Brewing Tea over the Internet

In 1998, a joke RFC created the '418 I'm a teapot' error. This talk explores the serious API design lessons we can learn from humorous internet standards.

#1about 3 minutes

The early design and limitations of HTTP 0.9

The initial HTTP protocol only had a single 'GET' verb and lacked status codes, making it difficult to programmatically distinguish between successful responses and errors.

#2about 3 minutes

Standardizing HTTP 1.0 with verbs and status codes

HTTP 1.0 formalized the protocol by adding multiple verbs like POST and PUT, standardized status codes for programmatic error handling, and headers like the misspelled 'Referer'.

#3about 4 minutes

The challenge of submitting complex form data over HTTP

To handle file uploads in web forms, developers reused email standards, forcing web servers to parse email-formatted requests sent over HTTP.

#4about 4 minutes

Satirizing protocol extensions with the coffee pot protocol

RFC 2324, an April Fools' standard, satirized inappropriate HTTP extensions by creating the Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol (HTCPCP) with a 'BREW' verb and the famous '418 I'm a teapot' error.

#5about 2 minutes

Extending the coffee pot protocol to support brewing tea

RFC 7168 extends the coffee pot protocol for tea, using the '300 Multiple Options' status code to allow a client to select from a list of available teas.

#6about 2 minutes

Evaluating REST APIs and proper use of status codes

While REST is a logical extension of HTTP's verbs for database operations, returning a 200 OK status with an error in the body undermines the purpose of status codes.

#7about 2 minutes

Exploring other notable April Fools' internet standards

Other humorous yet insightful April Fools' RFCs include specifying an 'evil bit' in TCP packets for firewalls and defining IP over Avian Carriers.

#8about 1 minute

Physical implementations of the coffee pot control protocol

While no fully compliant HTCPCP coffee pots exist due to the protocol's joke nature, many systems implement the '418 I'm a teapot' response and a hackathon project built a working device.

#9about 3 minutes

Q&A on IP over Avian Carriers and HTTP/2

The Q&A session addresses the practical limitations of IP over Avian Carriers, such as high latency and packet loss, and touches on the non-human-readable nature of HTTP/2.