Web Server For Firefox

• November 16, 2021
• 0

Live Server Web Extension – Firefox Add-ons

Live Server – Web Extension is a browser extension that helps you to live reload feature for dynamic content (PHP,, ASPNET — Whatever, it doesn’t matter) extension is for Live Server (VSCode Extension – required v3. 0. 0+) have to install VSCode & Live Server extension for Vscode in order to use this Add: GifFollow this link to setup: are you enjoying Live Server Web Extension? If you think this add-on violates Mozilla’s add-on policies or has security or privacy issues, please report these issues to Mozilla using this don’t use this form to report bugs or request add-on features; this report will be sent to Mozilla and not to the add-on add-on needs to:Access browser tabsAccess your data for all websitesBug Fixed (- reloading all tabs)

Embedding an HTTP Web Server in Firefox OS – Mozilla Hacks

Nearing the end of last year, Mozilla employees were gathered together for a week of collaboration and planning. During that week, a group was formed to envision what the future of Firefox OS might be surrounding a more P2P-focused Web. In particular, we’ve been looking at harnessing technologies to collectively enable offline P2P connections such as Bluetooth, NFC and WiFi Direct.
Since these technologies only provide a means to communicate between devices, it became immediately clear that we would also need a protocol for apps to send and receive data. I quickly realized that we already have a standard protocol for transmitting data in web apps that we could leverage – HTTP.
By utilizing HTTP, we would already have everything we’d need for apps to send and receive data on the client side, but we would still need a web server running in the browser to enable offline P2P communications. While this type of HTTP server functionality might be best suited as part of a standardized WebAPI to be baked into Gecko, we actually already have everything we need in Firefox OS to implement this in JavaScript today!
zTCPSocket
Packaged apps have access to both raw TCP and UDP network sockets, but since we’re dealing with HTTP, we only need to work with TCP sockets. Access to the TCPSocket API is exposed through zTCPSocket which is currently only exposed to “privileged” packaged apps with the tcp-socket permission:
“type”: “privileged”,
“permissions”: {
“tcp-socket”: {}},
In order to respond to incoming HTTP requests, we need to create a new TCPSocket that listens on a known port such as 8080:
var socket = (8080);
When an incoming HTTP request is received, the TCPSocket needs to handle the request through the onconnect handler. The onconnect handler will receive a TCPSocket object used to service the request. The TCPSocket you receive will then call its own ondata handler each time additional HTTP request data is received:
socket. onconnect = function(connection) {
= function(evt) {
();};};
Typically, an HTTP request will result in a single calling of the ondata handler. However, in cases where the HTTP request payload is very large, such as for file uploads, the ondata handler will be triggered each time the buffer is filled, until the entire request payload is delivered.
In order to respond to the HTTP request, we must send data to the TCPSocket we received from the onconnect handler:
var response = ‘HTTP/1. 1 200 OK\r\n’;
var body = ‘Hello World! ‘;
response += ‘Content-Length: ‘ + + ‘\r\n’;
response += ‘\r\n’;
response += body;
(response);
();};
The above example sends a proper HTTP response with “Hello World! ” in the body. Valid HTTP responses must contain a status line which consists of the HTTP version HTTP/1. 1, the response code 200 and the response reason OK terminated by a CR+LF \r\n character sequence. Immediately following the status line are the HTTP headers, one per line, separated by a CR+LF character sequence. After the headers, an additional CR+LF character sequence is required to separate the headers from the body of the HTTP response.
FxOS Web Server
Now, it is likely that we will want to go beyond simple static “Hello World! ” responses to do things like parsing the URL path and extracting parameters from the HTTP request in order to respond with dynamic content. It just so happens that I’ve already implemented a basic-featured HTTP server library that you can include in your own Firefox OS apps!
FxOS Web Server can parse all parts of the HTTP request for various content types including application/x-www-form-urlencoded and multipart/form-data. It can also gracefully handle large HTTP requests for file uploads and can send large binary responses for serving up content such as images and videos. You can either download the source code for FxOS Web Server on GitHub to include in your projects manually or you can utilize Bower to fetch the latest version:
bower install justindarc/fxos-web-server –save
Once you have the source code downloaded, you’ll need to include dist/ in your app using a

