http-foundation

HttpFoundation is a PHP component from the Symfony project that wraps the HTTP request and response cycle in a set of PHP objects. HTTP is the protocol that web browsers and servers use to exchange data: a browser sends a request with information like a URL, headers, and optional form data, and the server sends back a response with a status code, headers, and the page content.

In standard PHP, this information arrives as global variables and functions scattered across the language, such as the superglobal arrays for query string parameters and POST data, and separate header functions for controlling the response. HttpFoundation replaces that approach by providing a Request class that gathers all incoming data into one structured object, and a Response class for building and sending the reply in a controlled way. Related classes handle cookies, uploaded files, and sessions under the same structure.

This is one of the foundational components of the Symfony web framework, but it is also distributed separately so other PHP projects can use it without adopting the full framework. Many PHP frameworks and tools depend on it directly.

The README for this repository is minimal and primarily links to the full documentation and contribution guides on the Symfony website. Developers looking for usage examples and detailed API documentation should visit those links rather than the README itself. The component targets PHP developers building web applications who want a cleaner, more structured way to handle HTTP requests and responses.