| Stands
for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. In simple terms, it
tells computers how they should be talking to each
other. You'll notice that addresses
of web pages begin with http:// most of the time.
HTTP
(Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the set of rules
for transferring files (text, graphic images, sound,
video, and other multimedia files) on the World Wide
Web. As soon as a Web user opens their Web browser,
the user is indirectly making use of HTTP. HTTP is
an application protocol that runs on top of the
TCP/IP suite of protocols (the foundation protocols
for the Internet).
HTTP concepts
include (as the Hypertext part of the name implies)
the idea that files can contain references to other
files whose selection will elicit additional
transfer requests. Any Web server machine contains,
in addition to the Web page files it can serve, an
HTTP daemon, a program that is designed to wait for
HTTP requests and handle them when they arrive. Your
Web browser is an HTTP client, sending requests to
server machines. When the browser user enters file
requests by either "opening" a Web file
(typing in a Uniform Resource Locator or URL) or
clicking on a hypertext link, the browser builds an
HTTP request and sends it to the Internet Protocol
address (IP address) indicated by the URL. The HTTP
daemon in the destination server machine receives
the request and sends back the requested file or
files associated with the request. (A Web page often
consists of more than one file.)
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