WebServ - Cache Me If You Can

Outstanding Project • 125/100 @ 42 Beirut | epoll-powered HTTP/1.1 server in C++98

Zero dependencies • Pure C++98 • Production-grade

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✨ What We Built

A fully asynchronous HTTP/1.1 server that doesn't just work-it shines. From the reactor-pattern event loop to the stunning web interface, every detail was crafted with precision.

🚀 Quick Start

# Build the server
make

# Launch it
./webserv conf/default.conf

# Open your browser
http://localhost:8080

That's it. Three commands. One beautiful interface.

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🎨 The Experience

We didn't just build a server. We built an experience. A modern, interactive web interface with aurora gradients, glassmorphism effects, and real-time testing capabilities.

Test all HTTP methods with live console feedback

What Makes It Special

• 🌌 Aurora Background Effects - Animated gradient meshes that breathe life into the page
• 💎 Glassmorphism UI - Frosted glass effects with blur and transparency
• ✨ Animated Shimmer Text - The title and team name glow and shimmer with gradient animations
• 🎯 Real-Time Testing - Execute HTTP requests and see responses instantly
• 🔥 Interactive Particles - Mouse-reactive particle system with connection lines
• 📱 Fully Responsive - Looks stunning on any device

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⚡ Architecture: Where Beauty Meets Performance

Event-driven architecture with epoll at its core

The Reactor Pattern in Action

Our event loop is a symphony of O(1) efficiency:

1. epoll_wait() monitors all file descriptors in a single syscall
2. ConnectionManager dispatches events to the right handlers
3. Handlers process data without ever blocking
4. Rinse and repeat - thousands of connections, zero threads

Why This Matters:

• select() → O(n) - scans every descriptor
• poll() → O(n) - same performance, no limit
• epoll() → O(1) - kernel maintains the ready list

We chose speed. We chose epoll.

Visual representation of our reactor-based architecture

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🎯 Design Patterns: The Five Pillars

Strategy, State, Factory, Observer, Reactor

1. Strategy Pattern - HTTP Method Handlers

Every HTTP method is a pluggable strategy. Want to add PATCH? Write one class. Zero changes to the core.

2. State Pattern - HTTP Parsing

Parsing happens in stages. Each state knows its job. Handles partial reads naturally.

3. Factory Pattern - Response Generation

All responses flow through one factory. Consistency guaranteed.

4. Observer Pattern - Event Notifications

Components subscribe to events. Decoupled. Clean. Maintainable.

5. Reactor Pattern - The Core

The heart of everything. Event detection → dispatch → handle. Never block.

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🔥 CGI: Async All The Way Down

Non-blocking CGI execution pipeline

Most servers block on CGI. We don't.

Our CGI pipeline:

• Fork process (non-blocking)
• Setup pipes (stdin/stdout/stderr)
• Register pipes with epoll
• Stream data asynchronously
• Parse CGI headers
• Clean up gracefully

The result? Your server never freezes. Even if a CGI script takes forever.

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🍪 Session Management

Cookie-based session flow with server-side storage

Stateful HTTP without the complexity:

• UUID-based session IDs
• Automatic cookie injection
• Server-side key-value storage
• Concurrent session support
• Timeout management

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🎮 The Frontend: God-Tier Beauty

We didn't settle for "good enough." We went for outstanding.

Features That Make You Go "Wow"

✨ Hero Section

• Massive, shimmer-animated title with glint effects
• Glowing team name with gradient animation
• Diamond separators and animated badges
• Breathing particle system with 100+ interactive nodes
• Multi-layered aurora mesh with floating gradients

🎨 Visual Effects

• 4 animated glow spots (gold, amber, rose, violet)
• Film grain noise texture overlay
• Glass morphism on terminal and cards
• Color-blended particle connection lines
• Mouse-reactive particle glow-up effect
• Radial cursor light

🚀 Interactive Elements

• Tab-based HTTP method testing
• Real-time console output
• CGI script gallery with one-click execution
• Session/cookie inspector
• Hover animations on all cards
• Smooth scroll reveal animations

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📊 What We Support

Feature	Status	Notes
GET	✅	Static files, directory listing, CGI, query params
POST	✅	Form data, JSON, multipart uploads, CGI input
PUT	✅	Create/update resources, auto-create directories
DELETE	✅	File deletion with safety checks
HEAD	✅	Metadata without body content
Keep-Alive	✅	Persistent connections
Chunked Encoding	✅	Transfer-Encoding: chunked
Sessions	✅	Cookie-based with server storage
MIME Types	✅	Content negotiation
CGI/1.1	✅	Python, Shell, any executable
Custom Errors	✅	Branded 404/500 pages
Timeouts	✅	Request timeout protection
Security	✅	Path traversal prevention, size limits

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🏗️ Project Structure

Webserv/
├── include/             # Headers organized by layer
│   ├── app/             # Request handlers (Strategy pattern)
│   ├── config/          # Configuration parser (Builder)
│   ├── core/            # Event loop, epoll, connection manager (Reactor)
│   ├── http/            # HTTP protocol, parser (State pattern)
│   └── utils/           # MIME types, sessions, logging
├── src/                 # Implementation files (mirrors include/)
├── www/                 # Web root with stunning interface
│   ├── index.html       # God-tier homepage
│   ├── cgi-bin/         # CGI scripts (Python, Shell)
│   └── uploads/         # Upload directory (auto-created)
├── conf/                # NGINX-style configurations
├── images/              # Screenshots and diagrams
└── Makefile             # Build system

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🧪 Testing It Out

Via Browser (Recommended)

make && ./webserv conf/default.conf

Then open http://localhost:8080 and explore:

• Interactive HTTP method testing
• CGI script gallery
• Session/cookie inspector
• Real-time response console

Via Command Line

# GET request
curl http://localhost:8080/

# POST with data
curl -X POST -d "key=value" http://localhost:8080/cgi-bin/post_test.py

# Upload file
curl -X POST -F "file=@myfile.txt" http://localhost:8080/uploads

# PUT resource
curl -X PUT -d "content" http://localhost:8080/uploads/test.txt

# DELETE resource
curl -X DELETE http://localhost:8080/uploads/test.txt

# HEAD metadata
curl -I http://localhost:8080/

# CGI with query
curl "http://localhost:8080/cgi-bin/calculator.py?a=5&b=3&op=add"

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🛠️ Makefile Commands

make          # Build the server
make debug    # Build with verbose logging
make clean    # Remove object files
make fclean   # Full cleanup (includes www/uploads)
make re       # Rebuild from scratch

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🎯 Why This Project Stands Out

Technical Excellence:

• Reactor pattern with epoll (O(1) performance)
• Five design patterns working in harmony
• Non-blocking I/O throughout the entire stack
• Zero external dependencies (pure C++98)

Visual Brilliance:

• Production-quality web interface
• Aurora gradients and glassmorphism
• Interactive particle system
• Animated text effects

Production Ready:

• Comprehensive error handling
• Security measures (path traversal, timeouts, size limits)
• NGINX-style configuration
• Full HTTP/1.1 compliance

The Result: 125/100 - Outstanding Project @ 42 Beirut

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👥 Team

Cache Me If You Can

• Ali Itawi
• Mohamad Al Mohamad
• Farah El Khatib

Built with precision at 42 Beirut

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🙏 Acknowledgments

• 42 School for pushing us to build something exceptional
• epoll for making asynchronous I/O beautiful
• NGINX for configuration inspiration
• The Gang of Four for timeless design patterns

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📜 License

Educational project for 42 School curriculum.

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⭐ Outstanding Project ⭐

When they said "build a web server," we built a masterpiece.