Application engines are responsible for proceeding data transformation and manipulation in varying ways. HTTP Request’s request engine does that too, with a narrow requirements list than compared to large enterprise applications. Complicated engines, like those in web server software, are built to handle data dynamically. Here, the engine operates statically; all processing inputs are provided by the GUI and controlled by the app owner.

The engine considers the inputs and the method choice flips the engine’s call switch. After the switch, the calling client assigns a response (See Behind the Scenes for more information).

switch (RequestMethod)
{
    case "DELETE":...
    case null:
    case "":
    case "GET":
        {//Send request
            HttpResponseMessage response = await client.GetAsync(client.BaseAddress);
            ...
        }
    case "HEAD":...
    case "OPTIONS":...
    case "PATCH":...
    case "POST":...
    case "PUT":...
    default:...
}

Above, a switch used in the working application includes a simplified block demonstration. The application code is not open source.

Security in HTTP Request

The web works on the OSI seven layers model. Browsers utilize this concept and implement data security using HTTPS protocol. Web data is pieced into packets at the server and recreated for the browser after transmission. Layer six is where encryption takes place.

OSI Layers

  1. Physical
  2. Data Link
  3. Network
  4. Transport
  5. Session
  6. Presentation
  7. Application

HTTPS data keeps safe by using a public certificate provided in the server TLS handshake. The request engine is not changing or monitoring that process. Instead, it behaves more like a browser, utilizing the server’s public certificate to decrypt data for assembly in the presentation layer. Packet inspection traces of HTTP Request, inspected using Wireshark, reveal the encryption certificate itself is encrypted as application data. The request engine is application layer source code, utilizing the remaining layers as supportive infrastructure.

Trace layers

  1. Wire
  2. Ethernet
  3. Internet Protocol
  4. Transmission Control Protocol
  5. Transport Layer Security
  6. Application Data (HTTP, HTTP/2) <– HTTP Request is here –>