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74-526: HTTP ( Hypertext Transfer Protocol ) is an application layer protocol in the Internet protocol suite model for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web , where hypertext documents include hyperlinks to other resources that the user can easily access, for example by a mouse click or by tapping the screen in
148-418: A resource and the server providing that resource. It improves privacy, security, and possibly performance in the process. Instead of connecting directly to a server that can fulfill a request for a resource, such as a file or web page , the client directs the request to the proxy server, which evaluates the request and performs the required network transactions. This serves as a method to simplify or control
222-406: A web browser . Development of HTTP was initiated by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN in 1989 and summarized in a simple document describing the behavior of a client and a server using the first HTTP version, named 0.9. That version was subsequently developed, eventually becoming the public 1.0. Development of early HTTP Requests for Comments (RFCs) started a few years later in a coordinated effort by
296-438: A batch of RFCs was published, deprecating many of the previous documents and introducing a few minor changes and a refactoring of HTTP semantics description into a separate document. HTTP is a stateless application-level protocol and it requires a reliable network transport connection to exchange data between client and server. In HTTP implementations, TCP/IP connections are used using well-known ports (typically port 80 if
370-428: A caching proxy. Caching proxies were the first kind of proxy server. Web proxies are commonly used to cache web pages from a web server. Poorly implemented caching proxies can cause problems, such as an inability to use user authentication. A proxy that is designed to mitigate specific link related issues or degradation is a Performance Enhancing Proxy (PEPs). These are typically used to improve TCP performance in
444-426: A client user interface called web browser . Berners-Lee designed HTTP in order to help with the adoption of his other idea: the "WorldWideWeb" project, which was first proposed in 1989, now known as the World Wide Web . The first web server went live in 1990. The protocol used had only one method, namely GET, which would request a page from a server. The response from the server was always an HTML page. In 1991,
518-471: A client failing to properly encode the request-target. Since 2016 many product managers and developers of user agents (browsers, etc.) and web servers have begun planning to gradually deprecate and dismiss support for HTTP/0.9 protocol, mainly for the following reasons: In 2020, the first drafts HTTP/3 were published and major web browsers and web servers started to adopt it. On 6 June 2022, IETF standardized HTTP/3 as RFC 9114 . In June 2022,
592-466: A client, forwards that request to another one of many other servers, and then returns the results from the server that specifically processed the request to the client. Effectively a reverse proxy acts as a gateway between clients, users and application servers and handles all the traffic routing whilst also protecting the identity of the server that physically processes the request. A content-filtering web proxy server provides administrative control over
666-526: A combination of machine and human translation. Different translation proxy implementations have different capabilities. Some allow further customization of the source site for the local audiences such as excluding the source content or substituting the source content with the original local content. An anonymous proxy server (sometimes called a web proxy) generally attempts to anonymize web surfing. Anonymizers may be differentiated into several varieties. The destination server (the server that ultimately satisfies
740-740: A communications network. An application layer abstraction is specified in both the Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) and the OSI model . Although both models use the same term for their respective highest-level layer, the detailed definitions and purposes are different. In the Internet protocol suite, the application layer contains the communications protocols and interface methods used in process-to-process communications across an Internet Protocol (IP) computer network. The application layer only standardizes communication and depends upon
814-445: A computer hosting one or more websites may be the server . The client submits an HTTP request message to the server. The server, which provides resources such as HTML files and other content or performs other functions on behalf of the client, returns a response message to the client. The response contains completion status information about the request and may also contain requested content in its message body. A web browser
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#1732771863549888-421: A far future version of HTTP called HTTP-NG (HTTP Next Generation) that would have solved all remaining problems, of previous versions, related to performances, low latency responses, etc. but this work started only a few years later and it was never completed. In May 1996, RFC 1945 was published as a final HTTP/1.0 revision of what had been used in previous 4 years as a pre-standard HTTP/1.0-draft which
962-536: A globally routable address, by relaying messages with external servers. To allow intermediate HTTP nodes (proxy servers, web caches, etc.) to accomplish their functions, some of the HTTP headers (found in HTTP requests/responses) are managed hop-by-hop whereas other HTTP headers are managed end-to-end (managed only by the source client and by the target web server). HTTP is an application layer protocol designed within
