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Along with HTTPS, HTTP is one of the most important and integral elements of client-server communication. We certainly recognize this acronym—which stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol—from our web browser’s address bar. But what exactly is HTTP, what is it used for, and which HTTP methods should every developer know?
A few words about HTTP communication
HTTP is currently the most widely used stateless protocol, utilized by virtually all web browsers. Why stateless? Because it does not store any information related to the internal state of the client and server, or requests that were sent in the past. This is a positive feature of the HTTP protocol, as the application cannot link information about a user who has previously sent any requests. This means that the application server treats every request as completely new. The HTTP protocol can be divided into two main elements: the header and the body. The header is responsible for specifying the HTTP method, the address, and the protocol version. After the header comes the body of the request, which contains the data to be sent to the server. It was mentioned earlier that the main task of the header is to define the HTTP method. What exactly are these methods, and what are they responsible for?What are HTTP methods used for?
HTTP focuses largely on methods aimed at precisely defining the action to be performed. Methods are also used for the general handling of all client-server requests and for designing specific web browser functionalities. In practice, methods allow for the execution of many requests that are sent to the same address in the same form. Thanks to the mechanics and structure of HTTP methods, these are separated and handled accordingly. We previously mentioned the stateless nature of the HTTP protocol. This, while extremely important for our privacy and anonymity online, is somewhat blurred by the popular cookies we have become well-acquainted with over the years. In practice, cookies store a vast amount of information about our online behavior. These data usually persist until we decide to clear our browser cache, so for your own security, it is worth ensuring that cookies only collect explicit, relatively harmless data regarding your preferences for site or browser customization. How is the data collected via cookies actually used? Mainly for analyzing our online behavior, shopping preferences, and patterns of action. This data is analyzed in bulk by advanced software, led by Google Analytics, which significantly influences the business decisions of site owners investing in effective advertising campaigns.List of HTTP methods
There is a specific number of methods, or requests, supported by HTTP protocols. These methods are as follows:- GET – A method aimed at displaying or retrieving a specific resource. If you request to view a specific resource, you will obtain it via the GET method.
- DELETE – A method aimed at removing a resource located on a given server. This is an optional method, used only in services that handle specific resources through the application rather than the server itself.
- PUT – This method adds a new, specific resource to the server—for example, a file. If the server notices that a resource with the identical URI already exists while processing the request, it will be removed and replaced with our new one.
- HEAD – The HEAD method is very similar to the GET method. When sending such a request, we do not receive the content, but only the header, which is often used to retrieve metadata about a resource.
- POST – This is a method that gives us the ability to send information in the other direction. Using a POST request, we can replace an existing resource on the server with our own. In theory, a POST request is defined as sending data saved as key-value pairs to a specific server.
