Standard Library
HTTP Server & Client

HTTP Module

The http module provides both HTTP server and client funcality for building web applications and making HTTP requests.

HTTP Server

http.createServer()

Create an HTTP server:

let server = http.createServer();
 
server.on("GET", "/", func(req, res) {
    res.writeHead(200, {"Content-Type": "text/html"});
    res.end("<h1>Hello, World!</h1>");
});
 
server.listen(3000);
print("Server running on http://localhost:3000");

Route Handling

Handle different routes and methods:

let server = http.createServer();
 
//GET route
server.on("GET", "/", func(req, res) {
    res.writeHead(200, {"Content-Type": "text/html"});
    res.end("<h1>Home Page</h1>");
});
 
// GET with path parameter
server.on("GET", "/about", func(req, res) {
    res.writeHead(200, {"Content-Type": "text/html"});
    res.end("<h1>About Page</h1>");
});
 
// POST route
server.on("POST", "/api/data", func(req, res) {
    let data = json.parse(req.body);
    res.writeHead(200, {"Content-Type": "application/json"});
    res.end(json.stringify({"received": true}));
});
 
server.listen(8080);

JSON API

let server = http.createServer();
 
server.on("GET", "/api/users", func(req, res) {
    let users = [
        {"id": 1, "name": "Alice"},
        {"id": 2, "name": "Bob"}
    ];
    
    res.writeHead(200, {"Content-Type": "application/json"});
    res.end(json.stringify(users));
});
 
server.on("POST", "/api/users", func(req, res) {
    let new_user = json.parse(req.body);
    // Process new user...
    
    res.writeHead(201, {"Content-Type": "application/json"});
    res.end(json.stringify({"id": 3, "name": new_user["name"]}));
});
 
server.listen(3000);

HTTP Client

http.get()

Make GET requests:

let response = http.get("https://api.example.com/data");
let data = json.parse(response);
print(data);

http.post()

Make POST requests:

let payload = json.stringify({"name": "Alice", "email": "alice@example.com"});
let response = http.post("https://api.example.com/users", payload);
print(response);

Complete REST API Example

let server = http.createServer();
let users_db = [];
let next_id = 1;
 
// GET all users
server.on("GET", "/api/users", func(req, res) {
    res.writeHead(200, {"Content-Type": "application/json"});
    res.end(json.stringify(users_db));
});
 
// POST create user
server.on("POST", "/api/users", func(req, res) {
    let user_data = json.parse(req.body);
    user_data["id"] = next_id;
    next_id = next_id + 1;
    
    users_db = push(users_db, user_data);
    
    res.writeHead(201, {"Content-Type": "application/json"});
    res.end(json.stringify(user_data));
});
 
// PUT update user
server.on("PUT", "/api/users", func(req, res) {
    let updated_user = json.parse(req.body);
    let user_id = updated_user["id"];
    
    let i = 0;
    while (i < len(users_db)) {
        if (users_db[i]["id"] == user_id) {
            users_db[i] = updated_user;
            break;
        }
        i = i + 1;
    }
    
    res.writeHead(200, {"Content-Type": "application/json"});
    res.end(json.stringify(updated_user));
});
 
// DELETE user
server.on("DELETE", "/api/users", func(req, res) {
    let delete_data = json.parse(req.body);
    let user_id = delete_data["id"];
    
    // Remove user (simplified)
    res.writeHead(200, {"Content-Type": "application/json"});
    res.end(json.stringify({"deleted": true}));
});
 
server.listen(3000);

Best Practices

  • Always set appropriate Content-Type headers
  • Use status codes correctly (200, 201, 404, 500, etc.)
  • Parse JSON request bodies carefully
  • Handle errors gracefully
  • Keep the server running (blocking operation)

Next Steps

SQLite DatabaseJob Scheduling (cron)