This repository contains a "webserv" project that is part of the École 42 curriculum.
Webserv project involves creating a web server that handles HTTP requests. In order to understand the project, it's important to have a good understanding of the HTTP protocol and the main concepts of a web server.
HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. It is an application-layer protocol that allows communication between clients and servers over the internet. It is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web.
The HTTP protocol works on a client-server model, where the client sends a request to the server and the server responds with the requested data. The request and response are made up of different components, including:
- Request Method: Specifies the type of request being made (e.g., GET, POST, PUT, DELETE).
- URL: The address of the resource being requested.
- Headers: Additional information about the request or response (e.g., content type, cookies).
- Body: Optional data sent with the request or response.
A web server is a software application that serves web pages to clients upon request. It listens for incoming HTTP requests, processes them, and sends back the requested resources. The main components of a web server include:
- Listener: Listens for incoming requests on a specific port.
- Router: Routes the incoming requests to the appropriate handler based on the URL.
- Handler: Processes the request and generates the appropriate response.
- Response: Contains the requested resource and additional information (e.g., headers, status code).
The web server handles multiple client connections simultaneously using various techniques such as multi-threading or asynchronous I/O.
In the context of the Project WebServ, you will be implementing a web server that can handle HTTP requests and serve static files.
The WebServ project has the following requirements:
- HTTP Server: Implement a web server that can handle HTTP requests.
- Configuration File: Read server configuration from a file.
- Virtual Hosts: Support multiple virtual hosts with different configurations.
- Methods: Implement support for GET, POST, and HEAD methods.
- Status Codes: Return appropriate status codes in the response.
- Error Handling: Handle errors gracefully and return appropriate error messages.
- Logging: Log server events and requests to a log file.
- Security: Implement basic security features to protect against common attacks.
- Performance: Optimize the server for performance and scalability.
- Documentation: Provide clear documentation on how to build, run, and use the server.
- Bonus: Implement Python and PHP CGI, and cookie support.
To get started with the WebServ project, follow these steps:
- Clone the Repository: Clone the WebServ repository to your local machine using the following command:
git clone https://github.com/BredyByte/webserv webserv- Build the Project: Build the project by running the following commands:
cd webserv/webserver && make- Run the Server: Run the server using the following command:
./webserv ./config_file-
Test the Server cURL: Test the server by sending HTTP requests to it using a web browser or a tool like cURL. File var/curl/CurlCommands.txt contains some curl commands to test the server
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Test the Server with sige: Test the server with sige, a simple HTTP load tester. Install it and execute the following command:
siege -b -t 50s -c 25 http://127.0.0.1:8080/-
HTTP Protocol - Mozilla Developer Network, helpful resource for learning about the HTTP protocol. Highly recommended.
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Beej's Guide to Network Programming Using Internet Sockets - A comprehensive guide to network programming using sockets. Highly recommended.
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Web Server - Wikipedia, overview of web servers and how they work.
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Nginx Documentation - Official documentation for the Nginx web server, a popular open-source web server.
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cURL Documentation - Official documentation for cURL, a command-line tool for transferring data with URLs.
This remarkable project was accomplished and refined to its finest form through the assistance of my comrades and collaborators, the ingenious 💡dbredykh, the diligent 💪gkrusta.