-
Learn About Sockets in C:
- Understand socket(), bind(), listen(), accept(), recv(), and send().
- Experiment with a simple TCP server that accepts a connection and sends a basic response.
-
Understand HTTP Basics:
- Read the HTTP/1.1 specification (RFC 2616) and learn about request/response structure.
- Understand common HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) and response status codes.
-
Create a Simple HTTP Server:
- Bind to a port (e.g., 8080) and listen for incoming connections.
- Accept and handle a single client request.
- Parse a simple HTTP request (e.g., GET / HTTP/1.1).
- Send a basic HTTP response (200 OK with plain text).
-
Handle Multiple Clients (Concurrency):
- Use fork(), pthread, or select()/poll() to handle multiple clients.
- Ensure the server can process multiple connections efficiently.
-
Parse HTTP Headers Properly:
- Read the entire HTTP request (headers + body).
- Extract request method, URL, and headers.
-
Serve Static Files:
- Implement file handling to serve .html, .css, .js, and images.
- Use open(), read(), and write() to send files.
- Implement proper Content-Type headers.
-
Handle Different HTTP Methods:
- Support GET for serving files.
- Support POST and read request bodies.
-
Logging & Error Handling:
- Log requests to a file (method, URL, timestamp).
- Send proper error responses (404 Not Found, 500 Internal Server Error).
-
Implement Basic Routing:
- Create a simple routing mechanism (/about, /contact).
- Map URLs to different response handlers.
-
Optimize Performance:
- Use epoll (Linux) for better performance.
- Implement a thread pool to handle connections efficiently.
-
Add CGI Support:
- Execute scripts (e.g., Python, PHP) to generate dynamic content.
-
Add HTTPS Support:
- Use OpenSSL to handle encrypted HTTPS connections.
-
Support HTTP/1.1 Features:
- Implement persistent connections (Connection: keep-alive).
- Implement chunked transfer encoding.