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Glossary

HTTP

HTTP is a Transport Protocol for Web Applications.

The HTTP protocol has a number of “components”:

Request:
- The URL, which indicates what resource is being accessed.
- Get Parameters. These are name/value pairs. They are separated from the url with a ?. There can be multiple name/value pairs after the question mark, which are separated by a & character.
- Message Body, which could be of any Message Protocol.
- HTTP Method, which indicates how the message should be processed. Typical values are:
  - GET: retrieve info,
  - PUT: create something new,
  - POST: create something new, change something, or perform an action,
  - DELETE: delete something,
  - and there are a few more (See REST API for example).
- Headers, which can be used to send meta-data. (One that is used quite commonly is Content-Type, which indicates what Message Protocol is being used).
Response:
- Same as Request, except:
  - URL does not apply,
  - Get Parameters do not apply,
  - Method does not apply
- HTTP Return code

Sources