Python Networking lets you share files or create simple websites along with multiple other functions. Learn more about this important module here.
Python Networking: Creating a Simple Http Server
To share files or to host simple websites(http and javascript) in your local network, you can use Python’s builtin
SimpleHTTPServer module. Python should be in your Path variable. Go to the folder where your files are and type:
For python 2:
$ python -m SimpleHTTPServer
For python 3:
$ python3 -m http.server
If port number is not given 8000 is the default port. So the output will be:
Serving HTTP on 0.0.0.0 port 8000 …
You can access to your files through any device connected to the local network by typing https://hostipaddress:8000/.
hostipaddress is your local IP address which probably starts with 192.168.x.x.
To finish the module simply press ctrl+c.
Creating a TCP server
You can create a TCP server using the socketserver library. Here’s a simple echo server.
Server side
from sockerserver import BaseRequestHandler, TCPServer
class EchoHandler(BaseRequestHandler):
def handle(self):
print('connection from:', self.client_address)
while True:
msg = self.request.recv(8192)
if not msg:
break
self.request.send(msg)
if name == 'main':
server = TCPServer(('', 5000), EchoHandler)
server.serve_forever()
Client side
from socket import socket, AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM
sock = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM)
sock.connect(('localhost', 5000))
sock.send(b'Monty Python')
sock.recv(8192) # returns b'Monty Python'
socketserver makes it relatively easy to create simple TCP servers. However, you should be aware that, by default, the servers are single threaded and can only serve one client at a time. If you want to handle multiple clients, either instantiate a ThreadingTCPServer instead.
from socketserver import ThreadingTCPServer
…
if name == 'main':
server = ThreadingTCPServer(('', 5000), EchoHandler)
server.serve_forever()
Python Networking: Creating a UDP Server
A UDP server is easily created using the socketserver library.
a simple time server:
import time
from socketserver import BaseRequestHandler, UDPServer
class CtimeHandler(BaseRequestHandler):
def handle(self):
print('connection from: ', self.client_address)
Get message and client socket msg, sock = self.request
resp = time.ctime()
sock.sendto(resp.encode('ascii'), self.client_address)
if name == 'main':
server = UDPServer(('', 5000), CtimeHandler)
server.serve_forever()
Testing:
from socket import socket, AF_INET, SOCK_DGRAM
sock = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_DGRAM)
sick.sendto(b'', ('localhost', 5000))
0
sock.recvfrom(8192)
(b'Wed Aug 15 20:35:08 2012', ('127.0.0.1', 5000))
Start Simple HttpServer in a thread and open the browser
Useful if your program is outputting web pages along the way.
from http.server import HTTPServer, CGIHTTPRequestHandler
import webbrowser
import threading
def start_server(path, port=8000):
'''Start a simple webserver serving path on port''' os.chdir(path)
httpd = HTTPServer(('', port), CGIHTTPRequestHandler)
httpd.serve_forever()
Start the server in a new thread port = 8000
daemon = threading.Thread(name='daemon_server',
target=start_server,
args=('.', port)
daemon.setDaemon(True) # Set as a daemon so it will be killed once the main thread is dead. daemon.start()
Open the web browser
webbrowser.open('https://localhost:{}'.format(port))
Python Networking: The simplest Python socket client-server example
Server side:
import socket
serversocket = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
serversocket.bind(('localhost', 8089))
serversocket.listen(5) # become a server socket, maximum 5 connections
while True:
connection, address = serversocket.accept()
buf = connection.recv(64)
if len(buf) > 0:
print(buf)
break
Client Side:
import socket
clientsocket = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
clientsocket.connect(('localhost', 8089))
clientsocket.send('hello')
First run the SocketServer.py, and make sure the server is ready to listen/receive sth Then the client send info to the server; After the server received sth, it terminates