There has never been a lot of attention given to my HTTP Developer's Handbook. I've always believed that this is a direct reflection of the topic and the fact that there is (of course) no community surrounding HTTP like there are with programming languages. The book is also more theoretical in nature, and most developers are very pragmatic.

Recently (within the past week or two), I've noticed some positive feedback on the free sample chapters that I have on my Web site.

Jim O'Halloran writes:

A commenter on my previous How SSL works post, pointed me towards the SSL explanation from Chris Shiflett's HTTP Developer's Handbook chapter on SSL which is a really nice explanation of SSL (including public/private and symetric key encryption.

Scott Granneman writes:

I host Web sites, but we've only recently had to start implementing SSL, the Secure Sockets Layer, which turns http into https. I've been on the lookout for a good overview of SSL that explains why it is implemented as it is, and I think I've finally found one: Chris Shiflett: HTTP Developer's Handbook: 18. Secure Sockets Layer is a chapter from Shiflett's book posted on his web site, and boy it is good.

Shiflett is a clear technical writer, and if this chapter is any indication, the rest of his book may be worth buying.

As anyone familiar with my writing knows, I'm always in favor of making as much of it available for free as possible. With the complimentary comments I've seen lately, I may try to polish up the existing sample chapters (if any graphical artists want to volunteer to redo the artwork, that would be great) as well as make a few additional ones available. I'm allowed to make up to 25% of the book freely available, so please feel free to suggest some chapters (perhaps after looking at the Table of Contents if you don't have a copy).

Thanks to Jim and Scott for the kind words. This author really appreciates it.