1036-484: A logon requirement. In large organizations, authorized users must log on to gain access to the web . The organization can thereby track usage to individuals. Some anonymizing proxy servers may forward data packets with header lines such as HTTP_VIA, HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR, or HTTP_FORWARDED, which may reveal the IP address of the client. Other anonymizing proxy servers, known as elite or high-anonymity proxies, make it appear that
1110-416: A more efficient expression of HTTP's semantics "on the wire". As of August 2024, it is supported by 66.2% of websites (35.3% HTTP/2 + 30.9% HTTP/3 with backwards compatibility) and supported by almost all web browsers (over 98% of users). It is also supported by major web servers over Transport Layer Security (TLS) using an Application-Layer Protocol Negotiation (ALPN) extension where TLS 1.2 or newer
1184-454: A non-blacklisted location. Proxies can be installed in order to eavesdrop upon the data-flow between client machines and the web. All content sent or accessed – including passwords submitted and cookies used – can be captured and analyzed by the proxy operator. For this reason, passwords to online services (such as webmail and banking) should always be exchanged over a cryptographically secured connection, such as SSL. By chaining
1258-517: A security flaw in the way that transparent proxies operate was published by Robert Auger, and the Computer Emergency Response Team issued an advisory listing dozens of affected transparent and intercepting proxy servers. Intercepting proxies are commonly used in businesses to enforce acceptable use policies and to ease administrative overheads since no client browser configuration is required. This second reason, however
1332-536: A server establishing a connection (real or virtual). An HTTP(S) server listening on that port accepts the connection and then waits for a client's request message. The client sends its HTTP request message. Upon receiving the request the server sends back an HTTP response message, which includes header(s) plus a body if it is required. The body of this response message is typically the requested resource, although an error message or other information may also be returned. At any time (for many reasons) client or server can close
1406-405: A server on a private network. A reverse proxy commonly also performs tasks such as load-balancing , authentication , decryption , and caching . An open proxy is a forwarding proxy server that is accessible by any Internet user. In 2008, network security expert Gordon Lyon estimated that "hundreds of thousands" of open proxies are operated on the Internet. A reverse proxy (or surrogate)
1480-461: A website experience for different markets. Traffic from the global audience is routed through the translation proxy to the source website. As visitors browse the proxied site, requests go back to the source site where pages are rendered. The original language content in the response is replaced by the translated content as it passes back through the proxy. The translations used in a translation proxy can be either machine translation, human translation, or
1554-444: A workplace setting where the client is managed by the organization, devices may be configured to trust a root certificate whose private key is known to the proxy. In such situations, proxy analysis of the contents of an SSL/TLS transaction becomes possible. The proxy is effectively operating a man-in-the-middle attack , allowed by the client's trust of a root certificate the proxy owns. If the destination server filters content based on
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#17327718635491628-519: Is a certain type. Manual labor is used to correct the resultant database based on complaints or known flaws in the content-matching algorithms. Some proxies scan outbound content, e.g., for data loss prevention; or scan content for malicious software. Web filtering proxies are not able to peer inside secure sockets HTTP transactions, assuming the chain-of-trust of SSL/TLS ( Transport Layer Security ) has not been tampered with. The SSL/TLS chain-of-trust relies on trusted root certificate authorities . In
1702-414: Is a proxy server that appears to clients to be an ordinary server. Reverse proxies forward requests to one or more ordinary servers that handle the request. The response from the original server is returned as if it came directly from the proxy server, leaving the client with no knowledge of the original server. Reverse proxies are installed in the vicinity of one or more web servers. All traffic coming from
1776-429: Is a proxy that modifies the request or response in order to provide some added service to the user agent, such as group annotation services, media type transformation, protocol reduction, or anonymity filtering". TCP Intercept is a traffic filtering security feature that protects TCP servers from TCP SYN flood attacks, which are a type of denial-of-service attack. TCP Intercept is available for IP traffic only. In 2009
1850-495: Is a revision of previous HTTP/2 in order to use QUIC + UDP transport protocols instead of TCP. Before that version, TCP/IP connections were used; but now, only the IP layer is used (which UDP, like TCP, builds on). This slightly improves the average speed of communications and to avoid the occasional (very rare) problem of TCP connection congestion that can temporarily block or slow down the data flow of all its streams (another form of " head of line blocking "). The term hypertext
