The Neokernel web server services http requests. If an incoming request is for a static file like an HTML file, the web server delivers it. If the request URI ends in .agent, the web server uses a custom C# or Visual Basic object to generate the response. Objects that generate responses in this way implement the RequestAgent interface. If the server can't find a file or a RequestAgent to match the client's request, a 404 (file not found) error is returned. Typically, an HTTPFileServerAgent is used to serve static files like images or HTML. The HTTPFileServerAgent also handles ASP.NET pages if the file ends with the .aspx extension.

Custom RequestAgents are commonly used in conjunction with the WebServer and SecureWebServer classes to handle HTTP requests dynamically. Here's an example of a simple RequestAgent written in Visual Basic:

   Imports com.neokernel.nk
   Imports com.neokernel.util

   Public Class SimpleVBPage
      Inherits RequestAgent

      Overrides Sub handleRequest(ByVal Request As AgentRequest)
         Dim title, body As String
         body = getString("body")
         Request.println(body)
      End Sub

      Overrides Sub initProps()
         setDefault("service_name", "/simple.agent")
         setDefault("body", "This is output from the SimplePage agent!")
      End Sub
   
   End Class
 

If a browser requests http://localhost/simple.agent from a server that has started the above SimpleAgent, the browser will display the text

This is output from the SimplePage agent!

Here is the exact same agent written using C#:

   using System;
   using com.neokernel.nk;

   public class SimplePage : RequestAgent
   {
      public override void initProps()
      {
         setDefault("service_name", "/simple.agent");

         setDefault("body", "This is output from the SimplePage agent!");
      }

      public override void handleRequest(HTTPAgentRequest request)
      {
         String body = getString("body");

         request.println( body );
      }
   }
 

WebServer supports the following Props entries:

socket_linger_time

The number of millisecs to wait after an http request is completed before closing the socket used for that request. Default value is 2000

bind_port

The port that the webserver will bind to. Default value is 80

max_connections

The maximum number of concurrent connections to allow. Default value is 20

index_agent

The agent that gets called when the default page is requested. Default value is HTTPFileServerAgent

bind_ip

The IP address to service HTTP requests on (on mulithoming machines.) To service requests on any IP interfaces, use 0.0.0.0 as the value. Default value is 0.0.0.0

log_requests

If this is set to true, the server will create HTTP access logs. Default value is true

log_file_dir

Specifies the directory where the server will create the HTTP access logs. Default value is ./logs

mime_types_file

The path to a file specifying mime types to use with various file extensions. If this file is missing, the server uses common default mappings. Default value is ./mime_types

max_uri_length

The maximum length (in bytes) of URIs that the server will accept before a request is ignored. The default value is 4096

max_multipart_length

The maximum size of a POST request that the server will accept (in bytes) before the request is ignored. Default value is 4194304 (4MB)

refuse_requests

This prop specifies a list of strings that will result in a request being refused if a client passes them in the request URI. By default this prop is not set.

multihome

If this prop is set to false, multihome functionality is disabled. By default this prop is set to

true

redirect_agent

If this prop is set to true, the server will use the HTTPRedirectAgent to redirect incoming requests. This prop is not set to a default value.

proxy_agent

If this prop is set to true, the server will use the HTTPProxyAgent to proxy incoming requests. This prop is not set to a default value.

authentication_agent

If this prop is set to true, the server will use the HTTPAuthenticationAgent to demand passwords for certain URLs specified in the http.authentication file. This prop is not set to a default value.

For a list of all members of this type, see WebServer Members .

System.Object
   Props
      Agent
         WebServer
            SecureWebServer

Thread Safety

Public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are safe for multithreaded operations. Instance members are not guaranteed to be thread-safe.

Requirements

Namespace: com.neokernel.httpd

Assembly: Neokernel (in Neokernel.exe)

See Also

WebServer Members | com.neokernel.httpd Namespace

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