AdityaVV
AdityaVV

Reputation: 119

Why do we need both status code and phrase code in a http response message?

In the first header field of a http response message there is a status code (Eg.200,404,400) and phrase code(e.g.OK, NOT FOUND, Bad request). When we have a status code already, why do we need a phrase again? Wont that cause extra overhead?

Upvotes: 4

Views: 155

Answers (1)

Julian Reschke
Julian Reschke

Reputation: 41997

A) Technically, that is not a header field. The first line simply is special.

B) It's not needed and optional, and yes, it causes overhead.

Upvotes: 2

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