1924-411: Is acceptable. At this point, a dynamic filter may be applied on the return path. For example, JPEG files could be blocked based on fleshtone matches, or language filters could dynamically detect unwanted language. If the content is rejected then an HTTP fetch error may be returned to the requester. Most web filtering companies use an internet-wide crawling robot that assesses the likelihood that content
1998-469: Is also enabled in Firefox . HTTP/3 has lower latency for real-world web pages, if enabled on the server, and loads faster than with HTTP/2, in some cases over three times faster than HTTP/1.1 (which is still commonly only enabled). HTTP functions as a request–response protocol in the client–server model . A web browser , for example, may be the client whereas a process , named web server , running on
2072-723: Is an example of a user agent (UA). Other types of user agent include the indexing software used by search providers ( web crawlers ), voice browsers , mobile apps , and other software that accesses, consumes, or displays web content. HTTP is designed to permit intermediate network elements to improve or enable communications between clients and servers. High-traffic websites often benefit from web cache servers that deliver content on behalf of upstream servers to improve response time. Web browsers cache previously accessed web resources and reuse them, whenever possible, to reduce network traffic. HTTP proxy servers at private network boundaries can facilitate communication for clients without
2146-406: Is done either with a specialized proxy, called a content filter (both commercial and free products are available), or by using a cache-extension protocol such as ICAP, that allows plug-in extensions to an open caching architecture. Websites commonly used by students to circumvent filters and access blocked content often include a proxy, from which the user can then access the websites that the filter
2220-410: Is in most occasions external to the network. This means it can regulate traffic according to preset policies, convert and mask client IP addresses, enforce security protocols and block unknown traffic. A forward proxy enhances security and policy enforcement within an internal network. A reverse proxy, instead of protecting the client, is used to protect the servers. A reverse proxy accepts a request from
2294-442: Is mitigated by features such as Active Directory group policy, or DHCP and automatic proxy detection. Intercepting proxies are also commonly used by ISPs in some countries to save upstream bandwidth and improve customer response times by caching. This is more common in countries where bandwidth is more limited (e.g. island nations) or must be paid for. The diversion or interception of a TCP connection creates several issues. First,
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2368-725: Is more of an inconvenience than a risk, proxy users may find themselves being blocked from certain Web sites, as numerous forums and Web sites block IP addresses from proxies known to have spammed or trolled the site. Proxy bouncing can be used to maintain privacy. A caching proxy server accelerates service requests by retrieving the content saved from a previous request made by the same client or even other clients. Caching proxies keep local copies of frequently requested resources, allowing large organizations to significantly reduce their upstream bandwidth usage and costs, while significantly increasing performance. Most ISPs and large businesses have
2442-556: Is realized by the use of the functionality of a number of application service elements. Some application service elements invoke different procedures based on the version of the session service available. The common application service element sublayer provides services for the application layer and request services from the session layer. It provides support for common application services, such as: The specific application service element sublayer provides application-specific services (protocols), such as: The IETF definition document for
2516-452: Is required. HTTP/3 , the successor to HTTP/2, was published in 2022. As of February 2024, it is now used on 30.9% of websites and is supported by most web browsers, i.e. (at least partially) supported by 97% of users. HTTP/3 uses QUIC instead of TCP for the underlying transport protocol. Like HTTP/2, it does not obsolete previous major versions of the protocol. Support for HTTP/3 was added to Cloudflare and Google Chrome first, and
2590-564: Is then able to communicate this information between the packet handler and the proxy. Intercepting also creates problems for HTTP authentication, especially connection-oriented authentication such as NTLM , as the client browser believes it is talking to a server rather than a proxy. This can cause problems where an intercepting proxy requires authentication, and then the user connects to a site that also requires authentication. Finally, intercepting connections can cause problems for HTTP caches, as some requests and responses become uncacheable by
2664-399: Is trying to block. Requests may be filtered by several methods, such as a URL or DNS blacklists , URL regex filtering, MIME filtering, or content keyword filtering. Blacklists are often provided and maintained by web-filtering companies, often grouped into categories (pornography, gambling, shopping, social networks, etc..). The proxy then fetches the content, assuming the requested URL
2738-623: The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), with work later moving to the IETF. HTTP/1 was finalized and fully documented (as version 1.0) in 1996. It evolved (as version 1.1) in 1997 and then its specifications were updated in 1999, 2014, and 2022. Its secure variant named HTTPS is used by more than 85% of websites. HTTP/2 , published in 2015, provides