WebDrive

---

Files

As you can see, I’ve included in addition to I’ve also included a DeviceStorage helper module called since enumerating files can get somewhat complex. This will help keep the focus on our code specific to the task at hand.
The first thing we’ll need to do is create new instances of the HTTPServer and Storage objects:
var Server = new HTTPServer(8080);
var storage = new Storage('sdcard');
This will initialize a new HTTPServer on port 8080 and a new instance of our Storage helper pointing to the device’s SD card. In order for our HTTPServer instance to be useful, we must listen for and handle the “request” event. When an incoming HTTP request is received, the HTTPServer will emit a “request” event that passes the parsed HTTP request as an HTTPRequest object to the event handler.
The HTTPRequest object contains various properties of an HTTP request including the HTTP method, path, headers, query parameters and form data. In addition to the request data, an HTTPResponse object is also passed to the “request” event handler. The HTTPResponse object allows us to send our response as a file or string and set the response headers:
dEventListener('request', function(evt) {
var request = quest;
var response = sponse;
// Handle request here... });
When a user requests the root URL of our web server, we’ll want to present them with a listing of files stored in the “WebDrive” folder on the device along with a file input for uploading new files. For convenience, we’ll create two helper functions to generate the HTML string to send in our HTTP response. One will just generate the listing of files which we’ll reuse to display the files on the device locally and the other will generate the entire HTML document to send in the HTTP response:
function generateListing(callback) {
('WebDrive', function(directory) {
if (! directory || (directory) === 0) {
callback('

No files found

');
return;}
var html = '';
for (var file in directory) {
html += `

${file}

`;}
callback(html);});}
function generateHTML(callback) {
generateListing(function(listing) {
var html =
`

