HTTP Pocket Reference

by Clinton Wong

Book Overview

The HyperText Transfer Protocol, or HTTP, is the backbone of the World Wide Web. HTTP is the language that each web browser (or other web client) uses to communicate with servers around the world. All web programmers, administrators, and application developers need to be familiar with HTTP in order to work effectively. The HTTP Pocket Reference not only provides a solid conceptual foundation of HTTP, it also serves as a quick reference to each...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1565928628
• ISBN13: 9781565928626
• Release Date: July 2000
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media
• Length: 80 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 4.3" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

make your own Web server

Based on this book I wrote my own version of web server in C. The book gives great insight into the mechanisms on which the Web works and is a valuable tool for anyone trying to do web traffic management or a small embedded web server. Plus nothing is more 1337 than to telnet into a port 80 and surf with self written HTTP headers

Invaluable vade mecum

This is a nearly perfect book both for learning HTTP and for an HTTP reference. HTTP is a small, simple protocol, and this is reflected in this book's small size. Great sequence diagrams illustrate the basic HTTP transaction which is detailed in less than ten small pages. And you will probably soon find yourself with several post-it bookmarks or dog-eared pages.The book could use an explanation of HTTP proxies and gateways and a list of common user-agents. But any more and it would be too long.

I didn't realise I needed it!

If you develop your own web applications then this book is invaluable! You don't realise that you need it until you know what's in it. An overview of HTTP headers, client methods and server response codes along with URL character and media type tables makes for a great pocket reference!The O'Reilly pocket references are so concise that they are not really meant for someone who is totally new to the subject. They can however be the ideal way to provide an overview to anyone who wants to know the basics of the topic.

The best book for HTTP

I bought two books on HTTP. This one and a very forgetable doorstop of a book. This was by far my favorite. It is only about 70 pages or so, but contains everything I need. I wish I could say this about every book I buy.If you are planning to work with Java Servlets or CGI, you should get this book.

Excellent Book on the Hypertext Transfer Protocol

The author, Clinton Wong, does an great job of covering HTTP. He points out the differences between HTTP 1.0 and HTTP 1.1 in an excellent manner. This books covers the following topics:What is HTTP? -- HTTP Transactions -- Client Methods -- Server Response Codes -- Headers -- URL Encoding -- Client and Server Identification -- Referring Documents -- Retrieving Content -- Media Types -- Cookies -- Authorization -- Persistent Connections -- Client CachingThis is a SMALL book. "HTTP Pamphlet" would be a better description. As a "Pocket Reference", trust me, it will definitely fit in your pocket. However, the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) probably doesn't need more than the 75 pages it is given (after all, it is a pocket reference).I'm not sure the (price) cover price is right. There are best selling noves 5 times this size that only cost (price). However, technical books, especially computer/programming/networking ones always seem to cost more.