1. HTTP: The Web's Foundation

   1. Chapter 1 Overview of HTTP

      1. HTTP: The Internet's Multimedia Courier
      2. Web Clients and Servers
      3. Resources
      4. Transactions
      5. Messages
      6. Connections
      7. Protocol Versions
      8. Architectural Components of the Web
      9. The End of the Beginning
      10. For More Information

   2. Chapter 2 URLs and Resources

      1. Navigating the Internet's Resources
      2. URL Syntax
      3. URL Shortcuts
      4. Shady Characters
      5. A Sea of Schemes
      6. The Future
      7. For More Information

   3. Chapter 3 HTTP Messages

      1. The Flow of Messages
      2. The Parts of a Message
      3. Methods
      4. Status Codes
      5. Headers
      6. For More Information

   4. Chapter 4 Connection Management

      1. TCP Connections
      2. TCP Performance Considerations
      3. HTTP Connection Handling
      4. Parallel Connections
      5. Persistent Connections
      6. Pipelined Connections
      7. The Mysteries of Connection Close
      8. For More Information

2. HTTP Architecture

   1. Chapter 5 Web Servers

      1. Web Servers Come in All Shapes and Sizes
      2. A Minimal Perl Web Server
      3. What Real Web Servers Do
      4. Step 1: Accepting Client Connections
      5. Step 2: Receiving Request Messages
      6. Step 3: Processing Requests
      7. Step 4: Mapping and Accessing Resources
      8. Step 5: Building Responses
      9. Step 6: Sending Responses
      10. Step 7: Logging
      11. For More Information

   2. Chapter 6 Proxies

      1. Web Intermediaries
      2. Why Use Proxies?
      3. Where Do Proxies Go?
      4. Client Proxy Settings
      5. Tricky Things About Proxy Requests
      6. Tracing Messages
      7. Proxy Authentication
      8. Proxy Interoperation
      9. For More Information

   3. Chapter 7 Caching

      1. Redundant Data Transfers
      2. Bandwidth Bottlenecks
      3. Flash Crowds
      4. Distance Delays
      5. Hits and Misses
      6. Cache Topologies
      7. Cache Processing Steps
      8. Keeping Copies Fresh
      9. Controlling Cachability
      10. Setting Cache Controls
      11. Detailed Algorithms
      12. Caches and Advertising
      13. For More Information

   4. Chapter 8 Integration Points: Gateways, Tunnels, and Relays

      1. Gateways
      2. Protocol Gateways
      3. Resource Gateways
      4. Application Interfaces and Web Services
      5. Tunnels
      6. Relays
      7. For More Information

   5. Chapter 9 Web Robots

      1. Crawlers and Crawling
      2. Robotic HTTP
      3. Misbehaving Robots
      4. Excluding Robots
      5. Robot Etiquette
      6. Search Engines
      7. For More Information

   6. Chapter 10 HTTP-NG

      1. HTTP's Growing Pains
      2. HTTP-NG Activity
      3. Modularize and Enhance
      4. Distributed Objects
      5. Layer 1: Messaging
      6. Layer 2: Remote Invocation
      7. Layer 3: Web Application
      8. WebMUX
      9. Binary Wire Protocol
      10. Current Status
      11. For More Information

3. Identification, Authorization, and Security

   1. Chapter 11 Client Identification and Cookies

      1. The Personal Touch
      2. HTTP Headers
      3. Client IP Address
      4. User Login
      5. Fat URLs
      6. Cookies
      7. For More Information

   2. Chapter 12 Basic Authentication

      1. Authentication
      2. Basic Authentication
      3. The Security Flaws of Basic Authentication
      4. For More Information

   3. Chapter 13 Digest Authentication

      1. The Improvements of Digest Authentication
      2. Digest Calculations
      3. Quality of Protection Enhancements
      4. Practical Considerations
      5. Security Considerations
      6. For More Information

   4. Chapter 14 Secure HTTP

      1. Making HTTP Safe
      2. Digital Cryptography
      3. Symmetric-Key Cryptography
      4. Public-Key Cryptography
      5. Digital Signatures
      6. Digital Certificates
      7. HTTPS: The Details
      8. A Real HTTPS Client
      9. Tunneling Secure Traffic Through Proxies
      10. For More Information

4. Entities, Encodings, and Internationalization

   1. Chapter 15 Entities and Encodings

      1. Messages Are Crates, Entities Are Cargo
      2. Content-Length: The Entity's Size
      3. Entity Digests
      4. Media Type and Charset
      5. Content Encoding
      6. Transfer Encoding and Chunked Encoding
      7. Time-Varying Instances
      8. Validators and Freshness
      9. Range Requests
      10. Delta Encoding
      11. For More Information

