Henry Leinen / HTTPServer

Single instance HTTP Server using new Ethernet Interface.

Dependents:   EthHTTPServer if201410_section5 _PE2E_12-04_EthernetInterfaceServer MGAS_GR_Peach ... more

Fork of WiFlyHTTPServer by Henry Leinen

Desciprtion of the library

Overview

This is an HTTPServer library using the new MBED EthernetInterface library. It allows you to :

  • serve files from any file System
  • use Remote procedure calls
  • extend the HTTPServer functionality according to your needs, using the provided handler classes or writing new classes. The following sections will give you a brief overview of how to use the library.

Usage description

You can use the library as file server, as RPC server or a combination of both. You can even define your own behaviour by deriving from one of the classes provided.

Use as file server

You may want to look at my sample application which allows you to serve files from the internal local storage of the mbed with no modifcation of the code :

Very simple example application

#include "mbed.h"
#include "HTTPServer.h"
#include "FsHandler.h"
#include "LocalFileSystem.h"

//  Use LED1 to indicate that the main loop is still executing
DigitalOut myled(LED1);
//  Use the serial connection 'pc' to dump debug information
Serial pc(USBTX, USBRX, "pc");
//  Instantiate a HTTPServer to handle incoming requests
HTTPServer  svr;
//  Instantiate a local file system handler named 'local' which will be used later to access files on the mbed.
LocalFileSystem local("local");


int main() {

    pc.baud(460800);
    HTTPFsRequestHandler::mount("/local/", "/");
    svr.addHandler<HTTPFsRequestHandler>("/");

    if (!svr.start()) {
       error("Server not starting !");
        exit(0);
    }
    
    while(1) {
        svr.poll();
        myled = 1;
        wait(0.2);
        myled = 0;
        wait(0.2);
    }
}

Another alternative is to provide the EthernetInterface library to the HTTPServer library. This may be useful in case you need to perform other tasks with your internet connection. In this case it is necessary that you initialize the EthernetInterface and perform the connection prior to calling the start() method. Here is the example :

Sample application with re-use of existing EthernetInterface object

#include "mbed.h"
#include "HTTPServer.h"
#include "FsHandler.h"
#include "LocalFileSystem.h"
#include "EthernetInterface.h"


//  Use LED1 to indicate that the main loop is still executing
DigitalOut myled(LED1);
//  Use the serial connection 'pc' to dump debug information
Serial pc(USBTX, USBRX, "pc");
//  Instantiate a HTTPServer to handle incoming requests
HTTPServer  svr;
//  Instantiate a local file system handler named 'local' which will be used later to access files on the mbed.
LocalFileSystem local("local");
//  Create the EthernetInterface. This is optional, please see the documentation of HTTP Server's start method.
EthernetInterface eth;


int main() {

    pc.baud(460800);
    HTTPFsRequestHandler::mount("/local/", "/");
    svr.addHandler<HTTPFsRequestHandler>("/");

    //  Initialize the EthernetInterface and initiate a connection using DHCP.
    eth.init();
    eth.connect();

    // ***
    // TODO: Perform other Tasks using the ethernet connection here.
    // ****
    
    // Now start the server on port 80.
    if (!svr.start(80, &eth)) {
        error("Server not starting !");
        exit(0);
    }
    
    // The whole server activity is performed in this Loop. You can also put it into a separate RTOS Task and let it run there all the time.
    while(1) {
        svr.poll();
        myled = 1;
        wait(0.2);
        myled = 0;
        wait(0.2);
    }
}

Use as remote procedure call (RPC) server

To access objects or resources via HTTP you can make use of the RPC functionality. Each object that shall be accessible via HTTP needs to be registered before use. Here is an example which Registers the DigitalOut class for use over RPC :

RPC usage over HTTPServer

#include "mbed.h"
#include "HTTPServer.h"
#include "RpcHandler.h"
#include "mbed_rpc.h"

//  Use LED1 to indicate that the main loop is still executing
DigitalOut myled(LED1);
//  Use the serial connection 'pc' to dump debug information
Serial pc(USBTX, USBRX, "pc");
//  Instantiate a HTTPServer to handle incoming requests
HTTPServer  svr;


int main() {

    pc.baud(460800);
    RPC::add_rpc_class<RpcDigitalOut>();
    svr.addHandler<HTTPRpcRequestHandler>("/RPC");
    
    if (!svr.start()) {
        error("Server not starting !");
        exit(0);
    }
    
    while(1) {
        svr.poll();
        myled = 1;
        wait(0.2);
        myled = 0;
        wait(0.2);
    }
}

And using the above code, enter the following in the address field of your browser :

http://<your_mbed_ip>/RPC/DigitalOut/new LED4 myled4 - - > to create a new object of type DigitalOut on pin LED4 which can be referred to as 'myled4'.

and

http://<your_mbed_ip>/RPC/myled4/write 1 - - > to switch on the LED4.

