HTTP Server in C

This repository contains a simple multithreaded HTTP server implemented in C. The server supports basic HTTP methods (GET and POST) and provides endpoints for testing and statistics gathering.

Features

Multithreaded handling of client connections GET and POST methods supported

Built-in endpoints:

1. /ping: Responds with "pong"
2. /echo: Responds with request headers
3. /write: Writes POST request body to the server
4. /read: Reads the data written to the server via /write endpoint
5. /stats: Shows server statistics, including the number of requests, header bytes, body bytes, errors, and error bytes

Prerequisites

1. GCC (GNU Compiler Collection) or any other C compiler
2. GNU Make (optional)

Compilation

To compile the server, run the following command in your terminal:

gcc -o server server.c -lpthread

This will create an executable named server in the current directory. If you have GNU Make installed, you can alternatively run make to build the server.

Usage

To start the server, run the following command in your terminal:

./server

The server will listen for incoming connections on port 8080. You can interact with the server using any HTTP client, such as curl, a web browser, or a custom client.

Example Requests

1. GET /ping

curl -X GET http://localhost:8080/ping

2. GET /echo

curl -X GET -H "Custom-Header: MyValue" http://localhost:8080/echo

3. POST /write

curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: text/plain" -d "Hello, World!" http://localhost:8080/write

4. GET /read

curl -X GET http://localhost:8080/read

5. GET /stats

curl -X GET http://localhost:8080/stats

Limitations

1. This server is not designed for production use and may not be secure or efficient
2. The server does not support HTTP/2 or any other protocol except for HTTP/1.1
3. Error handling and logging are minimal
4. The server does not support HTTPS (TLS/SSL)

Contributing

Contributions to this project are welcome! If you'd like to make improvements, fix bugs, or add new features, please follow these steps:

1. Fork this repository on GitHub
2. Create a new branch for your changes
3. Make your changes, ensuring that your code follows the project's style and is well-documented
4. Test your changes to ensure they work as expected and do not introduce new bugs
5. Submit a pull request to the original repository with a clear and concise description of your changes

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. Please see the LICENSE file for more information.

Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions about the project, feel free to open an issue on GitHub or submit a pull request with your proposed changes. Alternatively, you can contact the repository owner through their GitHub profile.

Future Work

1. Enhance error handling and logging for better debugging and monitoring
2. Add support for additional HTTP methods, such as PUT and DELETE
3. Implement HTTPS (TLS/SSL) support for secure communication
4. Optimize server performance for better handling of large numbers of simultaneous connections
5. Add support for HTTP/2 and other protocols to improve performance and compatibility with modern clients
6. Create a more extensive test suite to ensure the server's reliability and correctness