This project is a simple TCP server written in C, using socket programming concepts. It listens on a specified port, accepts client connections, and serves dynamic HTML content based on incoming requests using a templating system that supports dynamic values, if-else conditions, and loops. The code is organized into multiple files with CMake as the build system.
project/
├── CMakeLists.txt # Build configuration
├── include/
│ ├── server.h # Main server header file
│ ├── html_serve.h # Header for serve_html function
│ ├── request_handler.h # Header for handle_client function
│ ├── template.h # Header for template processing functions
│ └── socket_utils.h # Header for socket utility functions
├── src/
│ ├── server.c # Main server program
│ ├── html_serve.c # serve_html function
│ ├── request_handler.c # handle_client function
│ ├── template.c # Template processing functions
│ └── socket_utils.c # Utility functions for socket operations
└── README.md # Project documentation
server.c: Contains the main server loop, which listens for and accepts client connections.html_serve.c: Handles HTML file reading and serves HTML content to clients. Contains theserve_htmlfunction.request_handler.c: Manages client requests by processing incoming HTTP requests and serving appropriate responses. Contains thehandle_clientfunction.template.c: Implements template processing functions to support dynamic values, if-else conditions, and loops in HTML content.socket_utils.c: Includes utility functions for socket initialization and client data handling. Contains theinitialize_serverandread_client_datafunctions.server.h: Declares main server-related constants and functions.html_serve.h: Declares the function used to read and serve HTML files.request_handler.h: Declares the function to handle client requests.template.h: Declares functions for processing templates with dynamic content.socket_utils.h: Declares utility functions for initializing sockets and reading client data.
- CMake (version 3.10 or higher)
- GCC or another compatible C compiler
- Linux or WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) recommended for running this server
git clone <repository_url>
cd project-
Create a
builddirectory and navigate into it:mkdir build && cd build
-
Generate the makefiles with CMake:
cmake ..
-
Compile the project using
make:make
This will create an executable file named server inside a bin directory under the build folder.
After building, you can start the server as follows:
valgrind --leak-check=full ./bin/server The server will listen on port 8080 (default setting) and process incoming client requests.
The server supports a templating system that allows for dynamic content in HTML files. The following features are implemented:
You can replace placeholders in the template with dynamic values. Placeholders are defined as {{key}}, where key corresponds to the variable you want to insert.
The server can handle if-else statements within templates. Use the following syntax:
{% if condition %}
Content to show if condition is true
{% else %}
Content to show if condition is false
{% endif %}
You can create loops to iterate over a list of items in your templates using the following syntax:
{% for item in items %}
Content to repeat for each item
{% endfor %}
Create an HTML file (e.g., index.html) with the following content to test the features:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Dynamic Template Example</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Welcome to the Template Server</h1>
<p>{{ greeting }}</p>
{% if is_logged_in %}
<p>Hello, {{ username }}!</p>
{% else %}
<p>Please log in to access more features.</p>
{% endif %}
<h2>Your Items:</h2>
<ul>
{% for item in items %}
<li>{{ item }}</li>
{% endfor %}
</ul>
</body>
</html>To send a request to the server, you can use a web browser or a tool like curl. Make sure to specify the correct HTML file to serve based on your request.
If you encounter errors:
- Ensure that no other process is using port
8080. - Verify that CMake and GCC are correctly installed.
- Use the command
netstat -tuln | grep 8080to check if the port is occupied.
- CMake - Cross-platform build system
- Beej's Guide to Network Programming - A great resource for learning socket programming
Feel free to reach out for any questions or improvements!