HTTP Pocket Reference: Hypertext Transfer Protocol

by Clinton Wong

The HyperText Transfer Protocol, or HTTP, is the backbone of the World Wide Web. HTTP is the language that each web browser (or other web client) uses to communicate with servers around the world. All web programmers, administrators, and application developers need to be familiar with HTTP in order to work effectively. The HTTP Pocket Reference not only provides a solid conceptual foundation of HTTP, it also serves as a quick reference to each of the headers and status codes that comprise an HTTP transaction. The book starts with a tutorial of HTTP, but then explains the client request and server responses in more detail, and gives a thorough technical explanation of more advanced features of HTTP (such as persistent connections and caching). Most people use the Web every day without knowing anything about HTTP, but for those who need to get "beyond the browser," this book is the place to start.

Genres: Reference, Programming

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Refer to this little book often when a question arises about HTTP. The protocol offers much more than most know about and Wong does a nice job of laying out the various options. With the wide adoption of RESTful services, this reference is great to have close at hand.

An index would be helpful, but at only 75 pages, finding what you need to pretty easy.

[Jax · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a pretty good introduction to HTTP. I am a programming student and I wanted to know a little bit more about how HTTP works. It just scratches the surface but it served its purpose. If I want to know more, I'll buy the definitive guide.

[Richard Slater · Rating 4 out of 5]

apart from the largely unnecessary list of MIME types, this book really covers the essence of HTTP. I would consider it required reading for anyone working with the www.

[李洋]

it's very detail intrduce the http protocol! but then content is not deep!