Overview
Web developers today benefit from layers upon layers of technologies that they never even have to think about. Nor should they have to regularly think deeply about these things in their day jobs. However, understanding how a web request fundamentally works, from when a user hits “Go” in their browser to when individual electrons stream across the wires, can help one understand how and why the web operates in the nuanced ways that it does. In an approachable and user-friendly way, Chris will introduce and map out the network and electrical engineering that goes into making a single web request work.
Objective
Have audience members walk away with a very basic understanding of network and electrical engineering so that they are informed and can make better decisions about how to develop things on the web.
Target Audience
Web developers, front-end engineers
Assumed Audience Knowledge
General understanding of web requests (i.e. GET vs POST).
Level
Beginner
Five Things Audience Members Will Learn
- How HTTP over TCP works
- How transport compression works
- The Seven Layers of the OSI Model
- Simple digital signal processing
- Basic error detection and correction