Of course it is possible to Register your own objects with the standard MBED RPC functionality.

All the above Scenarios are implemented in a sample application, which will allow you to try out the functionality with basically no changes. If you want to try out the HTTP file Server, it is of course helpful to upload an html file to your MBED local storage.

Here is the sample application :

Import programEthHTTPServer

Working sample implementation for the EthernetInterface HTTPServer.

Last commit 17 Aug 2013 by Henry Leinen

Future plans

Currently I am not considering to further extend this library. However, if someone needs extensions to this library, I will consider implementing them. Of course I will be taking care of bugfixes.

Known issues

Please note that the current implementation of the EthernetInterface seems to have an issue which results in unresponsive behaviour of the Sockets in some situations. This odd behaviour has not only been reported on my HTTPServer but also on other components using the EthernetInterface library.

Files at this revision

API Documentation at this revision

Revision 14:011edcd33e86, committed 2013-08-17

Comitter:
leihen
Date:
Sat Aug 17 12:12:13 2013 +0000
Parent:
13:aa5338a5e452
Child:
15:909dcf44c3db
Commit message:
Changed behaviour, so that now an EthernetInterface can be provided by user of the library as an alternative to having the HTTPServer being the owner.
; Example documentation Extended.

Changed in this revision

HTTPServer.cpp Show annotated file Show diff for this revision Revisions of this file
HTTPServer.h Show annotated file Show diff for this revision Revisions of this file 
--- a/HTTPServer.cpp	Sat Jun 22 15:41:34 2013 +0000
+++ b/HTTPServer.cpp	Sat Aug 17 12:12:13 2013 +0000
@@ -12,20 +12,23 @@
 DigitalOut led4(LED4);
 #endif
 
-static EthernetInterface eth;
 
 /* Constructor */
 /* initialize all members and set the standard error handler. */
 HTTPServer::HTTPServer()
+    : m_pEthernet(NULL)
 {
     m_pErrorHandler = StdErrorHandler;
 }
 
 HTTPServer::~HTTPServer()
 {
+    if (m_pEthernet == NULL) {
+        INFO("Deleting EthernetInterface Object.\n");
+        delete m_pEthernet;
+    }
 }
 
-
 static const char* szStdErrorPage = "<HTML><HEAD><META content=\"text/html\" http-equiv=Content-Type></HEAD><BODY><h1>Error 404</h1><P>This resource is not available<P></BODY></HTML>\r\n\r\n";
 
 void HTTPServer::StdErrorHandler(HTTPConnection::HTTPMessage& msg, TCPSocketConnection& tcp)
@@ -38,14 +41,44 @@
 }
 
 
-bool HTTPServer::start(int port)
+bool HTTPServer::start(int port, EthernetInterface* pEthernet)
 {
-    INFO("Initializing network\n");
-    eth.init();
+    //  If no ethernet interface is provided, instantiate own on the heap. This has to be deleted later in the destructor.
+    //  If a valid pointer to an thernet interface is proveded, we can simply use it. 
+    if (pEthernet == NULL) {
+        INFO("Creating EthernetInterface object\n");
+        m_pEthernet = new EthernetInterface();
+        
+        if (m_pEthernet == NULL) {
+            ERR("Out of memory, unable to instantiate an EthernetInterface object.");
+            return false;
+        }
 