Upload

${listing}

`;
You’ll notice that we’re using ES6 Template Strings for generating our HTML. If you’re not familiar with Template Strings, they allow us to have multi-line strings that automatically include whitespace and new lines and we can do basic string interpolation that automatically inserts values inside the ${} syntax. This is especially useful for generating HTML because it allows us to span multiple lines so our template markup remains highly readable when embedded within JavaScript code.
Now that we have our helper functions, let’s send our HTML response in our “request” event handler:
generateHTML(function(html) {
(html);});});
As of right now, our “request” event handler will always respond with an HTML page listing all the files in the device’s “WebDrive” folder. However, we must first start the HTTPServer before we can receive any requests. We’ll do this once the DOM is ready and while we’re at it, let’s also render the file listing locally:
dEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function(evt) {
nerHTML = listing;});
();});
We should also be sure to stop the HTTPServer when the app is terminated, otherwise the network socket may never be freed:
dEventListener('beforeunload', function(evt) {
At this point, our web server should be up and running! Go ahead and install the app on your device or simulator using WebIDE. Once installed, launch the app and point your desktop browser to your device’s IP address at port 8080 (e. g. :).
You should see our index page load in your desktop browser, but the upload form still isn’t wired up and if you have any files in your “WebDrive” folder on your device, they cannot be downloaded yet. Let’s first wire up the file upload by first creating another helper function to save files received in an HTTPRequest:
function saveFile(file, callback) {
var arrayBuffer = ringToArrayBuffer();
var blob = new Blob([arrayBuffer]);
(blob, 'WebDrive/' + lename, callback);}
This function will first convert the file’s contents to an ArrayBuffer using the BinaryUtils utility that comes with We then create a Blob that we pass to our Storage helper to save it to the SD card in the “WebDrive” folder. Note that the filename can be extracted from the file’s metadata object since it gets passed to the server using ‘multipart/form-data’ encoding.
Now that we have a helper for saving an uploaded file, let’s wire it up in our “request” event handler:
if ( === 'POST' &&) {
saveFile(, function() {
(html);});
generateListing(function(html) {
nerHTML = html;});});
Now, anytime an HTTP POST request is received that contains a “file” parameter in the request body, we will save the file to the “WebDrive” folder on the SD card and respond with an updated file listing index page. At the same time, we’ll also update the file listing on the local device to display the newly-added file.
The only remaining part of our app to wire up is the ability to download files. Once again, let’s update the “request” event handler to do this:
var path = decodeURIComponent();
if (path! == '/') {
('WebDrive' + path, function(file) {
if (! file) {
(null, 404);
response. headers['Content-Type'] =;
ndFile(file);});
This time, our “request” event handler will check the requested path to see if a URL other than the root is being requested. If so, we assume that the user is requesting to download a file which we then proceed to get using our Storage helper. If the file cannot be found, we return an HTTP 404 error. Otherwise, we set the “Content-Type” in the response header to the file’s MIME type and send the file with the HTTPResponse object.
You can now re-install the app to your device or simulator using WebIDE and once again point your desktop browser to your device’s IP address at port 8080. Now, you should be able to upload and download files from your device using your desktop browser!
The possible use cases enabled by embedding a web server into Firefox OS apps are nearly limitless. Not only can you serve up web content from your device to a desktop browser, as we just did here, but you can also serve up content from one device to another. That also means that you can use HTTP to send and receive data between apps on the same device! Since its inception, FxOS Web Server has been used as a foundation for several exciting experiments at Mozilla:
wifi-columns
Guillaume Marty has combined FxOS Web Server with his amazing jsSMS Master System/Game Gear emulator to enable multi-player gaming across two devices in conjunction with WiFi Direct.
sharing
Several members of the Gaia team have used FxOS Web Server and to create an app that allows users to discover and share apps with friends over WiFi.
firedrop
I have personally used FxOS Web Server to build an app that lets you share files with nearby users without an Internet connection using WiFi Direct. You can see the app in action here:
I look forward to seeing all the exciting things that are built next with FxOS Web Server!
Software engineer at Mozilla creating cutting-edge mobile web apps. Proud father, husband, musician, vinyl record aficionado and all-around tinkerer.
More articles by Justin D'Arcangelo…

What is the difference between webpage, website, web server, and ...

