Using the standard HTTP protocol to send and receive image data isn’t exactly rocket science. It takes a bit of extra planning to make sure you’re sending the right kind of image data to the right kind of people. The best way to do this is to make sure you have a multipart content-type in place. Using a multipart content-type will allow you to send images, text, video, and other types of data. If you do use a content-type, you’ll need to be aware of a few naming conventions.
First, you’ll want to ensure you’re using a standard image format such as png. Then, you need to decide how you want to encode the data. A common format is base64. A base64 encoded image will look something like this: /image/image.jpg, where image is the file name and jpg is the file extension. Once you’ve got this sorted out, you’re ready to start sending.
Luckily, there are plenty of networking frameworks to help you figure out what to do with the data you’ve just dropped into your server’s inbox. Some of the better ones are Apache, Microsoft IIS, and the WebKit engine. If you’re using one of these, you’ll probably be using the same URI for all your data.
The key to sending and receiving image data is to take advantage of the new capabilities provided by HTTP/2. Using the new protocol, you can make your server more intelligent about what you’re sending and receiving, and what you’re not. The new version of the HTTP protocol is better able to recognize the types of data you’re sending and receiving, and to reorder them so that they’re delivered in the proper order. It’s also possible to send and receive text and image data in the same POST request.
Finally, if you’re sending or receiving large amounts of data, you’ll want to ensure that you aren’t sending a duplicate version of the same file. This is especially important if you’re sending image data to a location that hosts only text files. If you’re hosting an image, you’ll need to do some preprocessing to ensure you’re not sending a version that contains a different font size or font color. Likewise, you’ll need to be careful not to send a copy of your file that has the same name as another one. If you’re unsure of how to do this, consult your server’s documentation.