HTTP Developer’s Handbook

Chapter 3. HTTP Transactions

HTTP traffic consists of request and responses. All HTTP traffic can be associated with the task of requesting content or responding to those requests. Every HTTP message sent from a Web browser to a Web server is classified as an HTTP request, whereas every message sent from a Web server to a Web browser is classified as an HTTP response.

HTTP is often referred to as a stateless protocol. Although this is accurate, it does little to explain the nature of the Web. All this means, however, is that each transaction is atomic, and there is nothing required by HTTP that associates one request with another. A transaction refers to a single HTTP request and the corresponding HTTP response. Another fundamental topic related ...