Module
Module 3 of 6Lesson 1 of 2~16 min

Reading a request and its response in the Network tab

Lesson 1 of the module "What the browser and the server say to each other" in the course "Explain how a web product works, from browser to server".

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Lesson objective

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to open your browser's Network tab, read an HTTP request (method, URL, status code, headers, cookies, duration) and draw a first diagnosis to pass on to the team.

Where it fits

What the browser and the server say to each other

What does an HTTP exchange contain, and how does the browser turn the response into a page?

Lessons in this module

  1. Reading a request and its response in the Network tab (this lesson)
  2. From received code to displayed page

What you will learn in the course

This lesson is part of the course Explain how a web product works, from browser to server

  • Describe the steps of a web request, from the typed address to the displayed page (URL, DNS resolution, encrypted connection, HTTP request and response, browser rendering).
  • Read an HTTP exchange in the browser's Network tab (method, URL, status code, headers, cookies, duration) and draw a first diagnosis from it.
  • Explain how responsibilities are split between browser, frontend, backend, API, database and third-party services, and place where a business rule must run.
  • Explain the role of a CDN and of caches (browser, CDN, server) and anticipate their effects on speed, data freshness and releases.
  • Tell apart local, preview, staging and production environments, and say what changes from one to another (configuration, data, secrets).
  • Place a symptom (slowness, blank page, error, stale data) in the right layer and ask the technical team precise questions.
  • Produce the annotated diagram of a request's journey through your own product and have it validated by a developer.

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