Speed Web delivery with HTTP compression

HTTP compression, a recommendation of the HTTP 1.1 protocol specification for improved page download time, requires a compression feature implemented at the Web server and a decompression feature implemented at the browser. While popular browsers were able to receive the compressed data as early as three years ago, Web servers were not ready to deliver compressed content. The situation is changing, though, as server compression modules are introduced. This article dissects Web compression, examines the benefits of HTTP compression, offers several compression tools, and highlights the effectiveness of the technology in a case study.