Static and Dynamic

🔍 Static vs. Dynamic Content

• Static

  – Files served exactly as stored (e.g. images, videos)

  – Fast: web server simply reads and sends

• Dynamic

  – Generated on-the-fly (based on user profile, date, form input…)

  – Slower: involves application logic and data lookups

🖥️ Server Roles

• Web Server

  – Receives HTTP requests

  – Serves static assets or forwards dynamic requests

  – Handles caching of dynamic responses

• Application Server

  – Executes business logic

  – Communicates with databases & permission systems

  – Builds personalized pages

🔄 Request Flow

1. Browser → Web Server
2. Web Server → (Static file) or → Application Server
3. App Server → dynamic content → Web Server → Browser

⚡ Performance & Caching

• Dynamic pages take longer and apps have limited throughput
• Caching at the web-server level:
  1. First request → fetch from app server & store in cache
  2. Subsequent requests → serve cached version instantly
  3. Cache refreshed periodically or on updates