C-Webserver

An HTTP protocol-based web server written in C for CSOC'25.

{
"Name": "Jayesh Krishan Puri",
"Roll no.": 24155058,
"Branch": "B.Tech Mining Engineering"
}

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📜 Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Features
• Project Structure
• How to Build and Run
• How the Code Works (Beginner Level)
• Cleaning Build Files
• License

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🧠 Introduction

This project is a minimalist web server built using the C programming language. It listens on your computer’s localhost and serves files over HTTP — the protocol that powers the web. This server is designed to help you understand the fundamentals of:

• TCP sockets
• HTTP request handling
• Static file serving
• Logging mechanisms

It's a great entry point into low-level networking and systems programming!

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🚀 Features

• 📡 Handles HTTP requests on port 3003
• 📂 Serves static files from the public/ directory
• 📄 Logs all incoming requests and errors
• ⚙️ Clean and build using a Makefile

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🗂️ Project Structure

.
├── webserver              # Compiled binary
├── src/                   # Source code files
│   ├── main.c             # Main server logic
│   ├── content_headers.c/h  # Sets MIME types for files
│   ├── error_logging.c/h    # Error handling and logging
│   ├── request_logging.c/h  # Request access logging
│   └── headers.h          # HTTP and server config
├── public/                # Static HTML/CSS/JS/assets to serve
├── logs/                  # Log output directory
│   └── server_activity.log
├── Makefile               # Build and clean instructions
├── README.md              # Project documentation
└── LICENSE                # License file

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🛠️ How to Build and Run

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/Jayesh-Dev21/C-webserver.git
cd C-webserver

2. Build the Server

make

3. Run the Server

./webserver

Open your browser and go to:

http://localhost:3003/

You should see the default web page (served from public/index.html) or any other static files you’ve added.

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👨‍🏫 How the Code Works (Beginner Level)

• The server setup and logic is inside src/main.c.
• It uses a socket to listen for HTTP requests from browsers.
• When a request comes in:
  • It reads the path and determines which file to serve.
  • It fetches the correct MIME type using content_headers.c.
  • If the file exists, it serves it with the right HTTP headers.
  • If there’s an issue (e.g., file not found), it logs the error and returns an error page.
• Logs for all requests and errors are stored in the logs/ directory.

📘 Summary of Key Files

File	Description
main.c	Starts the server and handles connections
content_headers.c/h	Assigns MIME types to files
error_logging.c/h	Logs runtime and file errors
request_logging.c/h	Logs all HTTP requests with metadata
headers.h	Common declarations and configurations
Makefile	Handles build and clean operations

🔰 New to C or web servers? Read the files in this order for best understanding:

1. main.c
2. content_headers.c/h
3. request_logging.c/h
4. error_logging.c/h
5. headers.h

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🧹 Cleaning Build Files

To remove compiled files and logs:

make clean

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📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.
Feel free to explore, modify, and share!

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🧪 Explore More

Add your own .html, .css, .png, or .js files into the public/ directory and access them via your browser. The server will serve them just like a real production web server.

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