We explain what http is and what this protocol is for. Also, how it works, differences between the http and https protocol.
What is the http protocol?
The http (from English HyperText Transfer Protocol or Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) is the World Wide Web information transmission protocol that is, the code that is established so that the requesting computer and the one that contains the requested information can “speak” the same language when transmitting information over the network.
With the http computer syntax and semantic criteria are established (form and meaning) for the establishment of communication between the different elements that constitute the web architecture: servers, clients, proxies. It was created in 1999 by the World Wide Web Consortium in collaboration with the Internet Engineering Task Force.
It is a “stateless” protocol, that is, it does not keep track of previous visits but always starts again. Information related to previous visits is stored in these systems in so-called “cookies”, stored in the client system.
The http has gone through numerous versions until reaching the current one at the beginning of the 21st century, called HTTP/2. His first attempts occurred in 1991 and they released partial versions in 1996, 1999, 2000 and, finally, the current one in 2015.
See also: FTP
What is the http protocol for?
http, as has been said, is a language that mediates between client requests and server responses in the Internet to allow fluid communication and in the same “language”. This protocol establishes the guidelines to follow, the request methods (called “verbs”) and has some flexibility to incorporate new requests and functionalities, especially as its versions progress.
Considering that the Internet is little more than a complex network for exchanging information between remote computers, these types of digital tools are key in establishing the bases to organize and facilitate the transmission of information.
How does the http protocol work?
The operation of http is based on a request-response scheme between the web server and the “user agent” (from English user agent) or client making the data transmission request. A client can be a particular browser, when we try to open a web page, or web crawlers (webcrawlers or web spiders) that inspect them.
To them, the server provides a response structured in a timely manner and provided with a series of metadata, which establishes the guidelines for the beginning, development and closure of the transmission of information. These are the “request methods”, that is, the commands that trigger the execution of specific resources, whose files reside on the server.
For example: When opening a specific web page, the information exchange between our web browser and the server where the information resides will establish how the information should be transmitted, where the images are and in what order they will be shown to me, etc. This exchange of request commands and response codes results in the representation on my computer of the same information originally contained on the server, which may be thousands of miles away.
What is https?
By https HyperText Transfer Procotol Secure or Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol, which It is nothing more than the secure version of http that is, a variant of the same protocol that is based on the creation of an encrypted channel for the transmission of information, which makes it more appropriate for certain sensitive data (such as personal passwords and users).
Unlike http, https is protected against third party intervention that can spy on the exchange of information or obtain data from it, through the use of “network layers” that allow only the server and the client to encrypt and decrypt the information sent through the prior exchange of network certificates, a kind of validation initial trust to establish the transfer of information.
