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HTTP Methods: GET vs POST


The two most commonly used HTTP methods are: GET and POST.


What is HTTP?

The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is designed to enable communications between clients and servers.

HTTP works as a request-response protocol between a client and server.

A web browser may be the client, and an application on a computer that hosts a website may be the server.

Example: A client (browser) sends an HTTP request to the server; then the server returns a response to the client. The response contains status information about the request and may also contain the requested content.


Two HTTP Request Methods: GET and POST

When a client and server communicate, the two most commonly used methods are: GET and POST.

GET parameters are typically displayed in the URL, while POST parameters are submitted via a form and are not displayed in the URL. POST is more secure:


GET Method

Note that the query string (name/value pairs) is sent in the URL of a GET request:

Other notes about GET requests:


POST Method

Note that the query string (name/value pairs) is sent in the HTTP message body of a POST request:

Other notes about POST requests:


Comparison between GET and POST

The following table compares the two HTTP methods: GET and POST.

GET POST
Back button/Reload Harmless Data will be re-submitted (the browser should alert the user that data are about to be re-submitted).
Bookmark Can be bookmarked Cannot be bookmarked
Cache Can be cached Cannot be cached
Encoding type application/x-www-form-urlencoded application/x-www-form-urlencoded or multipart/form-data. Use multipart encoding for binary data.
History Parameters remain in browser history. Parameters are not saved in browser history.
Restrictions on data length Yes. When sending data, GET adds data to the URL; the length of a URL is limited (maximum length of URL is 2048 characters). No restrictions.
Restrictions on data type Only ASCII characters allowed. No restrictions. Allows binary data.
Security GET is less secure compared to POST because data sent is part of the URL. <br> <br>Never use GET when sending passwords or other sensitive information! POST is more secure than GET because parameters are not stored in browser history or in web server logs.
Visibility Data is visible to everyone in the URL. Data is not displayed in the URL.

Other HTTP Request Methods

The following table lists some other HTTP request methods:

Method Description
HEAD Same as GET but returns only HTTP headers and no document body.
PUT Uploads a representation of the specified URI.
DELETE Deletes the specified resource.
OPTIONS Returns the HTTP methods that the server supports.
CONNECT Converts the request connection to a transparent TCP/IP tunnel.
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