Search

Search Tips

HTTP Pocket Reference Hypertext Transfer Protocol

By Clinton Wong
June 2000
Pages: 80
Series: Pocket References
ISBN 10: 1-56592-862-8 | ISBN 13: 9781565928626
(Average of 2 Customer Reviews)

Description

All web programmers, administrators, and application developers need to be familiar with HTTP in order to work effectively. The HTTP Pocket Reference provides a solid conceptual foundation of HTTP, and also serves as a quick reference to each of the headers and status codes that compose an HTTP transaction. For those who need to get "beyond the browser," this book is the place to start.
Full Description

---

---

Featured customer reviews

HTTP Pocket Reference Review,  August 18 2000
Submitted by Donald W. Larson   [Respond | View]

Paperback, First printing, 80 pages
By Clinton Wong
Published by O’Reilly & Associates, Inc.
Copyright © 2000
ISBN: I-56592-862-8

Review written: August 18, 2000
By Donald W. Larson
Email: dwlarson@sd.znet.com
Web Site: http://www.sandiegodon.com/
Book reviews: http://sd.znet.com/~dwlarson/bookReviews.html

The Internet is in full swing, more and more people are starting to create content for the web using some of the new HTML (HyperText Markup Language) tools available. For those that want to understand what goes on underneath the hood, this book is an excellent reference.

Underneath the hood in this case refers to how the browser sends and receives information to a HTTP (HyperText Transport Protocol) server where the content is primarily managed. For anyone wanting to understand the communications of the messages between the browser and the server, one must understand the protocols underlying the communication process. Typically, system administrators, web site developers, and software engineers need to know this topic very well.

Essentially this book delves into great detail surrounding the basic message transactions: Requests, Responses, and the Parsing of those categories. Static web pages (files, usually ending in .html), web forms, and cgi functionality rely on the proper sequence of commands being issued and understood between the browser and server. The book explains every command and response/ error code that is exchanged in the dialog (headers) comprising the transactions. As such, the book also serves as a handy encyclopedia of terms and definitions concerning HTTP.

Portions of the book explains some of the differences between browsers and the evolving versions of the HTTP Standard, cookies, MIME, authorizations, persistent connections, and client (browser) caching of information. There are certain caveats in these implementations and the book helps point some of them out.

I would like to suggest that for the Second printing, that an index is added to the book. There are a number of places where information should be easily cross-referenced so adding an index is a requirement, in my humble opinion.

Rating: 8 out of 10
This rating is my own personal value system and as such is very subjective. I think a rating of 5 means I would read finish reading a book. A rating of 10 would indicate I had trouble putting a book down and have no complaints at all about it.



HTTP Pocket Reference Review,  August 10 2000
Submitted by Waliullah Memon   [Respond | View]

I am very new to server side programming.Didn't know much about HTTP before .This Small pocket refrence has really taught me a lot about this protocol.

Read all reviews

---

Media reviews
"[Consumers] will find the fine 'pocket references' produced by O'Reilly to be compact and affordable."
-- James Cox, The Computer Shelf: Midwest Book Review

"All of us use HTTP via our browsers on a daily basis, but likely it's rare that we interact with it on a more personal nature. What our browsers hide, the 'HTTP Pocket Reference' reveals to those looking for a little bit more depth to their relationship with this well-used protocol...If you're looking for something to help you out when you want to debug server problems by talking to your server via telnet on port 80, or if you're just curious about what's going on behind the scenes of your browser then this book will be very helpful. It provides coverage that will help you become familiar enough with the protocol without having to wade through the depth of the related RFCs. Overall rating: 9/10 "
--Dan Hanks, Provo LUG, July 2002

"For those that want to understand what goes on underneath the hood, this book is an excellent reference."
--Doug Larson, San Diego Mac Users Group, August 2001

"For such a thin book, it manages to cram technical facts, dumps of HTTP transactions, many diagrams and tables within only 80 pages...This book is the perfect starting point for the curious and uninitiated web surfers who want to deepen their knowledge of how it all works. For the technical professional, this will serve as the quick reference guide to server response codes, HTTP headers, character encoding, and Internet MIME types."
--Andrew Ford, Apache Week

Read all reviews

• 
  

---

• Table of Contents
• Register Your Book
• View/Submit Errata
• View/Submit Review