10 min read Intermediate Lesson 3 of 8
Part 1 — The Journey Begins

HTTP, HTTPS & TLS 1.3

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) powers all communication on the World Wide Web. Learn how the web evolved from plaintext HTTP/1.1 to binary multiplexed HTTP/2, encrypted TLS 1.3, and UDP-based HTTP/3 (QUIC).

The Evolution of Web Protocols

HTTP/1.1 (1997)

Plaintext headers, Head-of-Line (HoL) blocking, one request per TCP connection.

HTTP/2 (2015)

Binary frames, multiplexing multiple concurrent streams over a single TCP socket.

HTTP/3 (QUIC) (2022)

Runs over UDP with built-in TLS 1.3 encryption, eliminating TCP packet-loss blocking.

Quick Summary

  • HTTPS encrypts all web payloads using asymmetric public-key cryptography and TLS 1.3.
  • Next, we explore TCP vs UDP Protocols.