About The World Wide Web

The World Wide Web (known as "WWW', "Web" or "W3") is the universe of
network-accessible information, the embodiment of human knowledge.

The World Wide Web began as a networked information project at CERN, where Tim
Berners-Lee, now Director of the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C], developed
a vision of the project.

The Web has a body of software, and a set of protocols and conventions. Through the
use hypertext and multimedia techniques, the web is easy for anyone to roam, browse,
and contribute to. An early talkabout the Web gives some more background on how
the Web was originally conceived.

Definition of: HTTP

HTTP

(HyperText Transfer Protocol) The communications protocol used to connect to Web servers on the
Internet or on a local network (intranet). Its primary function is to establish a connection with the
server and send HTML pages back to the user's browser. It is also used to download files from the
server either to the browser or to any other requesting application that uses HTTP.

Addresses of websites begin with an http:// prefix; however, Web browsers typically default to the
HTTP protocol. For example, typing www.yahoo.com is the same as
typing http://www.yahoo.com. In fact, only yahoo.com has to be typed in. The browser adds the
rest.

HTTP vs. HTTPS

With HTTP, the Web page is transmitted without any encryption. However, HTTPS (HTTP Secure) is
used to encrypt sensitive data such as credit card and social security numbers (see HTTPS).

A Stateless Connection
HTTP is a "stateless" request/response system. The connection is maintained between client and
server only for the immediate request, and the connection is closed. After the HTTP client
establishes a TCP connection with the server and sends it a request command, the server sends
back its response and closes the connection.

The first version of HTTP caused considerable overhead. Each time a graphics file on the page was
requested, a new protocol connection had to be established between the browser and the server. In
HTTP Version 1.1, multiple files could be downloaded with the same connection. It also improved
caching and made it easier to create virtual hosts (multiple websites on the same server).
See HTTP/2, HTTP header and cookie.
Web Server Fundamentals
Web browsers communicate with Web servers via the TCP/IP protocol. The browser sends HTTP
requests to the server, which responds by sending back headers (messages) and files (HTML
pages, image files, Java applets, etc.). See HTTP header.