Japanese version

webserv

Overview

webserv is a high-performance HTTP/1.1 web server implemented in C++98. This project utilizes a non-blocking, event-driven architecture with epoll to handle a large number of concurrent connections efficiently. The server is highly customizable through a flexible, Nginx-style configuration file, supporting virtual servers, location-specific routing, static content delivery, and dynamic content generation via the Common Gateway Interface (CGI).

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Technology Stack

• Language: C++98
• Build System: make
• I/O Model: Non-blocking I/O with epoll (Linux)
• Protocols: HTTP/1.1

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Key Features

• Flexible Configuration: Customize server behavior using an Nginx-like configuration file, including settings for multiple virtual servers.
• Virtual Servers: Host multiple domains or IP/port combinations from a single server instance.
• Location-Based Routing: Apply different rules and configurations for specific URL paths (locations).
• HTTP/1.1 Methods: Full support for GET, HEAD, POST, and DELETE requests.
• Static File Serving: Efficiently serves static files like HTML, CSS, images, and more.
• CGI Execution: Executes CGI scripts (e.g., Python, Bash) to generate dynamic web pages. The server correctly sets META variables and handles both GET and POST data streams.
• File Uploads: Manages file uploads via POST requests, with configurable body size limits and storage locations.
• Directory Listing: Automatically generates and displays a directory listing page if autoindex is enabled and an index file is not found.
• Custom Error Pages: Define custom HTML pages for specific HTTP error codes (e.g., 404, 500).
• HTTP Redirection: Supports permanent and temporary redirections using the return directive.

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Project Structure

The repository is organized as follows:

.
├── conf/                # Configuration files
│   ├── default.conf
│   └── ...
├── docs/                # Document root for web content
│   ├── cgi-bin/         # Example CGI scripts
│   └── html/            # Example HTML, CSS, and JS files
├── src/                 # Source code
│   ├── config/          # Configuration file parser and validation
│   ├── core/            # Main server logic, client handling
│   ├── event/           # Epoll event loop management
│   └── http/            # HTTP request/response parsing and handling
│       ├── cgi/
│       ├── parsing/
│       ├── request/
│       └── response/
├── toolbox/             # Utility functions
├── Makefile
└── webserv              # The compiled server executable

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Build and Run

Prerequisites

• A C++98 compliant compiler (e.g., c++)
• make

Build

To compile the project, run the following command from the root directory:

make

Run

The server requires a configuration file as an argument to start.

./webserv [path/to/your_config_file.conf]

If no configuration file is provided, it will attempt to use conf/default.conf.

./webserv

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Configuration Directives

The server's behavior is controlled by directives in the configuration file. Below are some of the core directives available.

Directive	Context(s)	Description	Example
listen	server	Specifies the port and optional IP address to listen on.	listen 8080;
server_name	server	Defines the virtual server's name(s).	server_name example.com www.example.com;
root	http, server, location	Sets the root directory for requests.	root /var/www/html;
index	http, server, location	Specifies the default file to serve.	index index.html index.htm;
allowed_methods	http, server, location	Restricts which HTTP methods are allowed.	allowed_methods GET POST;
client_max_body_size	http, server, location	Sets the maximum allowed size of the client request body.	client_max_body_size 8M;
error_page	http, server, location	Defines a custom page for a given error code.	error_page 404 /404.html;
autoindex	http, server, location	Enables or disables directory listing.	autoindex on;
cgi_path	http, server, location	Specifies the path to a CGI interpreter.	cgi_path /usr/bin/python3;
cgi_extension	http, server, location	Associates a file extension with a CGI script.	cgi_extension .py;
upload_store	http, server, location	Defines the directory where uploaded files are stored.	upload_store /var/uploads;
return	server, location	Performs an HTTP redirection.	return 301 http://new.example.com;

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Usage Examples

Here are some curl commands to test the server's functionality (assuming the server is running on localhost:8080 with the default configuration).

Get the main page:

curl http://localhost:8080/

Test a CGI script (GET):

curl http://localhost:8080/cgi-bin/script.py

Test a CGI script (POST):

curl -X POST -d "name=Gemini" http://localhost:8080/cgi-bin/script.py

Upload a file:

# First, create a dummy file
echo "This is a test file." > test.txt
# Then, upload it
curl -X POST --data-binary "@test.txt" http://localhost:8080/uploads/

Delete an uploaded file:

curl -X DELETE http://localhost:8080/upload/test.txt

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License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.