication between the client and server is done by sending HTTP Requests and receiving HTTP Responses. The HTTP request methods are: GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, and PATCH.

• A client (the browser) sends an HTTP request to the web.
• A web server receives the request.
• The server runs an application to process the request.
• The server returns an HTTP response to the browser.
• The client (the browser) receives the response.

Basic Architecture of HTTP

The above diagram shows a basic architecture of a web application and depicts where HTTP stands. The HTTP protocol is a request/response protocol based on the client/server-based architecture. In this protocol, web browsers, search engines, etc. act like HTTP clients, and the Web server acts as a server.

HTTP Client

The HTTP client sends the request to the server. The HTTP request includes a Uniform Resource Locator, a request body, headers and methods ( like GET method, POST method, DELETE method), etc.

HTTP Server

HTTP server receives the request and processes it. The HTTP server sends a response back to the HTTP client. The HTTP response includes a header, a response body, and a status code like 200 for OK, 202 for Accepted, 201 for Created, etc.

Click here for more information about the HTTP status code