cHttpServer Component Overview

Introduction

cHttpServer is an HTTP server component based on VB6 that provides complete Web server functionality, supporting routing, session, cookie, static file service, SSE (Server-Sent Events), CORS handling, and more.

Features

Feature	Description
HTTP Service	Supports GET/POST/PUT/DELETE/OPTIONS methods
Router System	Supports manual route registration and auto routing
Session Management	Supports memory, file system, database storage
Cookie Handling	Complete cookie parsing and setting
Static Files	Auto serve static files
SSE Support	Server-Sent Events real-time push
CORS Handling	Built-in CORS support
MVC Architecture	Supports controller-view-model development
Packet Coalescing	Auto handles TCP packet coalescing

Architecture Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     cHttpServer                         │
│  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐     │
│  │   Router   │  │   Session  │  │    SSE     │     │
│  │ (Router)   │  │ (Session)  │  │(Real-time) │     │
│  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘     │
│  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐  ┌─────────────┐     │
│  │   Request   │  │  Response   │  │   Context   │     │
│  │(Request Obj)│  │(Response)  │  │ (Context)   │     │
│  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘  └─────────────┘     │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Quick Start

Minimal HTTP Server

Private WithEvents Server As cHttpServer

Private Sub Form_Load()
    Set Server = New cHttpServer
    
    ' Register routes
    Call Server.Router.Reg("Home", New cHomeController)
    Call Server.Router.Add("/", "Home@Index")
    Call Server.Router.Add("/user", "Home@User", OnlyGet)
    Call Server.Router.Add("/api/data", "Home@Api", OnlyPost)
    
    ' Start server
    If Server.Start(8080, "C:\WebRoot") Then
        Debug.Print "Server started: http://localhost:8080"
    Else
        Debug.Print "Start failed: " & Server.LastError
    End If
End Sub

Private Sub Form_Unload(Cancel As Integer)
    Server.StopMe
End Sub

' Controller example
Public Sub Index(ctx As cHttpServerContext)
    ctx.Response.Html "<h1>Hello World!</h1>"
End Sub

Public Sub Api(ctx As cHttpServerContext)
    Dim data As New Scripting.Dictionary
    data("message") = "Success"
    data("time") = Now
    ctx.Response.Json data, 0, "OK"
End Sub

Session Configuration

Private Sub Form_Load()
    Set Server = New cHttpServer
    
    ' Configure Session storage type
    Server.SessionStorageType = SessionStorageFileSystem  ' File storage
    Server.SessionStoragePath = "C:\Sessions"             ' Storage path
    Server.SessionCookieName = "MY_SESSIONID"             ' Cookie name
    
    ' Or use database storage
    ' Server.SessionStorageType = SessionStorageDatabase
    ' Server.SessionStoragePath = "sessions_table"
    
    Call Server.Start(8080, "C:\WebRoot")
End Sub

CORS Configuration

Private Sub Form_Load()
    Set Server = New cHttpServer
    
    ' Enable CORS
    Server.CrossDomain.Enable = True
    Server.CrossDomain.AllowOrigin = "*"
    Server.CrossDomain.AllowMethods = "GET, POST, PUT, DELETE"
    Server.CrossDomain.AllowHeaders = "Content-Type, Authorization"
    Server.CrossDomain.AllowCredentials = True
    
    Call Server.Start(8080)
End Sub

File Structure

File	Description
cHttpServer.cls	Main server class
cHttpServerRouter.cls	Router
cHttpServerRequest.cls	Request object
cHttpServerResponse.cls	Response object
cHttpServerSession.cls	Session management
cHttpServerCookies.cls	Cookie management
cHttpServerContext.cls	Context object
cHttpServerClientInfo.cls	Client info
cHttpServerRouteBefore.cls	Before route
cHttpServerRouterAfter.cls	After route
cHttpCrossDomain.cls	CORS handling

References

• cTlsReMaster.cls - TLS/Network communication
• cJson.cls - JSON handling
• cScriptEngine.cls - Script engine
• cDataBase.cls - Database (optional)
• cSSE.cls - SSE support

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Last Updated: 2026-05-17