Http, Hypertext Transfer Protocol

HTTP or hypertext transfer protocol is one of the most common ways to transfer information to the internet or an intranet system. It was originally designed to provide users with a way to publish and view hypertext pages on the internet. A client making an HTTP request, such as an Internet Explorer browser or Google search engine spider, is called a user agent. The recipient server is what stores and creates feedback, such as HTML text, images, audio, video and other multimedia content - it is known as the origin server. There may be numerous portals in between the user agent and origin server. This includes gateways, proxies and tunnels. An HTTP client will usually send requests by establishing a TCP connection to a particular port on a host computer. The HTTP server waits on the port in attempt to detect activity. When the opportunity arrives, it sends a request message and the process is initiated.