How does the Web work?

In a nutshell, HTTP is an asymmetric request-response client-server protocol. An HTTP client sends a request message to an HTTP server. The server, in turn, returns a response message. In other words, HTTP is a pull protocol in which the client pulls information from the server (as opposed to a push protocol in which the server pushes information down to the client). Take a look at the following image:

How does the Web work?

HTTP is based on TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), which provides the tools for a reliable communication exchange.

An important feature of the HTTP protocol is that it's stateless. This means that the ...

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