2812-403: The OSI model , the definition of the application layer is narrower in scope. The OSI model defines the application layer as only the interface responsible for communicating with host-based and user-facing applications. OSI then explicitly distinguishes the functionality of two additional layers, the session layer and presentation layer , as separate levels below the application layer and above
2886-730: The HTTP Working Group released an updated six-part HTTP/1.1 specification obsoleting RFC 2616 : In RFC 7230 Appendix-A, HTTP/0.9 was deprecated for servers supporting HTTP/1.1 version (and higher): Since HTTP/0.9 did not support header fields in a request, there is no mechanism for it to support name-based virtual hosts (selection of resource by inspection of the Host header field). Any server that implements name-based virtual hosts ought to disable support for HTTP/0.9 . Most requests that appear to be HTTP/0.9 are, in fact, badly constructed HTTP/1.x requests caused by
2960-431: The Internet and with a destination of one of the neighborhood's web servers goes through the proxy server. The use of "reverse" originates in its counterpart "forward proxy" since the reverse proxy sits closer to the web server and serves only a restricted set of websites. There are several reasons for installing reverse proxy servers: A forward proxy is a server that routes traffic between clients and another system, which
3034-519: The URLs accessed by specific users or to monitor bandwidth usage statistics. It may also communicate to daemon -based or ICAP -based antivirus software to provide security against viruses and other malware by scanning incoming content in real-time before it enters the network. Many workplaces, schools, and colleges restrict web sites and online services that are accessible and available in their buildings. Governments also censor undesirable content. This
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3108-488: The application layer in the Internet Protocol Suite is RFC 1123. It provided an initial set of protocols that covered the major aspects of the functionality of the early Internet : Additional notable application-layer protocols include the following: Proxy server In computer networking , a proxy server is a server application that acts as an intermediary between a client requesting
3182-451: The browser to make web requests to externally hosted content on behalf of a website when cross-domain restrictions (in place to protect websites from the likes of data theft) prohibit the browser from directly accessing the outside domains. Secondary market brokers use web proxy servers to circumvent restrictions on online purchases of limited products such as limited sneakers or tickets. Web proxies forward HTTP requests. The request from
3256-758: The client is the same as a regular HTTP request except the full URL is passed, instead of just the path. This request is sent to the proxy server, the proxy makes the request specified and returns the response. Some web proxies allow the HTTP CONNECT method to set up forwarding of arbitrary data through the connection; a common policy is to only forward port 443 to allow HTTPS traffic. Examples of web proxy servers include Apache (with mod_proxy or Traffic Server ), HAProxy , IIS configured as proxy (e.g., with Application Request Routing), Nginx , Privoxy , Squid , Varnish (reverse proxy only), WinGate , Ziproxy , Tinyproxy, RabbIT and Polipo . For clients,
3330-432: The complexity of the request, or provide additional benefits such as load balancing , privacy, or security. Proxies were devised to add structure and encapsulation to distributed systems . A proxy server thus functions on behalf of the client when requesting service, potentially masking the true origin of the request to the resource server. A proxy server may reside on the user's local computer , or at any point between
3404-441: The connection is unencrypted or port 443 if the connection is encrypted, see also List of TCP and UDP port numbers ). In HTTP/2, a TCP/IP connection plus multiple protocol channels are used. In HTTP/3, the application transport protocol QUIC over UDP is used. Data is exchanged through a sequence of request–response messages which are exchanged by a session layer transport connection. An HTTP client initially tries to connect to
3478-520: The connection. Closing a connection is usually advertised in advance by using one or more HTTP headers in the last request/response message sent to server or client. In HTTP/0.9 , the TCP/IP connection is always closed after server response has been sent, so it is never persistent. Application layer An application layer is an abstraction layer that specifies the shared communication protocols and interface methods used by hosts in
3552-409: The content that may be relayed in one or both directions through the proxy. It is commonly used in both commercial and non-commercial organizations (especially schools) to ensure that Internet usage conforms to acceptable use policy . Content filtering proxy servers will often support user authentication to control web access. It also usually produces logs , either to give detailed information about
3626-415: The establishment of TCP connections presents considerable overhead, especially under high traffic conditions. HTTP/2 is a revision of previous HTTP/1.1 in order to maintain the same client–server model and the same protocol methods but with these differences in order: HTTP/2 communications therefore experience much less latency and, in most cases, even higher speeds than HTTP/1.1 communications. HTTP/3
