HTTP header
An HTTP header is a named metadata field in an HTTP request or response that conveys information about the message or directs its processing.
Kafka for Architects
A message header is auxiliary metadata attached to a Kafka record independently of its key and value.
- How it is used
- Carries technical context on Kafka messages, particularly producer identification for tracing malformed data.
- How deep it goes
- Defines headers by their place in a message and gives a producer-identification practice, but no header API or format.
- Examples
- Uses an incorrectly formatted message to motivate storing the producing application's identifier in a header.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via producer service code to label messages for source tracing and accountability.
The Design of Web APIs, Second Edition
A response header is a metadata field returned in an HTTP response that conveys protocol, representation, or application information.
- How it is used
- Communicates response metadata while separating it from resource representations and error information carried in the body.
- How deep it goes
- Explains placement, standard-field selection, Location usage, OpenAPI declaration, JSON Schema typing, and compatibility risks.
- Examples
- Uses a product-creation response whose required Location header contains the created product URL and has a string schema.
- What you can do after
- Apply OpenAPI and JSON Schema to describe response headers and choose appropriate locations for output data.
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Spring in Action, Sixth Edition
A response header is an HTTP field carrying metadata from a server response separately from its payload body.
- How it is used
- Uses response headers when a RestTemplate client needs metadata in addition to the returned resource payload.
- How deep it goes
- Explains header access through ResponseEntity and getForEntity(), but does not show server-side header creation.
- Examples
- Demonstrates inspecting the Date header while fetching an ingredient resource.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via RestTemplate to inspect response metadata and retrieve the accompanying payload body.
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Spring Security in Action, Second Edition
An HTTP header is a field in an HTTP request or response that conveys metadata or control information.
- How it is used
- Controls browser acceptance of cross-origin requests through response metadata.
- How deep it goes
- Defines three important CORS headers and demonstrates browser rejection, while deferring detailed header syntax and configuration.
- Examples
- Uses XMLHttpRequest, localhost and 127.0.0.1 origins, a POST endpoint, and a missing-header browser error.
- What you can do after
- Diagnose browser CORS failures by checking whether the response includes an appropriate Access-Control-Allow-Origin header.
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Related concepts
- HTTP responsepart of · An HTTP response is a protocol message sent by a server to a client after an HTTP request, containing status information, headers, and optionally a body.
- CORSused by · Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) is a web standard that uses HTTP headers to let servers specify which origins may access their resources through browsers.
- Accept headerincludes · An Accept header is an HTTP request header that specifies the media types a client can process in the response, optionally indicating preferences.
- Accept-Languageincludes · Accept-Language is an HTTP request header that communicates the natural languages or language variants preferred or accepted by a client.
- payloadcontrasts with · A payload is the data, code, or other material carried by or attached to a message, token, system, or operation.
- FromHeader attributeused by · The FromHeader attribute directs ASP.NET Core model binding to obtain a parameter or property value from an HTTP request header.
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