   2. Chapter 16 Internationalization

      1. HTTP Support for International Content
      2. Character Sets and HTTP
      3. Multilingual Character Encoding Primer
      4. Language Tags and HTTP
      5. Internationalized URIs
      6. Other Considerations
      7. For More Information

   3. Chapter 17 Content Negotiation and Transcoding

      1. Content-Negotiation Techniques
      2. Client-Driven Negotiation
      3. Server-Driven Negotiation
      4. Transparent Negotiation
      5. Transcoding
      6. Next Steps
      7. For More Information

5. Content Publishing and Distribution

   1. Chapter 18 Web Hosting

      1. Hosting Services
      2. Virtual Hosting
      3. Making Web Sites Reliable
      4. Making Web Sites Fast
      5. For More Information

   2. Chapter 19 Publishing Systems

      1. FrontPage Server Extensions for Publishing Support
      2. WebDAV and Collaborative Authoring
      3. For More Information

   3. Chapter 20 Redirection and Load Balancing

      1. Why Redirect?
      2. Where to Redirect
      3. Overview of Redirection Protocols
      4. General Redirection Methods
      5. Proxy Redirection Methods
      6. Cache Redirection Methods
      7. Internet Cache Protocol
      8. Cache Array Routing Protocol
      9. Hyper Text Caching Protocol
      10. For More Information

   4. Chapter 21 Logging and Usage Tracking

      1. What to Log?
      2. Log Formats
      3. Hit Metering
      4. A Word on Privacy
      5. For More Information

6. Appendixes

   1. Appendix A URI Schemes

   2. Appendix B HTTP Status Codes

      1. Status Code Classifications
      2. Status Codes

   3. Appendix C HTTP Header Reference

   4. Appendix D MIME Types

      1. Background
      2. MIME Type Structure
      3. MIME Type IANA Registration
      4. MIME Type Tables

   5. Appendix E Base-64 Encoding

      1. Base-64 Encoding Makes Binary Data Safe
      2. Eight Bits to Six Bits
      3. Base-64 Padding
      4. Perl Implementation
      5. For More Information

   6. Appendix F Digest Authentication

      1. Digest WWW-Authenticate Directives
      2. Digest Authorization Directives
      3. Digest Authentication-Info Directives
      4. Reference Code

   7. Appendix G Language Tags

      1. First Subtag Rules
      2. Second Subtag Rules
      3. IANA-Registered Language Tags
      4. ISO 639 Language Codes
      5. ISO 3166 Country Codes
      6. Language Administrative Organizations

   8. Appendix H MIME Charset Registry

      1. MIME Charset Registry
      2. Preferred MIME Names
      3. Registered Charsets

1. Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animal on the cover of HTTP: The Definitive Guide is a thirteen-lined ground squirrel (Spermophilus tridecemlineatus), common to central North America. True to its name, the thirteen-lined ground squirrel has thirteen stripes with rows of light spots that run the length of its back. Its color pattern blends into its surroundings, protecting it from predators. Thirteen-lined ground squirrels are members of the squirrel family, which includes chipmunks, ground squirrels, tree squirrels, prairie dogs, and woodchucks. They are similar in size to the eastern chipmunk but smaller than the common gray squirrel, averaging about 11 inches in length (including a 5-6 inch tail).

Thirteen-lined ground squirrels go into hibernation in October and emerge in late March or early April. Each female usually produces one litter of 7-10 young each May. The young leave the burrows at four to five weeks of age and are fully grown at six weeks. Ground squirrels prefer open areas with short grass and well-drained sandy or loamy soils for burrows, and they avoid wooded areas--mowed lawns, golf courses, and parks are common habitats.

Ground squirrels can cause problems when they create burrows, dig up newly planted seeds, and damage vegetable gardens. However, they are important prey to several predators, including badgers, coyotes, hawks, weasels, and various snakes, and they benefit humans directly by feeding on many harmful weeds, weed seeds, and insects. Rachel Wheeler was the production editor and copyeditor for HTTP: The Definitive Guide. Leanne Soylemez, Sarah Sherman, and Mary Anne Weeks Mayo provided quality control, and DerekDi Matteo and Brian Sawyer provided production assistance. John Bickelhaupt wrote the index.

Ellie Volckhausen designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is an original illustration created by Lorrie LeJeune. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

David Futato and Melanie Wang designed the interior layout, based on a seriesdesign by David Futato. Joe Wizda prepared the files for production in FrameMaker 5.5.6. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the bookwere produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand 9 and Adobe Photoshop 6. This colophon was written by Rachel Wheeler.