Java HTTP Server

A custom HTTP/1.1 server implementation built from scratch in Java, featuring Docker containerization, Nginx reverse proxy, and static file serving capabilities.

🚀 How to Run This Project

Local Development

# Compile and run locally
mvn compile
mvn exec:java

# Or using Maven Wrapper
./mvnw compile
./mvnw exec:java

Docker Deployment

# Build and start with Docker Compose
docker-compose up --build

# Start in background
docker-compose up -d

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f httpserver

# Stop services
docker-compose down

🏗️ Architecture & RFC Implementation

graph TB
    Client[Web Browser] --> Nginx[Nginx Proxy<br/>:80]
    Nginx --> JavaServer[Java HTTP Server<br/>:8080]
    JavaServer --> WebRoot[Static Files<br/>in WebRoot]
    
    subgraph "RFC 7230 - Message Parsing"
        JavaServer --> Parser[Parse Request Line]
        Parser --> Headers[Parse Headers]
        Headers --> Response[Build Response]
    end
    
    subgraph "RFC 7231 - HTTP Methods & Status"
        Response --> Methods[GET, HEAD, OPTIONS]
        Methods --> Status[200, 404, 500]
        Status --> MIME[MIME Detection]
    end
    
    MIME --> WebRoot
    Response --> Client
    
    subgraph "Docker"
        Nginx
        JavaServer
    end

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📋 RFC Implementation Details

RFC 7230 - Message Syntax & Routing:

• Request Line Parsing → Method SP Request-Target SP HTTP-Version CRLF
• Header Field Parsing → field-name ":" OWS field-value OWS
• Message Body Handling → Content separated by CRLF
• HTTP/1.1 Version Support → Version validation and response formatting

RFC 7231 - Semantics & Content:

• GET Method → Retrieve resources (safe, idempotent)
• HEAD Method → Like GET but without response body
• OPTIONS Method → CORS preflight support
• Status Codes → 200 (OK), 404 (Not Found), 500 (Server Error)
• Content-Type Headers → Automatic MIME type detection
• Content-Length → Proper response body size calculation

🐳 Docker Components

• Java HTTP Server Container: Custom-built container running the HTTP server
• Nginx Container: Reverse proxy for load balancing and SSL termination
• Docker Compose: Orchestrates multi-container setup with health checks
• Maven Wrapper: Ensures consistent Maven version across environments

🔧 Features

• HTTP/1.1 Protocol Implementation
• Static File Serving (HTML, CSS, images)
• MIME Type Detection
• CORS Support
• Docker Containerization
• Nginx Reverse Proxy
• Health Checks & Monitoring
• Multi-stage Docker Builds

🌐 Access Points

• Direct Java Server: http://localhost:8080/
• Through Nginx Proxy: http://localhost/
• Health Check: http://localhost/health

HTTP/1.1 Message Structure & RFC References

When building an HTTP server, it's important to understand the structure and semantics defined by the HTTP/1.1 specifications.

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📜 RFC Overview

• RFC 7230 – Message Syntax and Routing: Defines HTTP message format (start-line, headers, body).
• RFC 7231 – Semantics and Content: Defines HTTP methods, status codes, and request/response semantics.
• RFC 7232 – Conditional Requests: Defines caching-related headers (If-Modified-Since, ETag, etc.).

🔗 RFC References

• RFC 7230: HTTP/1.1 Message Syntax and Routing
• RFC 7231: HTTP/1.1 Semantics and Content
• RFC 7232: HTTP/1.1 Conditional Requests

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📨 HTTP Message Structure (RFC 7230)

• Start-Line → Request Line (for requests) or Status Line (for responses)
• Header Fields → Metadata (Host, Content-Type, etc.)
• CRLF → Empty line separating headers and body
• Message Body → Optional content (HTML, JSON, binary, etc.)

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📥 HTTP Request Line & Methods (RFC 7231)

Methods Defined in RFC 7231:

• GET → Retrieve resource (safe, idempotent)
• HEAD → Like GET, but without body
• POST → Submit data to server
• PUT → Create/replace resource
• DELETE → Remove resource
• CONNECT → Establish a tunnel
• OPTIONS → Query communication options
• TRACE → Diagnostic echo of request

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🛠️ Development Tools

Maven Wrapper

The project includes Maven Wrapper (mvnw) to ensure consistent builds:

• Windows: mvnw.cmd compile
• Unix/Mac: ./mvnw compile

Docker Commands

# Build only
docker-compose build

# View running containers
docker-compose ps

# Execute shell in container
docker-compose exec httpserver bash

# View Nginx logs
docker-compose logs nginx

🔗 Quick Notes

• Message structure → RFC 7230
• Method definitions → RFC 7231
• Conditional headers → RFC 7232
• Docker networking → Internal container communication
• Nginx proxy → Load balancing and SSL-ready