# Simple Web Server
This guide demonstrates how to create a custom web server using Python's `http.server` module. Unlike the basic one-liner server, this script can handle dynamic requests (like form submissions) while still serving static files.
**Modules Used:**
* [[programming/python/modules/http-server-module|http.server]]: To handle HTTP requests.
* `urllib.parse`: To parse query strings and form data.
## The Code
Save this as `web_server.py`.
```python
import http.server
import socketserver
import urllib.parse
PORT = 8000
class MyHttpRequestHandler(http.server.SimpleHTTPRequestHandler):
def do_GET(self):
# Parse query parameters
parsed_path = urllib.parse.urlparse(self.path)
query_params = urllib.parse.parse_qs(parsed_path.query)
# Dynamic Route: /hello
if parsed_path.path == "/hello":
self.send_response(200)
self.send_header("Content-type", "text/html")
self.end_headers()
name = query_params.get('name', ['World'])[0]
html = f"Hello, {name}!
"
self.wfile.write(bytes(html, "utf-8"))
return
# Default behavior: Serve static files from current directory
return http.server.SimpleHTTPRequestHandler.do_GET(self)
def do_POST(self):
if self.path == "/submit":
# Get content length
content_length = int(self.headers['Content-Length'])
# Read and parse body
post_data = self.rfile.read(content_length).decode('utf-8')
form_data = urllib.parse.parse_qs(post_data)
# Extract data
user_input = form_data.get('user_input', [''])[0]
self.send_response(200)
self.send_header("Content-type", "text/html")
self.end_headers()
response = f"""
Form Submitted
You entered: {user_input}
Go Back
"""
self.wfile.write(bytes(response, "utf-8"))
else:
self.send_error(404, "Not Found")
# Create the server
handler_object = MyHttpRequestHandler
print(f"Starting server on port {PORT}...")
print(f"Try: http://localhost:{PORT}/hello?name=Python")
try:
with socketserver.TCPServer(("", PORT), handler_object) as httpd:
httpd.serve_forever()
except KeyboardInterrupt:
print("\nServer stopped.")
```
## Usage
1. **Run the script:**
```bash
python web_server.py
```
2. **Test Dynamic Route:**
Open `http://localhost:8000/hello?name=Developer` in your browser.
3. **Test Form Submission:**
Create an `index.html` file in the same directory:
```html
```
Then open `http://localhost:8000` and submit the form.
[[programming/python/python]]