HTTP, the web’s foundational protocol, is changing for the better – and we can thank the advent of HTTP/2, an important breakthrough that, given enough time, will make the internet faster and more efficient in transmitting data.
After two years of intensive deliberation and contemplation, the Internet Engineering Task Form, a standards organization responsible for developing and promoting voluntary Internet standards, has at last approved HTTP/2. This new breakthrough has a pair of specifications that need to be hashed out and broken down into more detail: the new protocol itself, and HPACK, a compression format for efficiently representing HTTP header fields. Future installments will deal with said specifications, but a briefing on each will be covered below.
Binary Formation
According to those experts possessing a deep and fundamental knowledge of this brand new protocol, HTTP/2 will supply a faster UX, making browsing that much more enjoyable, reducing the amount of bandwidth needed, and even making it simpler to secure a connection.
The first and most important way in which HTTP/2 increases speed is by transmitting all data as binary formation instead of the out-dated, primitive 4 message style that HTTP 1.1 employed. Thanks to this capacity to compress the format of a web page’s content, less time is needed for data to be transmitted.
A Faster, Cleaner Data Connection
By employing and utilizing a highly intricate concept known as multiplexing, HTTP/2 allows for a more responsive website – all without even having to hassle with HTTP 1.1 and its “head of line blocking” issue.
Previous versions of HTTP only allowed for one data request to be handled at a time, despite the fact that every single time an individual visited a particular website, he or she started anywhere from four to even eight TCP/IP connections. With the advent of HTTP/2, every single web site only requires a single connection, though it is possible to have multiple data requests be dealt with concurrently. The precise number of parallel streams are determined by the web browser. What results? A fast, clean data connection, operating at optimum speed and efficiency.
In a nutshell, the internet is going to get faster and more secure – given enough time. All these changes take a while before universally accepted. The optimization process won’t happen overnight, and the changes will only be gradual – so it’s not like people are going to wake up one day and notice a connection that is 50 times faster than it was the night prior.
It is projected that the benefits of turning to HTTP/2 will begin to show up around 2016 – at best a year from now, but most probably more. This is understandable; any implementation process in the technology arena doesn’t just go smoothly overnight.