🔍 Understanding HTTP Headers

HTTP headers are key-value pairs that provide metadata about the request and response. Common headers include:

  • Content-Type: Specifies the media type of the resource (e.g., application/json)
  • Cache-Control: Directs caching mechanisms (e.g., max-age=3600)
  • Authorization: Contains credentials for authentication (e.g., Bearer <token>)
HTTP_Header_Structure

📊 HTTP Status Codes

Status codes indicate the outcome of a request. Key categories:

  • 1xx (Informational): 100 Continue
  • 2xx (Success): 200 OK, 201 Created
  • 3xx (Redirection): 301 Moved Permanently, 302 Found
  • 4xx (Client Error): 404 Not Found, 400 Bad Request
  • 5xx (Server Error): 500 Internal Server Error
HTTP_Status_Codes

📦 Caching Mechanisms

Optimize performance with caching strategies:

  • Use ETag and Last-Modified for conditional requests
  • Leverage Cache-Control directives like public, private, and no-cache
  • Implement Vary header to handle content variations
Cache_Mechanism

🔒 Security Best Practices

Enhance server security by:

  • Enabling HTTPS with valid SSL certificates
  • Configuring Content-Security-Policy to restrict resource loading
  • Using Strict-Transport-Security for HSTS enforcement
  • Validating and sanitizing all user inputs
Security_Best_Practices

For deeper insights into HTTP headers, visit Documentation/en/Full/HTTP_Header.