1st Principles

Subject

Web

HTTP, browsers, documents, APIs, and the application layer of the web.

101 sub-topics · use search below on large subjects

Curriculum

Core lessons

First-principles readings for HTTP, browsers, and the web platform.

  • BrowsersWeb · 32 min

    The universal web client: how browsers fetch, parse, sandbox, and render, tying DNS, TLS, HTTP, and HTML/CSS/JS into one user-facing machine.

  • Caching and CDNsWeb · 30 min

    How copies of content near users cut latency and origin load, and how cache validators and CDNs keep those copies just fresh enough.

  • Cookies and SessionsWeb · 30 min

    How the web layers state onto a largely stateless protocol: cookies as client-stored tokens, sessions as server-side memory keyed by those tokens.

  • HTML, CSS, and JavaScriptWeb · 28 min

    The three native web languages: structure (HTML), presentation (CSS), and behavior (JavaScript), and why separating them remains a useful discipline.

  • HTTPWeb · 34 min

    The application protocol of the web: structured requests and responses for transferring documents and calling APIs, including methods, status codes, and caching metadata.

  • REST APIsWeb · 30 min

    Resources and representations over HTTP: designing networked interfaces around nouns, uniform methods, and evolvable contracts rather than ad-hoc RPC soup.

Application

Constraints in real jobs (Web platform)

Constraints in real jobs as it applies to Web.

Cost and benefit (Web platform)

Cost and benefit as it applies to Web.

Failure modes (Web platform)

Failure modes as it applies to Web.

Implementation steps (Web platform)

Implementation steps as it applies to Web.

Maintenance over time (Web platform)

Maintenance over time as it applies to Web.

Problem framing (Web platform)

Problem framing as it applies to Web.

Risk (Web platform)

Risk as it applies to Web.

Scaling up (Web platform)

Scaling up as it applies to Web.

Stakeholders (Web platform)

Stakeholders as it applies to Web.

Trade-offs (Web platform)

Trade-offs as it applies to Web.

Communication

Cross-disciplinary talk (Web platform)

Cross-disciplinary talk as it applies to Web.

Explaining to beginners (Web platform)

Explaining to beginners as it applies to Web.

Media coverage (Web platform)

Media coverage as it applies to Web.

Open questions (Web platform)

Open questions as it applies to Web.

Policy briefs (Web platform)

Policy briefs as it applies to Web.

Presentations (Web platform)

Presentations as it applies to Web.

Public controversy (Web platform)

Public controversy as it applies to Web.

Teaching others (Web platform)

Teaching others as it applies to Web.

Visuals that teach (Web platform)

Visuals that teach as it applies to Web.

Writing clear summaries (Web platform)

Writing clear summaries as it applies to Web.

Comparison

Analogies from other fields (Web platform)

Analogies from other fields as it applies to Web.

Common confusions (Web platform)

Common confusions as it applies to Web.

Competing models (Web platform)

Competing models as it applies to Web.

Consensus areas (Web platform)

Consensus areas as it applies to Web.

Debates that matter (Web platform)

Debates that matter as it applies to Web.

Historical shifts (Web platform)

Historical shifts as it applies to Web.

Interdisciplinary links (Web platform)

Interdisciplinary links as it applies to Web.

Regional differences (Web platform)

Regional differences as it applies to Web.

Schools of thought (Web platform)

Schools of thought as it applies to Web.

Translation of terms (Web platform)

Translation of terms as it applies to Web.

Context

Climate and environment (Web platform)

Climate and environment as it applies to Web.

Demographics (Web platform)

Demographics as it applies to Web.

Equity and access (Web platform)

Equity and access as it applies to Web.

Funding (Web platform)

Funding as it applies to Web.

Future scenarios (Web platform)

Future scenarios as it applies to Web.

Global trends (Web platform)

Global trends as it applies to Web.

Institutions (Web platform)

Institutions as it applies to Web.

Regulation (Web platform)

Regulation as it applies to Web.

Social impact (Web platform)

Social impact as it applies to Web.

Technology change (Web platform)

Technology change as it applies to Web.

Core ideas

Abstraction levels (Web platform)

Abstraction levels as it applies to Web.

Cause and correlation (Web platform)

Cause and correlation as it applies to Web.

