chttpd

This is a simple HTTP server implementation in C that supports static file serving and configurable routes (it was written in order to understand how web-server works). The server uses a hash map to store routes and supports both string-based and regex-based mappings

Features

• Serves static files
• Configurable routing through a configuration file
• Supports both exact and regex-based URL mappings

Installation

Prerequisites

Ensure you have the following dependencies installed:

• GCC (or Clang)
• GNU Make

Build

To compile the server, run:

make

This will generate an executable named server

Running the Server

To start the server, use:

./server

By default, the server reads the configuration from server.conf. You can specify a custom configuration file:

./server /path/to/config.conf

Configuration

The server uses a structured configuration file (server.conf) to define routing and server settings

Example Configuration

http {
    port: 14880;
    web_root: ./www/;

    route {
        web_root: ./www/subfolder/;
        mapping: /200;
        file_path: 200.html;
    }

    route {
        mapping: /;
        file_path: index.html;
    }

    route {
        mapping[regex]: /help*;
        file_path: index.html;
    }
}

Configuration Options

• port: Specifies the port the server will listen on
• web_root: The root directory for serving files
• route: Defines individual routes with the following properties:
  • mapping: URL path to match
  • mapping[regex]: Specifies a regex-based route
  • file_path: The file that will be served for this route
  • web_root (optional): Overrides the global web_root for this route