Encoding and decoding data

Unlike marshaling/unmarshaling, encoding/decoding in HTTP is the process of transforming your HTTP entity into a different format. This formatting can be undone by the remote endpoint to understand the HTTP entity, and it usually happens using a formatting codec. HTTP primarily uses a compression codec to compress/uncompress your HTTP entity and save some bandwidth in transmission. The cost of this additional process is usually irrelevant compared to the benefits of less bandwidth and faster overall response times. Some of the popular codecs are gzip, compress, and deflate. 

Akka HTTP provides a functionality to both server and client APIs to deal with codecs. In this recipe, we will create a server that will receive a compressed HTTP entity and decode it and prepare an HTTP response, encode it, and send it back to the client. To test this, we will also...