PandApache: A Web Server for Static Sites

PandApache is a lightweight web server designed specifically for hosting static websites, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files. It is an ideal tool for quickly and efficiently deploying presentation sites, portfolios, or landing pages, without the complexity of a dynamic backend.

Features

Core Features

• Lightweight and Fast: Engineered for maximum efficiency, perfect for hosting static sites.
• Easy to Start: Minimalist configuration for a quick setup.
• Supports HTML, CSS, and JS Files: Serves a wide range of static content.
• Handles GET Requests Only: Currently, the server processes only GET requests, ideal for serving static files without complex server-to-server interactions.
• HTTP Configuration: The server is configured to work with HTTP protocols, making it easy to integrate into standard web environments.

File Management

• File Upload Functionality: Enables users to upload documents to the server.
• Customizable Server Behavior: Configuration options like DocumentDirectory for storing uploaded documents and AllowUpload to control file upload permissions.
• Handling of multipart/form-data POST Requests: Facilitates file upload.

Security Features

• Basic Authentication: Enhances application security with user authentication.
• Directory Protection: Allows selective protection of certain folders.
• LimitVerb Directive: Restricts usage to specific HTTP verbs for improved security.

Logging

• Logging Management: New properties to manage log behavior in file and console.

Administration and Management

• Website for Administration and Management: A new website interface for administrative and management tasks.
• Reload Configuration Endpoint: Reloads the configuration without restarting the service.
• Dynamic Setting Adjustment: Changes settings using query parameters.
• Service Status Endpoint: Retrieves the current status of the service.
• Stop Service Endpoint: Stops the service.
• Restart Service Endpoint: Restarts the service.
• Configuration Retrieval Endpoint: Gets the current configuration in JSON format.

Prerequisites

• Docker: PandApache is containerized, which means you will need Docker installed on your system to build and run it. Dependency management and runtime environment are handled by the Docker images used in the Dockerfile.

Installation and Startup with Docker

To build and start the PandApache server using Docker, follow these steps:

1. Clone the PandApache GitHub repository:

   git clone https://github.com/MarieLePanda/PandApache3.git

2. Navigate to the cloned project folder:

   cd pandapache

3. Build the Docker image:

   docker build -t pandapache .

4. Run the container:

   docker run -d -p 8080:8080 pandapache

This command will start the server and expose the service on port 8080 of your local machine. You can access your static site by navigating to http://localhost:8080 in your browser.

Deployment

To deploy your static site with PandApache, simply place your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files in a www folder at the root of your project before building the Docker image. The Dockerfile is configured to copy this folder into the container, making your static files accessible via the web server.