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What is HTTP?
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- Skip2 Networks
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- Content Manager
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
HTTP, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol, is the foundational protocol for data communication on the World Wide Web. It's the language web browsers and web servers use to talk to each other. When you type a website address into your browser or click on a link, your browser sends an HTTP request to the server hosting that website. This request asks for specific resources, like an HTML page, an image, or a video. In turn, the server processes this request and sends back an HTTP response, which contains the requested resource (or an error message if something went wrong).
HTTP operates as a stateless protocol, meaning each request from a client to the server is treated as an independent transaction without any memory of previous requests. This simplicity makes it efficient for retrieving individual web resources. While the original HTTP was designed for unencrypted communication, the evolution to HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) added an essential layer of encryption using SSL/TLS, making it the standard for secure and private web interactions today, especially for sensitive data like online banking or e-commerce.