Preface

The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the protocol programs use to communicate over the World Wide Web. There are many applications of HTTP, but HTTP is most famous for two-way conversation between web browsers and web servers.

HTTP began as a simple protocol, so you might think there really isn't that much to say about it. And yet here you stand, with a two-pound book in your hands. If you're wondering how we could have written 650 pages on HTTP, take a look at the Table of Contents. This book isn't just an HTTP header reference manual; it's a veritable bible of web architecture.

In this book, we try to tease apart HTTP's interrelated and often misunderstood rules, and we offer you a series of topic-based chapters that explain all the aspects of HTTP. Throughout the book, we are careful to explain the "why" of HTTP, not just the "how." And to save you time chasing references, we explain many of the critical non-HTTP technologies that are required to make HTTP applications work. You can find the alphabetical header reference (which forms the basis of most conventional HTTP texts) in a conveniently organized appendix. We hope this conceptual design makes it easy for you to work with HTTP.

This book is written for anyone who wants to understand HTTP and the underlying architecture of the Web. Software and hardware engineers can use this book as a coherent reference for HTTP and related web technologies. Systems architects and network administrators can use this book to better understand how to design, deploy, and manage complicated web architectures. Performance engineers and analysts can benefit from the sections on caching and performance optimization. Marketing and consulting professionals will be able to use the conceptual orientation to better understand the landscape of web technologies.

This book illustrates common misconceptions, advises on "tricks of the trade," provides convenient reference material, and serves as a readable introduction to dry and confusing standards specifications. In a single book, we detail the essential and interrelated technologies that make the Web work.

This book is the result of a tremendous amount of work by many people who share an enthusiasm for Internet technologies. We hope you find it useful.