HTTP request is the way your browser asks a server for information, like when you click on a link or type in a URL. It's basically your browser saying "hey server, can you send me the info for this webpage?" and the server responds with the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript needed to render the page.

How to use it in a sentence

• I was debugging this new feature and realized the HTTP request was returning a 404 error because the endpoint didn't exist yet. Classic case of the frontend team moving faster than the backend team, as usual.

• My manager keeps asking why the page is loading so slowly, and I keep telling him it's because we're sending like 100 HTTP requests on page load instead of bundling them efficiently. But hey, why worry about performance when we can just throw more servers at the problem, right?

If you actually want to learn more...

• Behind the scenes of Vercel's infrastructure: Achieving optimal scalability and performance - This article dives into the nitty gritty of how Vercel handles HTTP requests under the hood to optimize performance. Spoiler alert: it involves a lot of Kubernetes and edge functions.

• Data Fetching Patterns in Single-Page Applications - Leave it to Martin Fowler to write a tome on the various ways you can fetch data in SPAs. This one covers patterns like parallel requests and fallback markup for when your HTTP requests inevitably fail.

• Evolution of HTTP - If you really want to geek out, here's the history of HTTP requests from the OGs at Mozilla. Did you know HTTP/0.9 only supported the GET method? Wild times.

Note: the Developer Dictionary is in Beta. Please direct feedback to skye@statsig.com.