3700-448: The existence of the proxy. A transparent proxy is normally located between the client and the Internet, with the proxy performing some of the functions of a gateway or router . RFC 2616 (Hypertext Transfer Protocol—HTTP/1.1) offers standard definitions: "A 'transparent proxy' is a proxy that does not modify the request or response beyond what is required for proxy authentication and identification". "A 'non-transparent proxy'
3774-442: The first documented official version of HTTP was written as a plain document, less than 700 words long, and this version was named HTTP/0.9, which supported only GET method, allowing clients to only retrieve HTML documents from the server, but not supporting any other file formats or information upload. Since 1992, a new document was written to specify the evolution of the basic protocol towards its next full version. It supported both
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#17327718635493848-752: The framework of the Internet protocol suite . Its definition presumes an underlying and reliable transport layer protocol. In HTTP/3 , the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is no longer used, but the older versions are still more used and they most commonly use TCP. They have also been adapted to use unreliable protocols such as the User Datagram Protocol (UDP), which HTTP/3 also (indirectly) always builds on, for example in HTTPU and Simple Service Discovery Protocol (SSDP). HTTP resources are identified and located on
3922-509: The group stopped its activity passing the technical problems to IETF. In 2007, the IETF HTTP Working Group (HTTP WG bis or HTTPbis) was restarted firstly to revise and clarify previous HTTP/1.1 specifications and secondly to write and refine future HTTP/2 specifications (named httpbis). In 2009, Google , a private company, announced that it had developed and tested a new HTTP binary protocol named SPDY . The implicit aim
3996-411: The local network anonymous. Proxies can also be combined with firewalls . An incorrectly configured proxy can provide access to a network otherwise isolated from the Internet. Proxies allow web sites to make web requests to externally hosted resources (e.g. images, music files, etc.) when cross-domain restrictions prohibit the web site from linking directly to the outside domains. Proxies also allow
4070-455: The need to start to focus on a new HTTP/2 protocol (while finishing the revision of HTTP/1.1 specifications), maybe taking in consideration ideas and work done for SPDY. After a few months about what to do to develop a new version of HTTP, it was decided to derive it from SPDY. In May 2015, HTTP/2 was published as RFC 7540 and quickly adopted by all web browsers already supporting SPDY and more slowly by web servers. In June 2014,
4144-764: The network by Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), using the Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) schemes http and https . As defined in RFC 3986 , URIs are encoded as hyperlinks in HTML documents, so as to form interlinked hypertext documents. In HTTP/1.0 a separate TCP connection to the same server is made for every resource request. In HTTP/1.1 instead a TCP connection can be reused to make multiple resource requests (i.e. of HTML pages, frames, images, scripts , stylesheets , etc.). HTTP/1.1 communications therefore experience less latency as
4218-446: The new versions of browsers and servers was rapid. In March 1996, one web hosting company reported that over 40% of browsers in use on the Internet used the new HTTP/1.1 header "Host" to enable virtual hosting , and that by June 1996, 65% of all browsers accessing their servers were pre-standard HTTP/1.1 compliant. In January 1997, RFC 2068 was officially released as HTTP/1.1 specifications. In June 1999, RFC 2616
4292-665: The origin of the request, the use of a proxy can circumvent this filter. For example, a server using IP -based geolocation to restrict its service to a certain country can be accessed using a proxy located in that country to access the service. Web proxies are the most common means of bypassing government censorship, although no more than 3% of Internet users use any circumvention tools. Some proxy service providers allow businesses access to their proxy network for rerouting traffic for business intelligence purposes. In some cases, users can circumvent proxies that filter using blacklists by using services designed to proxy information from
4366-477: The original destination IP and port must somehow be communicated to the proxy. This is not always possible (e.g., where the gateway and proxy reside on different hosts). There is a class of cross-site attacks that depend on certain behaviors of intercepting proxies that do not check or have access to information about the original (intercepted) destination. This problem may be resolved by using an integrated packet-level and application level appliance or software which
4440-403: The presence of high round-trip times or high packet loss (such as wireless or mobile phone networks); or highly asymmetric links featuring very different upload and download rates. PEPs can make more efficient use of the network, for example, by merging TCP ACKs (acknowledgements) or compressing data sent at the application layer . A translation proxy is a proxy server that is used to localize
4514-461: The problem of complex or multiple proxy-servers is solved by a client-server Proxy auto-config protocol ( PAC file ). SOCKS also forwards arbitrary data after a connection phase, and is similar to HTTP CONNECT in web proxies. Also known as an intercepting proxy , inline proxy , or forced proxy , a transparent proxy intercepts normal application layer communication without requiring any special client configuration. Clients need not be aware of
