Hypertext Transfer Protocol
Hypertext Transfer Protocol, or HTTP, is a set of standards used to allow computers to communicate with each other for the purpose of sharing information. HTTP is the standard set of rules used to publish and exchange information on the World Wide Web. This is why "http://" appears at the beginning of Internet addresses.
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Inventor
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HTTP was developed by Oxford University graduate Tim Berners-Lee. He spent several years creating and developing a system by which people could easily organize and share information and knowledge. His first program of the type, called "Enquire," was meant for his own personal use but formed the basis of what ultimately became the World Wide Web.
Versions
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The original version of HTTP was dubbed HTTP/0.9. It was useful only for transferring hypertext documents. After input from several sources, Http/1.0 was developed and accepted as the new web standard in May of 1996. HTTP/1.0 increased the types of data that could be transferred. Further improvements led to HTTP/1.1, which was introduced in January of 1997.
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Security
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As the World Wide Web grows, more and more personal information travels across it. HTTP has adapted to the increased need for security through the development and use of two authentication methods. Basic authentication requires Internet users to enter a user name and password to gain access to and manipulate certain data. Digest authentication works in much the same way as basic but adds some features to make it more difficult for hackers to spy on a user to gather the password information as it is entered.
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References
- Photo Credit www and internet image by mbs from Fotolia.com
