What is an HTTP Client?

An HTTP client is a software application or component that sends HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) requests to web servers in order to request, retrieve, and interact with resources on the World Wide Web. HTTP is the foundation of data communication on the internet, and HTTP clients are essential for web browsing, web services, and various other internet-based activities. Here are the key functions and characteristics of an HTTP client:

1. Requesting Web Resources: HTTP clients are responsible for initiating HTTP requests to web servers. These requests are typically used to retrieve web pages, images, documents, or other resources hosted on web servers.

2. Support for HTTP Methods: HTTP clients support various HTTP methods, including GET (for retrieving data), POST (for submitting data to the server), PUT (for updating resources), DELETE (for removing resources), and more. The choice of method depends on the intended action.

3. Sending and Receiving Data: HTTP clients can send data in the form of request parameters, headers, or a request body. They also receive responses from web servers, which include the requested resource (e.g., HTML content), status codes, and headers.

4. Statelessness: HTTP is a stateless protocol, which means that each HTTP request is independent of previous requests. HTTP clients do not maintain a continuous connection to the server between requests, and each request is self-contained.

5. URL Handling: HTTP clients handle URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) to specify the location and path of the desired web resource. They parse URLs to determine the server address, resource path, query parameters, and other relevant information.

6. Headers: HTTP clients allow the inclusion of HTTP headers in requests to provide additional information to the server or to negotiate certain behaviors. Common headers include "User-Agent" for identifying the client application and "Accept" for specifying the preferred response format.

7. Cookies: HTTP clients can manage cookies, which are used to maintain session state between the client and the server. Cookies are often used for authentication and tracking user sessions.

8. Redirect Handling: HTTP clients can follow HTTP redirects to retrieve the final requested resource, even if it involves multiple redirections.

9. Security: Many HTTP clients support secure communication over HTTPS (HTTP Secure) to encrypt data transmission, ensuring the privacy and integrity of data.

10. Library or Standalone Application: HTTP clients can be implemented as standalone applications or integrated into programming libraries and frameworks. Common programming languages offer libraries for making HTTP requests, such as Python's requests library, Java's HttpURLConnection, or JavaScript's fetch API.

11. Web Browsing: Web browsers, like Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, are essentially sophisticated HTTP clients with user interfaces for navigating the web.

Overall, HTTP clients are fundamental for accessing and interacting with web resources, and they are used in various applications, including web browsers, web services, API integrations, web scraping, and more. They enable the transfer of data and communication between clients and web servers across the internet.

Configuration

• Base Url: The Base Url will be considered the base path of website.

• Headers: The Headers to will be considered default headers for all request.

Functions

Request

• Request Type: The HTTP verb to use when making a request. (GET, POST, etc.…)

• Path: The the path of the url to send request. Relative to the Base Url

• Headers: The headers to send with the request. These will be merged with the default headers.

• Data: JSON data to add to the body of the request.