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#17327718635494588-459: The proxies which do not reveal data about the original requester, it is possible to obfuscate activities from the eyes of the user's destination. However, more traces will be left on the intermediate hops, which could be used or offered up to trace the user's activities. If the policies and administrators of these other proxies are unknown, the user may fall victim to a false sense of security just because those details are out of sight and mind. In what
4662-406: The proxy server is the client. A website could still suspect a proxy is being used if the client sends packets that include a cookie from a previous visit that did not use the high-anonymity proxy server. Clearing cookies, and possibly the cache, would solve this problem. Advertisers use proxy servers for validating, checking and quality assurance of geotargeted ads . A geotargeting ad server checks
4736-459: The request source IP address and uses a geo-IP database to determine the geographic source of requests. Using a proxy server that is physically located inside a specific country or a city gives advertisers the ability to test geotargeted ads. A proxy can keep the internal network structure of a company secret by using network address translation , which can help the security of the internal network. This makes requests from machines and users on
4810-416: The simple request method of the 0.9 version and the full GET request that included the client HTTP version. This was the first of the many unofficial HTTP/1.0 drafts that preceded the final work on HTTP/1.0. After having decided that new features of HTTP protocol were required and that they had to be fully documented as official RFCs , in early 1995 the HTTP Working Group (HTTP WG, led by Dave Raggett )
4884-555: The transport layer. OSI specifies a strict modular separation of functionality at these layers and provides protocol implementations for each. In contrast, the Internet Protocol Suite compiles these functions into a single layer. Originally the OSI model consisted of two kinds of application layer services with their related protocols. These two sublayers are the common application service element (CASE) and specific application service element (SASE). Generally, an application layer protocol
4958-498: The underlying transport layer protocols to establish host-to-host data transfer channels and manage the data exchange in a client–server or peer-to-peer networking model. Though the TCP/IP application layer does not describe specific rules or data formats that applications must consider when communicating, the original specification (in RFC 1123 ) does rely on and recommend the robustness principle for application design. In
5032-488: The user's computer and destination servers on the Internet . A proxy server that passes unmodified requests and responses is usually called a gateway or sometimes a tunneling proxy . A forward proxy is an Internet-facing proxy used to retrieve data from a wide range of sources (in most cases, anywhere on the Internet). A reverse proxy is usually an internal-facing proxy used as a front-end to control and protect access to
5106-413: The web request) receives requests from the anonymizing proxy server and thus does not receive information about the end user's address. The requests are not anonymous to the anonymizing proxy server, however, and so a degree of trust is present between the proxy server and the user. Many proxy servers are funded through a continued advertising link to the user. Access control : Some proxy servers implement
5180-502: Was already used by many web browsers and web servers. In early 1996 developers started to even include unofficial extensions of the HTTP/1.0 protocol (i.e. keep-alive connections, etc.) into their products by using drafts of the upcoming HTTP/1.1 specifications. Since early 1996, major web browsers and web server developers also started to implement new features specified by pre-standard HTTP/1.1 drafts specifications. End-user adoption of
5254-466: Was coined by Ted Nelson in 1965 in the Xanadu Project , which was in turn inspired by Vannevar Bush 's 1930s vision of the microfilm-based information retrieval and management " memex " system described in his 1945 essay " As We May Think ". Tim Berners-Lee and his team at CERN are credited with inventing the original HTTP, along with HTML and the associated technology for a web server and
5328-479: Was constituted with the aim to standardize and expand the protocol with extended operations, extended negotiation, richer meta-information, tied with a security protocol which became more efficient by adding additional methods and header fields . The HTTP WG planned to revise and publish new versions of the protocol as HTTP/1.0 and HTTP/1.1 within 1995, but, because of the many revisions, that timeline lasted much more than one year. The HTTP WG planned also to specify
5402-433: Was released to include all improvements and updates based on previous (obsolete) HTTP/1.1 specifications. Resuming the old 1995 plan of previous HTTP Working Group, in 1997 an HTTP-NG Working Group was formed to develop a new HTTP protocol named HTTP-NG (HTTP New Generation). A few proposals / drafts were produced for the new protocol to use multiplexing of HTTP transactions inside a single TCP/IP connection, but in 1999,
5476-462: Was to greatly speed up web traffic (specially between future web browsers and its servers). SPDY was indeed much faster than HTTP/1.1 in many tests and so it was quickly adopted by Chromium and then by other major web browsers. Some of the ideas about multiplexing HTTP streams over a single TCP/IP connection were taken from various sources, including the work of W3C HTTP-NG Working Group. In January–March 2012, HTTP Working Group (HTTPbis) announced
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