HTTP/2: The Next Generation of the Web Protocol

HTTP/2: The Next Generation of the Web Protocol

Introduction

HTTP/2, the second major version of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), was published in May 2015 as RFC 7540. It is the result of a collaborative effort between the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the HTTP Working Group, aiming to improve the performance and efficiency of web communication. HTTP/2 builds upon the success of its predecessor, HTTP/1.1, which has been the standard for web communication since 1997.

Background

The need for HTTP/2 emerged due to the limitations of HTTP/1.1 in handling the increasing complexity and demands of modern web applications. HTTP/1.1 suffers from several issues, such as head-of-line blocking, limited parallelism, and lack of server push capabilities, which hinder its performance and scalability. To address these limitations, HTTP/2 introduces a range of new features and improvements.

Key Features of HTTP/2

1. Multip