Project: C# Web Server

Overview

This project implements a lightweight and customizable web server in C#. It provides essential features for handling HTTP requests, routing, and response management, making it a foundational solution for building web applications or APIs.

Features

• Routing System: Dynamically map incoming requests to appropriate handlers.
• Controller Integration: Use attributes to define and manage endpoints effectively.
• Request and Response Management: Handle HTTP requests and generate structured responses.
• Error Handling: Improve error responses for unhandled exceptions or missing routes.

Project Structure

The project consists of the following files:

Core Components

• Server: The entry point for the web server. Handles server startup and listens for incoming requests.
• Router: Manages routing of requests to their respective handlers.
• Request: Represents an HTTP request with parsed data like headers, method, and body.
• RequestHandler: Handles processing of incoming requests and invokes appropriate routes.
• ResponseHandler: Generates and sends HTTP responses to clients.

Attributes

• RouteAttribute: Enables declarative routing by defining routes directly on methods.
• ControllerAttribute: Marks a class as a controller to group related endpoints. Controllers decorated with this attribute are automatically scanned and registered by the router.

Controllers

• Controllers: Example or base controllers showcasing route definition and business logic handling.

Entry Point

• Program: Contains the Main method to bootstrap and start the server.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• .NET 8.0 SDK or later.
• A development environment such as Visual Studio or VS Code.

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd <repository-directory>

2. Open the project in your preferred IDE.
3. Build the project to restore dependencies and compile the code:

   dotnet build

Running the Server

Run the server using the following command:

dotnet run

The server will start and listen on the default port (e.g., http://localhost:5000).

Defining Routes

To define new routes:

1. Add methods to Controllers.cs or create a new controller file.
2. Decorate the methods with the [Route("<path>")] attribute to specify the endpoint.

Example:

[Controller]
public class HelloController {
    [Route("/hello")]
    public string SayHello() {
        return "Hello, world!";
    }
}

Testing

Use tools like Postman or a web browser to send requests to the server and validate responses.

Extending the Project

• Middleware: Add support for middleware by enhancing RequestHandler.
• Static File Serving: Implement a handler to serve static files.