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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