requesthandling

Request handling refers to the processes by which software systems receive and respond to client requests. In web and distributed systems, requests typically travel over networks using protocols such as HTTP or gRPC. A request handler is responsible for interpreting the incoming message, invoking appropriate logic, and returning a response.

A typical request lifecycle includes receiving the request, authenticating and authorizing, validating input, routing to the correct handler, executing business logic, and generating a response. In many frameworks this flow is composed of middleware components that can inspect, modify, or short-circuit the handling.

Architectural contexts include monolithic servers, microservices, and serverless environments. Request handling often involves layering: a reverse proxy or load balancer at the edge, a web server or application server that runs the code, and the backend services that fulfill the request. Routing and content negotiation select the destination and response format.

Performance and security concerns: low latency, high throughput, concurrency models, and asynchronous I/O help scaling. Security measures include input validation, authentication, authorization, rate limiting, and protection against common threats. Caching, compression, and pagination improve efficiency.

Design considerations: stateless request handling supports scalability; idempotent operations make retries safe; observability through logging, metrics, and tracing aids debugging. Examples include HTTP API endpoints, REST or GraphQL services, and serverless function invocations.