The World Wide Web Consortium has published working drafts of its next-generation hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP-NG). The draft specification is the work of a group which believes the current HTTP/1.x approach to web protocol design can be usefully replaced by a set of layers. This layered approach should make it easier to build web applications and improve performance. The HTTP-NG group set out its long- and short-term goals in March. Long-term goals include making the new protocol interoperable with existing HTTP-based systems, while at the same time making a compelling case for users to migrate to the new system. The release of working drafts fulfills the short-term goals. The drafts describe the three layers of HTTP-NG: SMUX (pronounced ess-mucks), designed to make HTTP run smoothly over TCP/IP; Binary Wire Protocol, which specifies how bytes of information should be put into packets for transport; and the Web Interface Specification, which describes how computers should respond to a click on a hyperlink, for example. An Architectural Model Specification shows how these three layers should fit together. HTTP-NG will now be handed over to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) for review at its August meeting in Chicago.
