SOCKET HTTP SERVER

Once you're done, you should be able to start the web server inside the homework directory using python -u http_server.py and then point your web browser at locations like:

and see the corresponding file located under homework/webroot. Take a moment to look into the homework/webroot and see these files. 

Inside this repository you'll find the http_server.py file. I've added enough stub code for the missing functions to let the server run. And there are more tests for you to make pass!

You do NOT need to execute the make_time.py Python file. When a web user visits http://localhost:1000/make_time.py you only need to serve up the contents of that file. But if you'd like to take on a challenge, then you can choose to execute the file and serve up the result of performing that execution.

Building the Response

Your response_path function will need to accomplish the following tasks:

  • It should take a URI as the sole argument
  • It should map the pathname represented by the URI to a filesystem location.
  • It should have a ‘home directory’, and look only in that location.
  • If the URI is a directory, it should return a plain-text listing of the directory contents and the mimetype text/plain.
  • If the URI is a file, it should return the contents of that file and its correct mimetype.
  • If the URI does not map to a real location, it should raise an exception that the server can catch to return a 404 response.

Because your server will be transmitting files as bytes, you might want to try searching for "reading a file as bytes in Python".

To find the correct mimetype for a file, you might find the following code helpful:

>>> import mimetypes
>>> mimetypes.guess_type('file.txt')[0]
    'text/plain'
>>> mimetypes.types_map['.txt']
    'text/plain'

Use Your Tests

As you work your way through the steps outlined above, look at your tests. Write code that makes them pass.