-    INFO("Connecting to network...");
-    eth.connect();
-
+        //  Initiaize the network
+        INFO("Initializing network\n");
+        if (m_pEthernet->init() != 0) {
+            ERR("Failed to initialize the ethernet interface !");
+            delete m_pEthernet;
+            m_pEthernet = NULL;
+            return false;
+        }
+        
+        //  Connect to the network using DHCP
+        INFO("Connecting to the network using DHCP...");
+        if (m_pEthernet->connect() != 0) {
+            ERR("Failed to connect to the ethernet !");
+            delete m_pEthernet;
+            m_pEthernet = NULL;
+            return false;
+        }
+        
+        INFO("Connected IP %s", m_pEthernet->getIPAddress());
+        
+    } else {
+        //  In the case that the ethernet interface is provided, it is assumed that a connection has already been created.
+        INFO("Using connection IP %s", pEthernet->getIPAddress());
+    }
+    
     INFO("Binding to port %d...", port);
     if (m_Svr.bind(port) < 0) {
         ERR("Failed to bind to port !\n");
@@ -70,8 +103,6 @@
 
 int HTTPServer::poll(bool blocking)
 {
-    int retval = -1;
-
 #ifdef _DEBUG
     led4 = 1;   //  Indicate we are waiting for a new connection
 #endif

--- a/HTTPServer.h	Sat Jun 22 15:41:34 2013 +0000
+++ b/HTTPServer.h	Sat Aug 17 12:12:13 2013 +0000
@@ -57,12 +57,11 @@
 * #include "LocalFileSystem.h"
 *
 * LocalFileSystem local("local"); 
-* WiflyInterface wifly(p9, p10, p25, p26, "<your access point>", "<your password>", WPA);
 *
 * void main(void)
 * {
 *     HTTPServer svr;
-      svr.mount("/local/", "/");
+*     svr.mount("/local/", "/");
 *     svr.addHandler<HTTPFsRequestHandler>( "/" );
 *     svr.start();
 *     while(1)
@@ -72,13 +71,55 @@
 *     }
 * }
 * @endcode
+*
+* An alternate approach e.g. if you need to perform additional tasks using the EthernetInterface
+* there is the possibility to provide the EthernetInterface object in an initialized and connected
+* state. __NOTE: You should choose this scenario for compatibility reasons.___
+*
+* \b Example2:
+* @code
+* #include "mbed.h"
+* #include "HTTPServer.h"
+* #include "EthernetInterface.h"
+* #include "LocalFileSystem.h"
+*
+* LocalFileSystem local("local");
+* EthernetInterface eth;
+*
+* void main(void)
+* {
+*     HTTPServer svr;
+*     //    Initialize the ethernet interface
+*     if (eth.init() != 0) {
+*         printf("Initialization of EthernetInterface failed !");
+*         exit(0);
+*     }
+*     //    Connect using DHCP
+*     if (eth.connect() !=0) {
+*         printf("Failed to connect using DHCP !");
+*         exit(0);
+*     }
+*     
+*     // Moint the local file system and provide a handler for 'root'.
+*     svr.mount("/local/", "/");
+*     svr.addHandler<HTTPFsRequestHandler>( "/" );
+*     // Start the server on port 80, providing our own ethernet interface object.
+*     svr.start(80, &eth);
+*     while(1)
+*     {
+*         if (svr.poll() < 0)
+*             exit(0);
+*     }
+* }
+* @endcode
+*     
 */
 class HTTPServer
 {
-        
         TCPSocketServer         m_Svr;
         bool                    m_bServerListening;
-        
+        EthernetInterface*      m_pEthernet;
+       
     public:
         /** Constructor for HTTPServer objects.
         */
@@ -127,9 +168,11 @@
         /** Binds server to a specific port and starts listening. This member prepares the internal variables and the server socket
         * and terminates after successfull initialization
         * @param port : port on which to listen for incoming connections
-        * @returns : -1 if an unrecoverable error occured, or 0 if everything was ok.
+        * @param pEthernet : a pointer to an existing EthernetInterface object or NULL if the HTTPServer shall allocate the object. _Please note that for compatibility reasons
+        * your should consider to create the EthernetInterface as a static variable. Otherwise the the object will be created on the heap._
+        * @returns : false if an unrecoverable error occured or if the ethernet interface was not set or not initialized correctly, or true if everything was ok.
         */
-        bool start(int port = 80);
+        bool start(int port = 80, EthernetInterface* pEthernet = NULL);
         
         /** Performs the regular polling of the server component. Needs to be called cyclically.
         * The function will internally check whether new connections are requested by a client and will also poll all existing client connections.
@@ -138,8 +181,9 @@
         * ready for processing the next request. Simply call \c poll as long as you want to serve new incoming requests.
         */
         int poll(bool blocking = true);
-   
+        
     private:
+        
         /** The standard error handler function.
         * @param msg : Request message data.
         * @param tcp : Socket to be used for responding.