Introduction to Python HttpServer

Python HttpServer is a powerful module that provides an easy way to create a web server using the Python programming language. This module can be used to quickly set up a basic HTTP server that can serve static files, handle HTTP requests, and support CGI (Common Gateway Interface) scripts.

In this article, we will explore the Python HttpServer module, including how to set up a basic HTTP server using Python and some of the changes that have been made to this module in Python3.

Overview of Python HttpServer Module

The Python HttpServer module enables developers to create web servers that can handle HTTP requests and serve static files. The module provides a simple way to create an HTTP server with very minimal coding requirements.

This module provides a way to serve web content locally on the user’s machine for development purposes. This is often used in the early stages of web development as developers can quickly create, test, and modify web content without the need for external hosting.

Change in Module Name with Python3

One thing that developers need to be aware of when using Python3 is the change in the module name from Python2.7. In earlier versions of Python, the HttpServer module’s name was SimpleHTTPServer, but with Python3, the name has been changed to http.server.

Running a Basic Http Server Using Python

Setting up a basic HTTP server on your local machine using Python is quite simple. All that is needed is to import the http.server module and then run the server, specifying the port number, and optionally the directory containing the files to be served.

Importing http.server Module

To use the http.server module, you first need to import it into your Python script using the following code:

import http.server

This imports the http.server module into your script, allowing you to use the classes and functions provided by the module.

Running Http Server using Python

To run the HTTP server using Python, you have to instantiate the HTTPServer class provided by the module and then start the server using the serve_forever() method. You can use the following code to do so:

import http.server
import socketserver

PORT = 8080
DIRECTORY = "/path/to/directory"

Handler = http.server.SimpleHTTPRequestHandler
with socketserver.TCPServer(("0.0.0.0", PORT), Handler) as httpd:
    print("Serving at port", PORT)
    httpd.serve_forever()

In the above code, we first set the PORT variable to the port number on which we want to run the server. We then set the DIRECTORY variable to the directory containing the files we want to serve.

If we don’t specify a directory, it will default to the current working directory. We create an instance of SimpleHTTPRequestHandler class, which handles HTTP GET requests as well as directory listing requests.

We then create a TCPServer instance, which listens on the specified port number and serves HTTP requests using the SimpleHTTPRequestHandler defined above. Once our server is up and running, we can access the content served by it by opening a web browser and navigating to http://localhost:8080 (replace 8080 with the actual port number you specified).

Conclusion

Python HttpServer module provides an easy and quick way to serve web content using Python on your local machine. Whether you want to serve up static files or test out a web application, this module has you covered.

As we have seen in this article, setting up a basic HTTP server using Python is quite simple and requires very little coding. With the knowledge gained from this article, you can now create your own HTTP server using Python and start serving up web content in no time!

Connecting to the Http Server

Once you have set up your HTTP server using Python HttpServer, the next step is to access the files being served by the server. In this section, we will look at two ways of accessing the HTTP server; finding the server IP address and accessing the served files on a remote client.

Finding Server IP Address

To connect to an HTTP server from a remote client, you need to know the server’s IP address. To find the IP address of your server, you can use the arp -a command on a Mac or ip -a | grep inet command on Linux.

These commands will list all the devices connected to your network and their IP addresses. On a Mac, open the terminal and enter the following command:

arp -a

This will list all the devices connected to your network, along with their MAC addresses and IP addresses. To find the IP address of the server, look for the device with the name of your server and make a note of its IP address.

On Linux, open the terminal and enter the following command:

ip -a | grep inet

This command will list all the network interfaces on your machine along with their IP addresses. Look for the interface connected to the network and note the associated IP address.

Accessing the Served Files on a Remote Client

Once you have found the IP address of your server, you can access the files being served by opening a web browser on a remote client and navigating to http://server-ip-address:port-number (replace server-ip-address and port-number with the actual IP address and port number used by your server). Running a Python HttpServer that serves a custom index.html file

In addition to serving static files like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files, Python HttpServer can also serve custom files.

In this section, we will look at how to create a custom HTTP server using Python and how to override the do_GET() method to serve a custom file.

Creation of a Custom Http Server

To create a custom HTTP server, you will need to use the socketserver module along with the http.server module. The socketserver module provides the TCPServer class, which you can use to listen for incoming HTTP requests.

