Implement a simple HTTP server based on Python

An HTTP server operates on the server side, with its main functions including handling requests from clients, managing web resources, and generating and sending responses back to the clients. In practical applications, HTTP servers are not limited to transmitting HTML documents; they can also deliver images, videos, application data, and more types of data. These servers are commonly used in scenarios such as website hosting, API provision, and data transfer.

For example, Apache HTTP Server and Nginx are two widely used HTTP server software. Apache, developed by the Apache Software Foundation, is a modular server supporting a wide range of features, including loadable modules, authentication mechanisms, SSL/TLS encryption, and more. Nginx is known for its high performance, stability, low resource consumption, and simple configuration, often used as a load balancer and reverse proxy server.

As a beginner’s exercise in implementing an HTTP server, let’s start with creating the simplest HTTP server possible, one that can process a Hello World request. The server listens for incoming connections, processes HTTP requests, and returns a basic HTML response of “Hello, World!” for any request.

It binds to the local host (127.0.0.1) on port 8080. When a client connects and sends an HTTP request, the server responds with a minimal HTTP/1.1 200 OK response, including an HTML body.

We avoid reinventing the wheel by using Python’s socket library.