README

IMPORTANT: Before proceeding, ensure you thoroughly read and understand the project specification. The README is just a supplementary guide, while the project specification is the primary source of project requirements and details. Any discrepancies or uncertainties should be addressed based on the content in the project specification.

Project Description

This project is a basic HTTP server, designed to handle requests by either serving local files or proxying remote files. The starter code provides a foundation upon which you can build the necessary logic to serve requests based on their content and the presence of files locally.

File Structure

• server.c: The main server code containing the logic for handling HTTP requests, parsing arguments, and serving/proxying content.
• makefile: The build system for compiling and cleaning the project.
• index.html: A video player page used for testing the serving of local HTML content. It instructs the browser to request the output.m3u8 video manifest.
• output.m3u8: A video manifest used for testing the serving of local content. It contains information about video chunks and instructs the browser to request .ts video chunks, which are hosted on our remote video server.

Build Instructions

To build the project, ensure you have gcc installed on your system. Navigate to the directory containing the server.c and makefile, then use the following commands:

• To compile the project:

  make

• To clean the build (remove the compiled output):

  make clean

Running the Server

After compiling, you can run the server using the following command:

./server [-b local_port] [-r remote_host] [-p remote_port]

Command-line Arguments:

• -b local_port: Specify the local port on which the HTTP server will run. Defaults to 8081.
• -r remote_host: Specify the remote host's address for proxying. Defaults to 131.179.176.34.
• -p remote_port: Specify the remote port for proxying. Defaults to 5001.

Project Tasks

To complete this project, consider addressing the following TODOs:

1. Request Parsing: Parse the header of the incoming HTTP request to extract essential fields like the requested file name.
2. Local File Serving: Implement the logic for serving files that exist locally.
3. Proxying Remote Files: If a file does not exist locally, or based on any other criterion you define, you might want to proxy the request to another server.
4. Handling Errors (Extra Credits): Implement proper error responses.

Notes

The starter code assumes that the HTTP request header is small enough to be read once as a whole, which may not be ideal in a real-world scenario but suffices for this project's scope.

Remember to check for memory leaks and handle them appropriately, particularly when dealing with dynamically allocated memory.

Good luck with your project!