This document specifies the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1), an application-level protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. It is a generic, stateless, object-oriented protocol that can be used for various tasks such as name servers and distributed object management systems through extension of its request methods. HTTP has been in use by the World-Wide Web since 1990. This specification defines the protocol referred to as "HTTP/1.1," which includes more stringent requirements than HTTP/1.0 to ensure reliable implementation of its features. The document covers the overall operation of HTTP, including the roles of participants such as clients, servers, proxies, gateways, and tunnels. It describes the use of Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) for identifying resources, and the handling of requests and responses over connections. The document also details the syntax and semantics of various HTTP headers, including content negotiation, caching, and security considerations. Key features of HTTP/1.1 include: - Support for persistent connections. - Extensive use of content negotiation to select appropriate representations. - Support for various character sets and content codings. - Introduction of transfer codings for safe transport of binary data. - Use of Internet Media Types for data typing and type negotiation. - Support for quality values to indicate the relative importance of negotiable parameters. - Language tags for identifying natural languages in HTTP headers. The document also provides detailed specifications for request methods, status codes, and header fields, along with examples and implementation guidelines.This document specifies the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1), an application-level protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. It is a generic, stateless, object-oriented protocol that can be used for various tasks such as name servers and distributed object management systems through extension of its request methods. HTTP has been in use by the World-Wide Web since 1990. This specification defines the protocol referred to as "HTTP/1.1," which includes more stringent requirements than HTTP/1.0 to ensure reliable implementation of its features. The document covers the overall operation of HTTP, including the roles of participants such as clients, servers, proxies, gateways, and tunnels. It describes the use of Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) for identifying resources, and the handling of requests and responses over connections. The document also details the syntax and semantics of various HTTP headers, including content negotiation, caching, and security considerations. Key features of HTTP/1.1 include: - Support for persistent connections. - Extensive use of content negotiation to select appropriate representations. - Support for various character sets and content codings. - Introduction of transfer codings for safe transport of binary data. - Use of Internet Media Types for data typing and type negotiation. - Support for quality values to indicate the relative importance of negotiable parameters. - Language tags for identifying natural languages in HTTP headers. The document also provides detailed specifications for request methods, status codes, and header fields, along with examples and implementation guidelines.