What is HTTP?

The Internet is a system of reception and transmissiondata and information, the main instrument of which is the HTTP data transfer protocol. The HTTP protocol, in turn, is the most common data transfer protocol on the Internet, which allows you to download web pages, but not the only one.

HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) is an application protocol for the transmission of information in the form of hypertext documents in HTML format.

It is thanks to the HTTP protocol that we are able to view the Internet pages in the form in which we do it.

The structure of the HTTP protocol

Any request in the protocol consists of three parts with observance of their order:

1. Start line - it determines the type of request (message).
2. Header - describes the body of the request, transmission settings and other data.
3. The body of the message is the information itself, which is transmitted. The body is necessarily separated from the title by an empty line.

The obligatory element among the whole structure isThe starting line, because it is this line that determines the type of request or response. There is a protocol version 0.9, in which the query will contain only the start line, and the server's response - only the body of the message.

How HTTP Works

The HTTP protocol works on the basis of technology"Client-server". Its essence lies in the fact that the network uses two objects - the client-consumer and the server-provider. The consumer initiates the connection and sends requests, and the provider waits for the incoming connection and the request, and then carries out the necessary actions and sends a message with the result to the requestor (the consumer).

As for the software, various browsers work with HTTP protocols: Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrom, Opera and many others.

Data protection with HTTPS

Because HTTP data is transmitted openly and unprotected, which is likely to be intercepted by attackers, there is an HTTPS protocol that supports encryption.

We all know that there are Internet services,which require maximum protection in the transmission of data of any kind. For example, various movements of funds on the Internet with the help of virtual wallets such as WebMoney, BitCoin, PayPal, Yandex.Money etc. Other systems that work with user personal data also necessarily use the HTTPS protocol.

This type of protocol does not need to be specifically downloadedand install on the computer. In addition to the fact that it is supported by absolutely any browser that will be installed on your computer, it is also built into the browser itself and is used when necessary, you will not need to run it and configure it on certain sites.

How HTTPS works

Security of the protocol providescryptographic protocol SSL / TLS, which just encrypts information for the impossibility of interception and reading. It provides connection protection when working in an unprotected channel.

How does protection work? Let's look at this in a primitive example: you need to send your friend Sasha important documents by mail, but so that the courier or someone else does not see these documents.

1. You take a box, put documents in it, hang up the lock and give the box to the courier. Thus, an attacker can not get to the documents.
2. Sasha receives a box with your lock, but he does not have the key. He hangs his lock on the box (second lock) and sends the box back to you.
3. You remove your lock from the box and send it back to Sasha.
4. Sasha gets the box, it does not have your lock, but there is it. Thus, the box remains closed all the time, Sasha removes his castle and receives documents.

Of course, if we imagine this in reality, it is verylong. On the Internet, it all happens in a few seconds. Passes here such data exchange ("keys from locks"), and the necessary files become protected from unauthorized access to them. Now you know what HTTP is and how it works.

Also read the article What is the URL from the section Concepts and Definitions.