Hypertext Transfer Protocol

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an application-layer protocol for exchanging requests and responses between clients and servers. It underlies the transfer of web resources, including documents, images, and data.

HTTP request: An HTTP message sent by a client to ask a server to perform an operation on a resource. Requests carry methods, targets, headers, and sometimes bodies from client to server.
Application layer: The network-stack layer where protocols provide services and communication conventions to software applications. HTTP operates at this layer, above transport protocols such as TCP and QUIC.
Tim Berners-Lee: A British computer scientist who invented the World Wide Web and developed its foundational technologies. Berners-Lee created HTTP alongside the Web’s first server, browser, and markup language.
Representational State Transfer: An architectural style for networked systems that models interactions around resources and representations. REST APIs commonly use HTTP methods and status codes to expose resource operations.
File Transfer Protocol: A network protocol designed for transferring files between clients and servers. FTP predates HTTP and uses a distinct command-and-connection model for file transfers.
HTTP response: An HTTP message sent by a server in reply to a client request, containing a status code and optional content. Responses report the result of each request and may carry the requested resource.
World Wide Web: A system of interlinked resources accessed over the Internet through protocols and software such as HTTP and web browsers. The Web uses HTTP to transfer resources between servers and user agents.
CERN: The European research organization where the World Wide Web was developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. HTTP originated in the effort to share information among researchers at CERN.
Web API: An interface that allows software to exchange data or invoke services over the Web. HTTP is a common transport for requests and responses between API clients and servers.
gRPC: A remote procedure call framework that commonly uses Protocol Buffers and HTTP/2 for communication. gRPC builds application-level calls on HTTP/2 rather than exposing ordinary HTTP resource semantics.

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