HTTP Client · Computer Networks

HTTP Client

CSC-263 · Semester IV · Computer Networks

intermediate30 minAvailable

HTTP Client

Build a raw HTTP request and watch the simulated server answer

HTTP/1.1

Method

Path

Host

Requests you send will appear here, like a real HTTP exchange.

Lab brief

Objective

Construct raw HTTP requests, send them over a TCP connection, and parse the status line, headers and body of the response.

Theory & concepts

An HTTP client is just a TCP client that speaks a text protocol. It opens a connection to port 80 (or 443), writes a request line, headers and an empty line, then reads the response: a status line, headers, an empty line, and a body. Understanding this raw exchange is the foundation of web development.

Rendering diagram…

Raw HTTP request and response exchange

GET / HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Connection: close

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: text/html
Content-Length: 1256

<!DOCTYPE html>...

Prerequisites

Lesson: HTTP and HTTPS
Lesson: Ports and sockets

Instructions

1Select a target host and path, then build a valid HTTP/1.1 GET request.
2Open a TCP connection to port 80 and send the request bytes.
3Read the response and separate the status line, headers and body.
4Interpret the status code and the Content-Length header.
5Repeat with a path that does not exist and compare the 404 response.
6Inspect a response that uses chunked transfer encoding.

Tasks

Send a GET request
Request '/' and display the response status line and headers.
Read the body
Use Content-Length to read exactly the body and print it.
Handle errors
Request a missing path and verify the 404 status line.
Add a header
Add a User-Agent header and confirm the server accepts the request.

Self-check

The request is a valid HTTP/1.1 message with required headers.
The status line and headers are parsed correctly.
The body length matches Content-Length.
The student explains the meaning of at least one 4xx and one 2xx status code.

Environment

consoleHTTP request builderresponse parserstatus code reference