The HyperText Transfer Protocol (
HTTP
) is the underlying network
protocol
that enables transfer of hypermedia documents on the
Web
, typically between a browser and a server so that humans can read them. The current version of the HTTP specification is called
HTTP/2
.
As part of a
URI
, the "http" within "
http://example.com/
" is called a "scheme". Resources using the "http" schema are typically transported over unencrypted connections using the HTTP protocol. The "https" scheme (as in "
https://developer.mozilla.org
") indicates that a resource is transported using the HTTP protocol, but over a secure
TLS
channel.
HTTP is textual (all communication is done in plain text) and stateless (no communication is aware of previous communications). This property makes it ideal for humans to read documents (websites) on the world wide web. However, HTTP can also be used as a basis for
REST
web services from server to server or
fetch()
requests within websites to make them more dynamic.