Introduction:
HTTP, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol, is a fundamental protocol of the World Wide Web.
It is responsible for transmitting and receiving data across the internet.
The current version of HTTP in widespread use is HTTP/1.1.
However, with the rapid expansion of internet usage, there is a need for faster and more efficient methods of data transfer.
This led to the development of HTTP/2.0 and HTTP/3.0, which are the latest versions of the protocol.
In this blog, we will discuss the differences between HTTP/2.0 and HTTP/3.0.
HTTP/2.0 vs HTTP/1.1
HTTP/2.0 was released in 2015, and it was a significant improvement over the previous version, HTTP/1.1.
One of the most significant improvements was the introduction of multiplexing.
Multiplexing allows multiple requests to be sent and received on a single connection, reducing the number of connections required and increasing the speed of data transfer.
Another improvement of HTTP/2.0 is server push. In HTTP/1.1, the client had to request each resource separately.
In HTTP/2.0, the server can push resources to the client without being requested, which further reduces the number of requests and speeds up the transfer of data.
Additionally, HTTP/2.0 uses binary instead of plain text.
This reduces the amount of data that needs to be transmitted and decreases the likelihood of errors.
However, one downside of HTTP/2.0 is that it requires secure connections, which means that websites must use HTTPS instead of HTTP.
HTTP/3.0 vs HTTP/2.0
HTTP/3.0 is the latest version of the protocol and was released in 2020.
The most significant change in HTTP/3.0 is the switch from TCP to UDP.
UDP, or User Datagram Protocol, is a more lightweight and faster protocol than TCP, which was used in previous versions of HTTP.
By using UDP, HTTP/3.0 can provide faster and more reliable data transfer.
Another improvement of HTTP/3.0 is the introduction of QUIC, or Quick UDP Internet Connections.
QUIC is a transport protocol that is designed to improve the speed and reliability of internet connections.
It uses encryption by default and supports multiplexing and server push, which were introduced in HTTP/2.0.
Moreover, HTTP/3.0 can recover from packet loss more quickly than HTTP/2.0.
In HTTP/2.0, if a packet is lost, the entire sequence of packets must be retransmitted, which can significantly slow down data transfer.
In HTTP/3.0, only the lost packet needs to be retransmitted, which speeds up the recovery process and reduces the impact of packet loss on data transfer.
Conclusion:
HTTP/2.0 and HTTP/3.0 are the latest versions of the HTTP protocol.
HTTP/2.0 was released in 2015 and introduced significant improvements over HTTP/1.1, including multiplexing and server push.
HTTP/3.0, released in 2020, further improves upon these features by switching from TCP to UDP, using QUIC, and providing faster recovery from packet loss.
HTTP/3.0 is currently being adopted by major browsers and websites, and it is expected to become the standard for data transfer on the internet.