I like writing toy servers too, but I don't get a lot of opportunities, so my latest project is a programming challenge that presents a new protocol spec every 2 weeks for people to implement, and automatically tests the implementations[0].<p>OP says:<p>> Goal: write a basic server that can handle the WS handshake and parse an incoming WS frame to see the message sent from the client<p>> Non-goals: writing a robust or real HTTP server, writing a fully compliant WS server, or handling all edge cases<p>This is a great way to get started with something that you don't yet understand. I sometimes think of it as implementing "just enough to trick people into thinking that it works".<p>FWIW, I think the implementation in this post has a bug whereby a client that sends half an HTTP request will block the entire server from accepting further connections, because handle_request() makes blocking calls to recv() until it has a full request, and the program can't accept new connections until handle_request() returns. That's the spirit!<p>[0] <a href="https://protohackers.com/" rel="nofollow">https://protohackers.com/</a>
“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe” – Carl Sagan<p>It's interesting to see what different people mean when they say "from scratch". In this case the lowest abstraction is (what seems to be) Python's TCP library.
I love this article! I'm going to start my own series of "toys" for my personal edification now, I never thought doing something half-assed would be so much fun! I mean that with the utmost of respect, too, because I have been stressing so much lately trying to build something "commercializable" but I should have been focusing on educating myself and having fun with tiny projects like this, which can be completed in a few days.
Love this article, i was working on a project for an inverse.proxy with CORS + websockets, spent few weeks learning deep HTTP and ws. Is a good experience to learn the basic building blocks of tech