Ruby On Rails (A Railsy Web Refresher) : Find a new video resource or blog post that explains HTTP requests

[XAJX179]

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• This is not a duplicate of an existing issue (please have a look through our open issues list to make sure)
• I have thoroughly read and understand The Odin Project Contributing Guide
• Would you like to work on this issue?

Describe your suggestion

• Find a new video resource or blog post that explains HTTP requests in a manner that's relevant for what ROR learners will be working with on their first apps (ie. focused on HTML responses, with maybe a cursory mention to JSON, images, and so on).

this is a follow up to #30208

Path

Ruby / Rails

Lesson Url

https://www.theodinproject.com/lessons/ruby-on-rails-a-railsy-web-refresher#http

(Optional) Discord Name

X AJ X

(Optional) Additional Comments

No response

[scriabin-enjoyer]

Here are some video resources that I think are quite helpful. They are introductory, but each is quite involved.

I am quite partial to Hussein Nasser's videos on YT. This video in particular I think is quite good, but very long-winded. It is ~40min. He covers all the basics, gives a little demo in chrome dev tools, briefly mentions TLS, and then gives a broad overview of HTTP 1, 1.1, 2, and 3. His tone is quite informal. Additionally, he tangentially mentions several other networking concepts that may be somewhat irrelevant to HTTP (lower level OSI stuff).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OrmKCB0UrQ

There is also this video by the legend Jim Kurose, from a series of companion lectures to the networking book that he's co-authored. It's shorter than Hussein Nasser's video at ~20min, but actually a bit more rigorous (but still high-level). Goes over the basics: persistent/non-persistent connections, requests (with example), responses (with example), basic verbs and status codes, and a final section on cookies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9GEPaQ1lFs

Lastly, there is this YT video by the Chrome for Developers channel which is basically a tutorial on how to use the Network tab in chrome dev tools. It is ~ 10 min. It doesn't explain any networking concepts, rather, it shows one how to use the network tab to inspect information about the HTTP lifecycle from page request to delivery, the resources delivered, and request/response header information for each resource. It does assume knowledge of HTTP already, but presumably learners will have just read the code.tutsplus.com article on HTTP which is a pretty good reference. It will also allow learners to get a more hands-on feel for HTTP as they can inspect what actually happens with actual requests. It's also more in the spirit of the original video, which also used chrome dev tools to inspect the network activity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1gAyQuIFQo

[wise-king-sullyman]

Thank you to those involved so far!

@TheOdinProject/rails-path would love some thoughts on those proposed resources ^

[scriabin-enjoyer]

It should be noted that for the last video I suggested, the chrome devtools network tab overview, was made 6 years ago. The devtools UI in the video has changed much since then, however, with some poking around, it is possible to find the relevant features in the current UI layout. Additionally, the video instructs watchers to follow along with an example site that was previously hosted at devtools.glitch.me, which no longer exists. Of course people can follow along with any website.

[Nayab-Gauhar]

Hi! I'd like to work on this issue for Hacktoberfest. I've reviewed the excellent video suggestions by @scriabin-enjoyer. Based on the requirements for ROR learners working on their first apps, I think the Chrome DevTools network tab video combined with Hussein Nasser's overview would work well. However, since the Chrome DevTools video is outdated (6 years old with broken demo site), I can also research and propose an updated tutorial or create a brief supplementary guide. I'm happy to help finalize the resource selection and implement the changes once the Rails team provides their input. Could you please assign this to me? Thanks!

[CouchofTomato]

@scriabin-enjoyer Was this an issue you were hoping to work on? I quite like the first video you mentioned. Although 40 minutes it does cover things well.

[scriabin-enjoyer]

@CouchofTomato Hi, sorry for the late reply. Since @Nayab-Gauhar has indicated that they would like to work on this issue, I would like to let them work on it.

Just additional thought after re-reading the entire lesson:

Considering the length of the lesson and the fact that the intent of the lesson is to give a very broad overview of the things that the rails course will cover, I'm not sure making readers watch a 40 minute video on HTTP is appropriate.
This because the lesson is already pretty long and it might be detrimental to overload learners with so much information. The tutsplus article I think gets learners most of the way there in terms of understanding the basic usage of the protocol in web based applications.
Then the sniffer tool is good for inspecting header information, but IMO a more comprehensive overview of chrome devtools Network tab is probably the most useful thing, since it gives us the ability to actively explore HTTP on real websites. Just my 2 cents. There may also be better video resources available if others don't like the ones I've shared.