Technology

HTTP/2 has finally been approved, with integration to follow

HTTPUsers who have been hoping for faster browsing don’t have to turn to their ISP’s for the upgrade. HTTP/2 has been formerly approved after a long time in development, and it promises an increase in performance that has been a long time coming.

The new protocol is based on SPDY, the Google-created communication code which offered the bare bones for what has become HTTP/2. However, the final product came from IETF, a technology working group that put their blood, sweat and tears into this format.

It words by taking one connection and fitting within it several server requests from the primary source. The end-user will notice a reduction in perceived latency and other issues, The result is a boost in browsing speed and function, a more secure way of using the web, and a way paved for new features and capabilities that we have been needing for a long, long time.

While the approval is now official, the use of HTTP/2 is not. It will take quite awhile before it is widely adopted, as protocols are slow to gain steam. This one in particular is replacing what has been the standard core of internet use for years, so the use will be even slower.

If you want an example to put it into perspective, looking at SPDY itself. Developed by Google, the biggest internet tech company in the world, it is used by several browsers (Chrome, FireFox and IE). Yet, in spite of having been used since 2009, it is only supported by a fraction of online services.

That is after six years since launch. Protocol is one area of technology that unfortunately doesn’t move as fast as others, hence some of the serious latency issues creeping up for users across the globe, and of course the privacy and cyber safety problems that have everyone on edge.

We can keep our fingers crossed that this will be integrated faster than that. After all, it is the first major update to online protocol in more than a decade and a half. Surely, people have to jump on board and begin making the necessary changes.

At the very least, a year or two should give enough time to start seeing at least moderate adoption. Depending on how much force is put behind it by its backers, of course.

In the meantime, it is probably going to go through some changes. Maybe they will think twice about axing plans for encryption integration?

Source: HTTP/2

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