HTTP

In HTTP/1.0 and since, the first line of the HTTP response is called the status line and includes a numeric status code (such as "404") and a textual reason phrase (such as "Not Found"). The way the user agent handles the response primarily depends on the code and secondarily on the response headers. Custom status codes can be used since, if the user agent encounters a code it does not recognize, it can use the first digit of the code to determine the general class of the response.

URLs are how you identify the things that you want to operate on. We say that each URL identifies a resource. These are exactly the same URLs which are assigned to web pages. In fact, a web page is a type of resource.

HTTP is a stateless protocol. A stateless protocol does not require the server to retain information or status about each user for the duration of multiple requests. For example, when a web server is required to customize the content of a web page for a user, the web application may have to track the user's progress from page to page. A common solution is the use of HTTP cookies. Other methods include server side sessions, hidden variables (when the current page is a form), and URL-rewriting using URI-encoded parameters, e.g., /index.php?session_id=some_unique_session_code.