HTTP Cat is an absurd and goofy site that aims to explain HTTP codes (like the 404 error) with cat memes.
For those who have studied computer science, the HTTP codes that are displayed on the web browser probably have no mystery. But for others, these number combinations can be much more obscure. the best known is certainly the famous “404 error”, which appears when a resource (a web page, a document) is no longer available.
If the 404 error does not need to be presented, there are a host of others that are much less well known – also because they are not always visible to the Internet user or because they occur rarely. Codes that are of the “2xx” type indicate, for example, that the instructions went well. There are five main categories of codes in all.
HTTP codes have already been the subject of many educational articles on the net. There is also a Wikipedia page dedicated to this information. We had written a paper on these codes, using an analogy with road traffic. Some indicate that the street is blocked. Others that it does not exist or that you have to take a detour, etc.
Chats to explain HTTP codes
In another genre, there are HTTP errors explained with cat memes. This is what the HTTP Cat site offers, by cleverly exploiting these famous feline images to explain at a glance the meaning of this or that code. An example ? The 404 error is represented by a cat hidden under logs. This is a way of illustrating when an online resource is not found.
You will also notice the presence of HTTP codes which seem to be just a prank, such as the number 418 — I am a teapot. However, it does exist, even if it is not really used. It comes from a document dated April 1, 1998, as part of a joke. It’s like the IP over Avian Carriers protocol, a proposed method of transporting IP traffic by carrier pigeons…
Depending on your mastery of HTTP codes, you will have more or less ease in grasping the meaning of each illustration — the message of each HTTP code is present under the images to help you understand them. And you can also click on each shot to see it in full. The site was set up by Rogério Vicente and Tomomi Imura.
HTTP Cat is not a very recent site: it has existed since 2015. But since it is August 8, and that is the date on which International Cat Day takes place, it seemed like a good opportunity to say a word on this half-absurd half-wacky site. Because we know it well: cats are the stars of the net. And they have long been at the heart of the memes that abound on the net.
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