Forward vs Redirect: Key Differences

Forward and redirect are both techniques used in web applications for page redirection, but they have some important differences.

1. Target page and requested resources:
2. Forward: Internal page redirection on the server, with the target page being another resource within the same request. The server forwards the request to the target page, and the URL of the target page remains unchanged.
3. Redirect: The client (browser) redirects to a new requested resource. The server sends a redirect response to the client, which then resends the request to the new URL of the target page.
4. Request processing:
5. The server handles page redirection within the same request, without creating new requests and responses. Data can be passed to the target page during the redirection process.
6. When a client sends a new request to a target page, the server processes the new request and sends a response back to the client. Data cannot be directly passed to the target page during the redirection process.
7. Change in URL:
8. The URL of the destination page will remain the same, and the original page’s URL will still be displayed in the browser’s address bar.
9. Redirect: The URL of the target page will change, and the URL displayed in the browser address bar will be that of the target page.
10. Jump type:
11. Forward: Internal navigation, used for navigating between pages within the same application.
12. Redirect: External redirection, used for redirecting to pages of different applications or websites.

In general, a forward is an internal page redirection on the server, used for navigating between pages within the same application, where the URL of the target page remains the same. In contrast, a redirect is a client-side page redirection used for navigating to pages in different applications or websites, where the URL of the target page changes.