A simple HTTP Server for those of us who don't need to leverage the vast frameworks.
While entering the realm of Java HTTP server development I found myself stranded between managing the nuance of HTTP standards directly via sockets and leveraging massive frameworks such as Jetty, Jersey, and Spring.
I opted out by building my own middleground. A simple HTTP abstraction for those of us on Java SE that allows the simple instantiation of a threaded server via the creation of your own Thread extended class.
This is the only section (besides my motivation) because the whole point is to get yourself started, quickly, with a simple, malleable HTTP server.
You can instantiate this in whatever method you choose, as it will spin up a new thread to run your server on, by listening to the port number provided. As each request comes in, your HttpSocketServer will start a new thread of the type provided for threadableClassName.
Like so:
HttpServer.HttpConnectionManager.of(int port, String threadableClassName);
This server will listen on the specified port and run a new thread for each incoming request. Which means you only have to worry about the run() method of your threadable class.
Nobody wants to deal with the minutia formatting text into valid Http Messages, so we do that for you with the abstract class HttpMessage and its lovely children HttpRequest and HttpResponse.
These are just one piece of the Yin-Yang relationship. There is still the Connection Manager. Our HttpConnectionManager takes on the responsibility of managing the socket streams, parsing those chars and bytes into your HttpRequest and sending your HttpResponse back down the pipe, closing out the socket when your mission is complete.
I haven't gone overboard with my implementation of these classes (I don't think) and you will most likely want to supplement them. That's great! I do think I have provided the skeleton you'll be able to leave in the closet. Namely:
- Parsing the Request (with the help of
HttpConnectionManager) - Setting and getting key elements: headers, method, status code, etc.
- Letting you build the work you want to, without the overhead of concatenating strings just the right way.
You may also find some examples here.