Introduction
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the foundational protocol used for communication between web browsers and servers as it’s essentially what makes the World Wide Web work.
The Birth of HTTP
HTTP was born in 1989 when Tim Berners-Lee proposed a system for sharing hypertext documents over the internet. By 1990 he developed four foundational components with one of them being HTTP. The first version of HTTP (HTTP/0.9) was superbly simple, using a single GET request to retrieve plain HTML files.
Growth and Standardization of HTTP
As the web rapidly began to expand in the 1990s, HTTP evolved from simple one-line protocol into a standardized framwork for global communication. HTTP's transformation from a basic documment fetcher into a heavily sophisticated transport system powering the digital world.
Modern HTTP/2 & HTTP/3
HTTP/2 & HTTP/3 focused on speed, security, and multiplexing, being able to adapt to the demands of modern applications and high-traffic environments.
The Evolution Table of HTTP Versions
| Version | Year | Significant Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| HTTP/0.9 | 1991 | Basic text and hyperlinks |
| HTTP/1.0 | 1991 | Simple GET requests, plain HTML only |
| HTTP/1.0 | 1996 | Headers, status codes, POST method |
| HTTP/1.1 | 1997 | Persistent connections, aching, pipelining |
| HTTP/2 | 2015 | Multiplexing, header compression, server push |
| HTTP/3 | 2022 | Built on QUIC (UDP), faster and more secure |
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Key Takeaways
- HTTP first had its origins as a simple one-line protocol only supporteing the GET method & was just enough to serve basic hypertext pages in a semitrusted lab environment
- As the age of the internet progressed so did new versions of HTTP in order to adapt to each new change.
- HTTP/2 is the most used version today and is often paired with HTTP/3 in modern deployments.