Beyond HTTP and HTML

The basic architecture for Web systems includes a client browser, a Web server, and a connecting network. The principal protocol for communication is the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP). The principal language for expressing the content between the client and the server is the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). For many Web applications, these are enough on which to base a robust and sophisticated Web application. Internet applications especially benefit from this simplicity, since requiring sophisticated software and high-speed connections on clients is not always possible.

With the recent successes of Web applications, more and more architects are choosing this architecture for their next generations of systems. The significant advantages of easy deployment and minimal client configuration are well suited to organizations that maintain a varied array of computer types and models. This increased use of the Web as an architectural platform, however, has stretched the limits of the ability for HTTP and HTML to deliver the functionality required in relatively sophisticated software systems. This chapter discusses the limitations and extensions to these two principal elements of Web applications: HTTP and HTML.