Http multipart request

http-headersmultipart

I have been writing iPhone applications for some time now, sending data to server, receiving data (via HTTP protocol), without thinking too much about it. Mostly I am theoretically familiar with process, but the part I am not so familiar is HTTP multipart request. I know its basic structure, but the core of it eludes me.

It seems that whenever I am sending something different than plain text (like photos, music), I have to use a multipart request. Can someone briefly explain to me why it is used and what are its advantages?

If I use it, why is it better way to send photos that way?

Best Answer

A HTTP multipart request is a HTTP request that HTTP clients construct to send files and data over to a HTTP Server. It is commonly used by browsers and HTTP clients to upload files to the server.

Related Solutions

How to send a header using a HTTP request through a cURL call

man curl:

   -H/--header <header>
          (HTTP)  Extra header to use when getting a web page. You may specify
          any number of extra headers. Note that if you should  add  a  custom
          header that has the same name as one of the internal ones curl would
          use, your externally set header will be used instead of the internal
          one.  This  allows  you  to make even trickier stuff than curl would
          normally do. You should not replace internally set  headers  without
          knowing  perfectly well what you're doing. Remove an internal header
          by giving a replacement without content on the  right  side  of  the
          colon, as in: -H "Host:".

          curl  will  make sure that each header you add/replace get sent with
          the proper end of line marker, you should thus not  add  that  as  a
          part  of the header content: do not add newlines or carriage returns
          they will only mess things up for you.

          See also the -A/--user-agent and -e/--referer options.

          This option can be used multiple times to add/replace/remove  multi-
          ple headers.

Example:

curl --header "X-MyHeader: 123" www.google.com

You can see the request that curl sent by adding the -v option.

Json – the correct JSON content type

For JSON text:

application/json

The MIME media type for JSON text is application/json. The default encoding is UTF-8. ^{(Source: RFC 4627)}

For JSONP (runnable JavaScript) with callback:

application/javascript

Here are some blog posts that were mentioned in the relevant comments:

Best Answer

Related Solutions

How to send a header using a HTTP request through a cURL call

Example:

Json – the correct JSON content type

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