Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web and and now, after 16 years, it's finally getting an update with new entry of its next version called HTTP/2.
The new standard was finally finished earlier on 18th Feb.'15, according to a blog post by Mark Nottingham, the chair of the IETF HTTP Working Group. It will now simply pass on through some editorial stages before being published as a new standard to be used in browsers and web services everywhere.
When published, HTTP/2 will be the first update to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol since 1999, when HTTP 1.1 was adopted. The new version will bring some quintessential benefits to the web such as - faster page loads, ensure connections last longer and facilitate servers to push data to your cache, so your computer doesn't have to pull it at a later date. The first documented version of HTTP was HTTP V0.9 in 1991.
The new HTTP/2 version will also overcome one headache that developers have long complaint about. Currently, multiple HTTP requests bog servers down, actually preventing pages loads in the process; the new standard will allow multiplexing, so that multiple requests can be delivered on simultaneously. It will also play nicely with APIs, offer more scope for better encryption, and plenty more to boot.
With this news, Google recently announced that it will switch to HTTP/2 as soon as possible to speed up browsing in Chrome and others will follow swiftly. Developers interested in playing around with HTTP/2 can do so now.
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