The code below shows how to create a custom HTTP server that listens for requests on port 8080:

import http.server
import socketserver

PORT = 8080
Handler = http.server.SimpleHTTPRequestHandler
with socketserver.TCPServer(("0.0.0.0", PORT), Handler) as httpd:
    print("Serving at port", PORT)
    httpd.serve_forever()

Note that we are using SimpleHTTPRequestHandler, which serves files from the directory specified in the URL of the request. If you want to serve a custom file, you need to override the do_GET() method as explained in the next section.

Overriding do_GET() Method to Serve a Custom File

To serve a custom file, you need to override the do_GET() method of SimpleHTTPRequestHandler class with your own implementation. The overridden method reads the content of the custom file and sends it as the response to the HTTP GET request.

To illustrate this, let’s create a custom index.html file with the following content:

	


	
Hello, World!
	
Welcome to my custom HTTP server!

Save this file in the same directory as your Python script and name it index.html. Then, define a new class that inherits from SimpleHTTPRequestHandler and overrides the do_GET() method as follows:

import http.server
import socketserver

PORT = 8080

class MyHandler(http.server.SimpleHTTPRequestHandler):
	def do_GET(self):
		if self.path == '/':
			self.path = '/index.html'
		return http.server.SimpleHTTPRequestHandler.do_GET(self)

Handler = MyHandler
with socketserver.TCPServer(("0.0.0.0", PORT), Handler) as httpd:
    print("Serving at port", PORT)
    httpd.serve_forever()

In the code above, we have defined a new class MyHandler that inherits from SimpleHTTPRequestHandler and overrides the do_GET() method. The overridden method checks if the request path is ‘/’ and, if so, sets it to ‘/index.html’.

This ensures that the custom index.html file is served when the root URL is requested.

Conclusion

In this article, we have covered how to connect to an HTTP server from a remote client by finding the server’s IP address and accessing the served files. We have also demonstrated how to create a custom HTTP server using Python HttpServer and override the do_GET() method to serve a custom file.

With the knowledge gained from this article, you can now create your own custom HTTP server using Python and serve custom files to clients. In this article, we have explored how to use the Python HttpServer module to set up a basic HTTP server.

We started by discussing an overview of the HttpServer module and how to set up a simple server using the http.server module. We also examined some changes to the HttpServer module’s name in Python3 from SimpleHTTPServer to http.server.

We then looked at connecting to a server by finding its IP address and accessing files on a remote client. We also went over how to create a custom HttpServer using Python and how to override the do_GET() method to serve custom files.

To summarize the steps involved in setting up a simple HttpServer using Python:

1. Import the required modules, including http.server and socketserver.
2. Set the server’s port number using the PORT variable.
3. Define the appropriate request handler class depending on whether you want to serve static files or custom files.
4. Create an instance of the request handler class and associate it with a socketserver that listens on the specified port.
5. Call the serve_forever() method to start the server.

Overall, the HttpServer module provides a straightforward way to create and host HTTP servers using Python. The simplicity of the module makes it a popular choice for developers looking to quickly set up local web servers for testing purposes.

When creating a custom HttpServer, it’s essential to remember that the do_GET() method should be overridden to return the custom file’s content when the appropriate path is requested. After creating the custom handler class, associate it with the socketserver to start serving requests.

It’s important to note that Python HttpServer should only be used for development purposes and not in a live production environment. When deploying your application in a production environment, consider using a dedicated web server such as Apache or Nginx.

In conclusion, Python HttpServer is a handy module to have in any developer’s toolkit. Its straightforward approach to creating and serving HTTP content makes it a popular choice for many programmers.

By following the steps outlined in this article, you can quickly create a custom HttpServer and begin serving your web content. Python HttpServer is a simple and efficient way to create and host HTTP servers on your local machine.

In this article, we have discussed the overview of the module, how to set up a simple server using the http.server module, how to connect to the server from a remote client, and how to create a custom HttpServer and override the do_GET() method to serve custom files. While HttpServer is suitable for development purposes only, it can save developers significant time and resources in setting up a local testing environment.

Remember to use a dedicated web server like Apache or Nginx for production deployment. Overall, with the knowledge gained from this article, you are now equipped to create and set up your own Python HttpServer with ease.