In this article, we describe various web-related concepts: web pages, websites, web servers, and search engines. These terms are often confused by newcomers to the web or are incorrectly used. Let's learn what they each mean!
Prerequisites:
You should know
how the Internet works.
Objective:
Be able to describe the differences between a web page, a website, a web
server, and a search engine.
SummaryAs with any area of knowledge, the web comes with a lot of jargon. Don't worry, we won't overwhelm you with all of it (we have a glossary if you're curious). However, there are a few basic terms you need to understand at the outset, since you'll hear these expressions all the time as you read on. It's easy to confuse these terms sometimes since they refer to related but different functionalities. In fact, you'll sometimes see these terms misused in news reports and elsewhere, so getting them mixed up is understandable!
We'll cover these terms and technologies in more detail as we explore further, but these quick definitions will be a great start for you:
web page
A document which can be displayed in a web browser such as Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Microsoft Internet Explorer or Edge, or Apple's Safari. These are also often called just "pages. "
website
A collection of web pages which are grouped together and usually connected together in various ways. Often called a "web site" or a "site. "
web server
A computer that hosts a website on the Internet.
search engine
A web service that helps you find other web pages, such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, or DuckDuckGo. Search engines are normally accessed through a web browser (e. g. you can perform search engine searches directly in the address bar of Firefox, Chrome, etc. ) or through a web page (e. or).
Let's look at a simple analogy — a public library. This is what you would generally do when visiting a library:
Find a search index and look for the title of the book you want.
Make a note of the catalog number of the book.
Go to the particular section containing the book, find the right catalog number, and get the book.
Let's compare the library with a web server:
The library is like a web server. It has several sections, which is similar to a web server hosting multiple websites.
The different sections (science, math, history, etc. ) in the library are like websites. Each section is like a unique website (two sections do not contain the same books).
The books in each section are like webpages. One website may have several webpages, e. g., the Science section (the website) will have books on heat, sound, thermodynamics, statics, etc. (the webpages). Webpages can each be found at a unique location (URL).
The search index is like the search engine. Each book has its own unique location in the library (two books cannot be kept at the same place) which is specified by the catalog number.
Active learningDeeper diveSo, let's dig deeper into how those four terms are related and why they are sometimes confused with each pageA web page is a simple document displayable by a browser. Such documents are written in the HTML language (which we look into in more detail in other articles). A web page can embed a variety of different types of resources such as:
style information — controlling a page's look-and-feel
scripts — which add interactivity to the page
media — images, sounds, and videos.
Note: Browsers can also display other documents such as PDF files or images, but the term web page specifically refers to HTML documents. Otherwise, we only use the term document.
All web pages available on the web are reachable through a unique address. To access a page, just type its address in your browser address bar:
Web siteA website is a collection of linked web pages (plus their associated resources) that share a unique domain name. Each web page of a given website provides explicit links—most of the time in the form of clickable portion of text—that allow the user to move from one page of the website to another.
To access a website, type its domain name in your browser address bar, and the browser will display the website's main web page, or homepage (casually referred as "the home"):
The ideas of a web page and a website are especially easy to confuse for a website that contains only one web page. Such a website is sometimes called a single-page serverA web server is a computer hosting one or more websites. "Hosting" means that all the web pages and their supporting files are available on that computer. The web server will send any web page from the website it is hosting to any user's browser, per user request.
Don't confuse websites and web servers. For example, if you hear someone say, "My website is not responding", it actually means that the web server is not responding and therefore the website is not available. More importantly, since a web server can host multiple websites, the term web server is never used to designate a website, as it could cause great confusion. In our previous example, if we said, "My web server is not responding", it means that multiple websites on that web server are not engineSearch engines are a common source of confusion on the web. A search engine is a special kind of website that helps users find web pages from other websites.
There are plenty out there: Google, Bing, Yandex, DuckDuckGo, and many more. Some are generic, some are specialized about certain topics. Use whichever you prefer.
Many beginners on the web confuse search engines and browsers. Let's make it clear: A browser is a piece of software that retrieves and displays web pages; a search engine is a website that helps people find web pages from other websites. The confusion arises because, the first time someone launches a browser, the browser displays a search engine's homepage. This makes sense, because, obviously, the first thing you want to do with a browser is to find a web page to display. Don't confuse the infrastructure (e. g., the browser) with the service (e. g., the search engine). The distinction will help you quite a bit, but even some professionals speak loosely, so don't feel anxious about it.
Here is an instance of Firefox showing a Google search box as its default startup page:
Next steps
Dig deeper: What is a web server
See how web pages are linked into a web site: Understanding links on the web

Frequently Asked Questions about web server for firefox

Is Firefox a web server?

A document which can be displayed in a web browser such as Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Microsoft Internet Explorer or Edge, or Apple's Safari. These are also often called just "pages." ... web server. A computer that hosts a website on the Internet.Oct 4, 2021

How do I run a web server?

Set Up Your Very Own Web Server!Step 1: Acquire a Dedicated PC. This step may be easy for some and hard for others. ... Step 2: Get the OS! ... Step 3: Install the OS! ... Step 4: Setup VNC. ... Step 5: Install FTP. ... Step 6: Configure FTP Users. ... Step 7: Configure and Activate FTP Server! ... Step 8: Install HTTP Support, Sit Back and Relax!More items...

What is a web server answer?

Definition: A web server is a computer that runs websites. It's a computer program that distributes web pages as they are requisitioned. The basic objective of the web server is to store, process and deliver web pages to the users. This intercommunication is done using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).