{"id":83,"date":"2021-07-22T08:14:57","date_gmt":"2021-07-22T08:14:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elevenguard.com\/blog\/?p=83"},"modified":"2022-06-27T17:49:35","modified_gmt":"2022-06-27T17:49:35","slug":"what-does-http-stand-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elevenguard.com\/blog\/what-does-http-stand-for\/","title":{"rendered":"What does HTTP stand for?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>HTTP (<a href=\"https:\/\/datatracker.ietf.org\/doc\/html\/rfc2068\">RFC 2068<\/a>) is an essential technology for transferring and translating information online.&nbsp; HTTP and web servers are part of a sysadmin\u2019s life, but we don\u2019t always have the time to deep dive into how it works. That\u2019s where this article comes in. What follows is a primer on <a href=\"https:\/\/elevenguard.com\/blog\/category\/protocols\/\">HTTP<\/a>: what it is, how it\u2019s used, what its limitations are, and how we, as sysadmins, can better use it for more secure browsing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"http-powering-the-world-wide-web\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">HTTP: Powering the world wide web<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. It\u2019s an application protocol for hypermedia information systems that facilitates the communication of data on the World Wide Web.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In essence, it\u2019s the way in which information is sent from a user\u2019s web browser to the website they\u2019re visiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was invented alongside HTML in the years 1989-1991 by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN. Initially used to create the first interactive, text-based browser it remains today as one of the primary means of using the internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>HTTP standards are developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), resulting in the publication of a series of Requests for Comments (RFCs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>HTTP has four versions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>HTTP\/0.9<\/li><li>HTTP\/1.0<\/li><li>HTTP\/1.1<\/li><li>HTTP\/2.0<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>HTTP\/1.1 is the most commonly used version today however HTTP\/2.0 is a promising up-and-comer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"the-evolution-of-http\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The evolution of HTTP<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>HTTP has seen three main iterations since its inception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"http-0-9\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">HTTP\/0.9<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The initial version of HTTP, HTTP\/0.9 was a simple client-server, request-response, Telenet-friendly protocol. It sported a single-line request nature and supported GET methods only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"http-1-0\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">HTTP\/1.0<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>HTTP\/1.0 was the first browser-friendly protocol. It provided header fields including metadata about both request and response. It supported GET, HEAD, and POST methods with responses no longer limited to hypertext.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"http-1-1\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">HTTP\/1.1<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The most commonly used protocol today, HTTP\/1.1 introduced critical performance optimizations and feature enhancements, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Persistent and pipelined connections<\/li><li>Chunked transfers<\/li><li>Compression\/decompression<\/li><li>Content negotiations<\/li><li>Virtual hosting&nbsp;<\/li><li>Faster response&nbsp;<\/li><li>Great bandwidth savings by adding cache support<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It supports GET, HEAD, POST, PUT, DELETE, TRACE, and OPTIONS methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"https-a-more-secure-future\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">HTTPS: A more secure future<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. It\u2019s essentially the same concept as HTTP but with one major difference: security. Instead of using its own application layer protocol, it uses different protocols called Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Both TLS and SSL act as secure \u201ctunnels\u201d through which information travels to get to a user\u2019s browser. They also encrypt the information sent, making it harder to crack and read if it is intercepted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The majority of browsers nowadays support HTTPS for more secure browsing. Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Internet explorer all display a padlock icon to denote a secure HTTPS connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"http-vs-https\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">HTTP vs HTTPS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Both protocols have their uses on the web, but HTTPS is fast becoming the preferred method by which to deliver and receive information online. Not only is it more secure, browsers like Google Chrome actually parse digital data faster over HTTPS. This is because the information is more trusted and doesn\u2019t have to be cached and scanned before delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>HTTPS is also preferred by search engines like Google. Faster load times and lower bounce rates will impact your SEO significantly \u2013 both factors influenced by HTTPS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"http-is-the-backbone-of-the-internet\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">HTTP is the backbone of the internet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>What does HTTP stand for? Access. At the end of the day, HTTP as a technology facilitates our online operations. It allows information to get from point A to point B. This isn\u2019t to say it can\u2019t be improved upon. HTTPS is now leading the pack when it comes to online application protocols so it\u2019s in your best interest to buff up your knowledge on both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now you know everything there is to know about HTTP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HTTP (RFC 2068) is an essential technology for transferring and translating information online.&nbsp; HTTP and web servers are&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-83","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-protocols"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What does HTTP stand for? - DevOps Squad<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/elevenguard.com\/blog\/what-does-http-stand-for\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What does HTTP stand for? 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