Web Servers

It's probably safe to say that these days, most new software is being developed in the form of web applications. People spend an increasingly large part of their day in their web browser, not just reading HTML pages but sending email, managing calendars, entering records into databases, updating Wiki pages, and writing weblog posts.

Even if you're not writing an application strictly for the Web, a web interface is often the easiest way to provide a cross-platform UI for things like administration and reporting. The ability to include a lightweight web server inside your app without introducing any additional dependencies is one of the great things about developing with Twisted. This chapter shows you how to run a web server using Twisted, and introduces you to some building blocks for creating web applications. It also offers an example of a custom HTTP proxy server.

This chapter provides some introductory information about the HTTP protocol used by web servers and web clients. There are many additional details of HTTP that you should know if you're serious about building web applications. In fact, there's enough information to write an entire book on the subject, such as HTTP: The Definitive Guide by David Gourley and Brian Totty (O'Reilly). There's also no substitute for reading the HTTP spec, RFC 2616 (http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc2616.html).