Central definitions (Web platform)

Central definitions as it applies to Web.

Equilibrium and change (Web platform)

Equilibrium and change as it applies to Web.

Feedback loops (Web platform)

Feedback loops as it applies to Web.

Laws, rules, or patterns (Web platform)

Laws, rules, or patterns as it applies to Web.

Models and diagrams (Web platform)

Models and diagrams as it applies to Web.

Scale: micro to macro (Web platform)

Scale: micro to macro as it applies to Web.

Systems and parts (Web platform)

Systems and parts as it applies to Web.

Units and measurement (Web platform)

Units and measurement as it applies to Web.

Deep dives

Advanced preview (Web platform)

Advanced preview as it applies to Web.

Capstone directions (Web platform)

Capstone directions as it applies to Web.

Classic papers or texts (Web platform)

Classic papers or texts as it applies to Web.

Edge cases (Web platform)

Edge cases as it applies to Web.

Landmark discoveries (Web platform)

Landmark discoveries as it applies to Web.

Minority reports (Web platform)

Minority reports as it applies to Web.

Open research fronts (Web platform)

Open research fronts as it applies to Web.

Paradigm shifts (Web platform)

Paradigm shifts as it applies to Web.

Synthesis projects (Web platform)

Synthesis projects as it applies to Web.

Where to go next (Web platform)

Where to go next as it applies to Web.

Evidence

Anomalies (Web platform)

Anomalies as it applies to Web.

Bias and blind spots (Web platform)

Bias and blind spots as it applies to Web.

Case studies (Web platform)

Case studies as it applies to Web.

Conflicting studies (Web platform)

Conflicting studies as it applies to Web.

Data tables and charts (Web platform)

Data tables and charts as it applies to Web.

Primary sources (Web platform)

Primary sources as it applies to Web.

Secondary summaries (Web platform)

Secondary summaries as it applies to Web.

Strong versus weak claims (Web platform)

Strong versus weak claims as it applies to Web.

Triangulation (Web platform)

Triangulation as it applies to Web.

Uncertainty language (Web platform)

Uncertainty language as it applies to Web.

Methods

Documentation (Web platform)

Documentation as it applies to Web.

Estimation and error (Web platform)

Estimation and error as it applies to Web.

Ethics in method (Web platform)

Ethics in method as it applies to Web.

Experiments and controls (Web platform)

Experiments and controls as it applies to Web.

Observation protocols (Web platform)

Observation protocols as it applies to Web.

Peer review (Web platform)

Peer review as it applies to Web.

Replication (Web platform)

Replication as it applies to Web.

Reproducible workflows (Web platform)

Reproducible workflows as it applies to Web.

Simulation and models (Web platform)

Simulation and models as it applies to Web.

Surveys and samples (Web platform)

Surveys and samples as it applies to Web.

Orientation

Careers and roles (Web platform)

Careers and roles as it applies to Web.

Everyday examples (Web platform)

Everyday examples as it applies to Web.

History in one glance (Web platform)

History in one glance as it applies to Web.

How claims get checked (Web platform)

How claims get checked as it applies to Web.

Jargon worth learning first (Web platform)

Jargon worth learning first as it applies to Web.

Objects you study (Web platform)

Objects you study as it applies to Web.

Reading habits that stick (Web platform)

Reading habits that stick as it applies to Web.

Tools practitioners use (Web platform)

Tools practitioners use as it applies to Web.

What questions the field asks (Web platform)

What questions the field asks as it applies to Web.

What the field is not (Web platform)

What the field is not as it applies to Web.

Skills

Checklists (Web platform)

Checklists as it applies to Web.

Collaboration norms (Web platform)

Collaboration norms as it applies to Web.

Debugging mistakes (Web platform)

Debugging mistakes as it applies to Web.

Hands-on practice (Web platform)

Hands-on practice as it applies to Web.

Mentorship (Web platform)

Mentorship as it applies to Web.

Pattern recognition (Web platform)

Pattern recognition as it applies to Web.

Portfolio pieces (Web platform)

Portfolio pieces as it applies to Web.

Self-assessment (Web platform)

Self-assessment as it applies to Web.

Speed versus accuracy (Web platform)

Speed versus accuracy as it applies to Web.

Tooling basics (Web platform)

Tooling basics as it applies to Web.