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0 pointsstephen_g11y ago0 comments

Have you read a protocol document before? Before that section there are very standard stuff like framing, protocol identification, how the headers are laid out, etc.

Section 8 is specifically about the semantics of the 'conversation' between the client and the server. It's important to actually know how to form the messages themselves first!

Think of it as if you were writing a specification of the English language. You might think it's all about conversations, but first you need to know what the letters are, how you form them into words, then spelling, grammar, etc.

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barnacs11y ago

What I was trying to imply is: just compare the HTTP/2 spec and the HTTP/1 one.

The HTTP/1 has chapters like Request, Response, Method definitions, Header Field definitions, etc. All things you would expect from an application layer protocol, designed to transfer HTML documents, which made sense at the time.

Now, HTTP/2 pretty much keeps all these things, but most of the spec is about Streams, Multiplexing, Flow Control and such terms. Does that sound like it should be part of an application layer protocol on top of TCP? To me, it definitely does not.

EDIT: And that's not even touching the question whether it makes sense to build on the original HTTP protocol at all given how much the web has changed since its inception.

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