4.3. Web Browser Interfaces

Perhaps the most in-demand style of interface today is for a browser-accessible Web interface. We'll look at specific technologies for creating a Web-based interface in the next few chapters, but right now we'll lay the foundation by looking at two standards upon which all browser technologies are based: HTTP and HTML.

4.3.1. HTTP: The World Wide Web Protocol

HTTP stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol. Web browsers and Web servers communicate to each other using this protocol. It is usually thought of together with HTML, a standard for marking up documents, which will be covered in the next section. However, HTTP is used today to transfer much more than just simple text documents: video, audio, and all sorts of complex ...

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