Introduction to Transfer Coding
So far, there has been no indication as to why the website you see may be slow or fast. One of the factors that can be influential in this matter is the transfer of data between the server and the client. In the HTTP protocol, the type and method of transferring data are of great importance. In version 1.1 of this protocol defined in RFC 9112, section 7 is dedicated to the topic of Transfer Codings.
Usage of Transfer Coding
Do you know what transfer codings are used for? To put it simply, these codings are used for compressing and fragmenting data during transfer. This work helps improve efficiency and speed of data transfer, particularly with large files and heavy media.
Why Should We Use Transfer Coding?
You might wonder why we should use these codings, one of the main reasons is to enhance efficiency in data transfer and reduce bandwidth consumption. When the volume of data decreases, downloads are completed faster, and less pressure is placed on the server and network.
Different Types of Transfer Codings
So far, you might have thought about what types of codings exist. HTTP/1.1 specifies characteristics for different types that include chunked coding and compress. Each of these has its own specific use case and can be utilized based on needs and situations.
How Transfer Coding is Implemented in Codes?
GET /resource HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Transfer-Encoding: chunked
4
Wiki
5
pedia
E
in
chunks.
0
The above code indicates an HTTP request with chunked encoding:
GET /resource HTTP/1.1: request for receiving the resource with version 1.1 of the HTTP protocol.
Host: example.com: specifies the host of the request.
Transfer-Encoding: chunked: the type of transfer encoding that is currently chunked.
4: indicates the size of the first chunk, which is 4 bytes.
Wiki: the first chunk of data.
5: indicates the size of the second chunk, which is 5 bytes.
pedia: the second chunk of data.
E: indicates the size of the third chunk which is 14 bytes.
in
chunks.: the third chunk of data.
0: shows the end of the data.