Table of Contents
What is HTTP?
HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) this protocol is used to connect to web servers on the Internet or on a local area network (intranet). It was created by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN in 1989 and has been improved over the years to keep up with the ever-evolving World Wide Web. The primary function of HTTP is to connect to the server and send HTML pages to the user’s browser. It is also used to download data from the server to the browser or any requesting application using HTTP. Each new version of the protocol offers features that improve web performance, usability, and security.
HTTP Versions
HTTP/0.9
The initial version of HTTP, had a single method (GET).HTTP/0.9 was developed by Tim Berners-Lee at European Organization for Nuclear Research in 1989.
HTTP/1.0
The first official spec of HTTP came out in 1996 HTTP/1.0.HTTP/1.0 allows an open-ended set of methods to be used to indicate the purpose of a request.
HTTP/1.1
HTTP 1.1 was a proper standardization of HTTP.HTTP 1.1 provides faster delivery of Web pages than the original HTTP and reduces Web traffic.HTTP/1.1 enables browsers to send several HTTP requests to the server on a single TCP connection.
HTTP/2
Officially standardized in May 2015, the new HTTP/2 protocol is faster than HTTP/1.1 and only works over HTTPS. HTTP 2 uses TCP as its main protocol for communication. With HTTP/2, multiple requests and responses can be transmitted over the same connection simultaneously.
What is HTTP/3?
HTTP/3 is the newest iteration of the HTTP protocol that improves web security and performance. In May 2022 the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) published the new hypertext transfer protocol standard HTTP/3.HTTP/3 promises to make Internet connections faster, more reliable, and more secure. The most important new feature of the third edition of HTTP is the exclusive use of HTTPS URLs.
Any older, unsecured URL is marked as not secure or not encrypted. The main difference with HTTP/3 is that it runs on QUIC, a new transport protocol. QUIC was developed for mobile Internet use. Which people will carry smartphones with them, It will switch between different networks. In daily life When the Internet Protocol was first developed This is not the case: less mobile devices and not changing networks much.
Why you should upgrade to HTTP/3
- Nearly 19% of the worldwide websites support HTTP/3 today.
- HTTP/3 is the 0-RTT resumption, which drastically improves connectivity speed and reduces latency.
- HTTP/3 is the 0-RTT resumption, which drastically improves connectivity speed and reduces latency.
- Especially for mobile phone users, HTTP/3 should enable more comfortable surfing on a more stable, more flexible, and faster connection.
- Better transmission speed, shorter loading times, and a more stable connection.
- Faster connection establishment, HTTP/3 does not use introductory handshakes to check the security of a connection.
- HTTP/3 is no longer bound to IP addresses for a successful download, but uses individual connection IDs, which enable constant downloading even when changing networks.
- HTTP/3 has a much quicker handshake to establish a secure session compared to HTTP/2 which achieves this using TCP and TLS.
- HTTP/3 is based on QUIC as a transport layer to handle streams.
- Switching between networks has little to no effect on speed; with QUIC, that handover or renegotiate process is no longer necessary.
Conclusion
Across the HTTP versions protocols,HTTP/3 will soon become the standard protocol and the version has already seen a huge roll into browsers.HTTP/3 offers performance improvements, especially in the case of non-optimal network conditions. Users of Google Chrome, or the open-source Chromium browser, are already set for using HTTP/3. If you’re planning to implement HTTP/3 or have any queries, feel free to contact imagino.