HTTP: what your browser asks a server to do

The request and the response

HTTP defines messages exchanged between a client and a server. A request identifies a resource and an operation; the response supplies a status, headers and usually a body. A browser typically makes several requests to assemble one page, including its styles, scripts and images.

A successful HTTP response means the server delivered a response under the protocol. It does not establish that a displayed token price is current, that a claim is true or that an operation settled onchain. Those are application and evidence questions.

State exists above the protocol

HTTP is stateless, but an application can recognise later requests through cookies and other identifiers. Proxies and caches may sit between the browser and the origin server. A stale script and a fresh page can therefore coexist during a broken deployment.

For research, keep the requested URL, response time and relevant headers with the content. An error page, a cached result and an authenticated account response are different observations. Follow cookies and frontend dependencies to see how an ordinary web service sits around a blockchain application.

Fonti e originali

• MDN: Overview of HTTP