Http Server in Wolfram Language

Here’s the translation of the Go HTTP server example to Wolfram Language:

(* Writing a basic HTTP server in Wolfram Language *)

Needs["WebServices`"]

(* A fundamental concept in HTTP servers is handlers. 
   In Wolfram Language, we can define handlers as functions. *)

hello[request_] := 
 HTTPResponse["hello\n"]

headers[request_] := 
 HTTPResponse[
  StringJoin[
   Table[
    name <> ": " <> value <> "\n",
    {name, Keys[request["Headers"]]},
    {value, request["Headers"][name]}
   ]
  ]
 ]

(* We register our handlers on server routes *)
routes = {
 "/hello" -> hello,
 "/headers" -> headers
}

(* Finally, we start the server with the specified port and routes *)
server = StartWebServer[{8090, routes}]

This Wolfram Language code creates a basic HTTP server similar to the Go example. Here’s a breakdown of the code:

1. We start by loading the WebServices package, which provides HTTP server functionality.

2. We define two handler functions: hello and headers. These functions take a request as input and return an HTTPResponse.

   • The hello function simply returns “hello\n”.
   • The headers function reads all the HTTP request headers and echoes them into the response body.

3. We define the routes for our server, mapping URL paths to their corresponding handler functions.

4. Finally, we start the web server using StartWebServer, specifying the port (8090) and the routes.

To run the server:

(* Run the server *)
server = StartWebServer[{8090, routes}]

To access the /hello route:

(* Access the /hello route *)
URLRead["http://localhost:8090/hello"]

This will return:

hello

To stop the server when you’re done:

(* Stop the server *)
StopWebServer[server]

Note that Wolfram Language’s web server implementation is more high-level and abstract compared to Go’s. It handles many low-level details automatically, allowing for more concise code.