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Asked: 2026-05-13T21:06:38+00:00

I am looking into developing a small (read:rudimentary) web server on a linux platform

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I am looking into developing a small (read:rudimentary) web server on a linux platform and I have no idea where to start.

What I want it to be able to do is:

  • Listen on a specific port
  • Take HTTP post and get requests
  • Respond appropriately
  • No session management required
  • Has to be in C or C++
  • Has to run as a service on boot

I am familiar with HTTP headers and am an experienced PHP and .Net web developer, but I am not sure where to start with this task.

Can you advise me with some resources to bridge the learning curve?

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    From top-down, you’ll need to know about:

    • HTTP Protocol
    • TCP server – BSD socket programming
    • writing a basic Unix daemon (persistent service)
    • process management (fork)
    • parsing text (read a configuration text file)
    • file handling (I/O)
    • debugging C / C++ programming 🙂

    So you will have to learn about writing a basic Unix application, BSD socket programming for the TCP/IP network programming, and the HTTP protocol.

    Commonly used texts include:

    Unix application development:

    • Advanced Programming in the Unix Environment, Stevens & Rago
    • Advanced Unix Programming

    TCP/IP (sockets) programming:

    • Unix Network Programming, Volume 1 Stevens et all
    • TCP/IP Illustrated, Stevens
    • Ineternetworking with TCP/IP, Volume 3, Comer

    HTTP Protocol

    • RFCs including
    • RFC 2616 for HTTP v1.1,
    • RFC 2068 for pre-v1.1
    • plus others depending on support (compression, URI / URL) and completeness
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