As with any piece of software that communicates over TCP/IP, a protocol is needed to delegate how information is transferred between a client and its server.
HTTP is the protocol programs use to communicate over the World Wide Web (HTTPS when referring to ‘secure’ transactions). It is the standard protocols for requesting for a URL defined web page resource and for sending a respond.
Billions of JPEG images, HTML pages, text files, MPEG movies, WAV audio files, Java applets and more cruise through the internet each and every day. HTTP is behind every requires for a web document or graphic, every click of a hypertext link, and every submission of a form.
HTTP is useful because it provides a standardized way for computers to communicate with each other.
Because HTTP uses reliable data transmission protocol, it guarantees that the data will not be damaged or scrambled in transit, even when it comes from the other side of the globe.
HTTP is a stateless protocol. This is because for an HTTP request, the protocol assumes a fresh request. It does not keep track of things that other session-based protocols do, such as connection time.
HTTP – Hypertext Transfer Protocol
