Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

SimpleHTTPServer VS lighttpd

Compare SimpleHTTPServer VS lighttpd and see what are their differences

SimpleHTTPServer logo SimpleHTTPServer

Serve a single directory over HTTP

lighttpd logo lighttpd

A secure, fast, compliant, and very flexible web-server that has been optimized for high-performance environments
  • SimpleHTTPServer Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-22
  • lighttpd Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-28

SimpleHTTPServer features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    SimpleHTTPServer is extremely easy to use, requiring just a single command to spin up a basic web server, making it ideal for quick testing and development purposes.
  • No Installation Required
    As a standard module in Python 2.7, SimpleHTTPServer does not require any additional installation processes, reducing setup time for developers.
  • Platform Independent
    Being part of Python's standard library, it is platform-independent and can run on any system that supports Python.

Possible disadvantages of SimpleHTTPServer

  • Security
    SimpleHTTPServer lacks security features like HTTPS, authentication mechanisms, and protection against vulnerabilities, which makes it unsuitable for production environments.
  • Limited Functionality
    Designed for serving static files, SimpleHTTPServer lacks advanced functionalities like CGI scripting or integration with databases needed for dynamic content serving.
  • Obsolete
    Being a part of Python 2.7 which is no longer maintained, SimpleHTTPServer is obsolete, and users are encouraged to use Python 3, specifically the http.server module for better functionality and support.
  • Single Threaded
    By default, SimpleHTTPServer handles requests sequentially in a single-threaded manner, which can result in performance bottlenecks when handling multiple requests simultaneously.

lighttpd features and specs

  • Low Memory Footprint
    Lighttpd is known for its low memory usage, making it ideal for environments where memory resources are limited.
  • High Performance
    It is designed to handle large numbers of parallel connections efficiently, making it suitable for high-traffic websites.
  • Easy to Configure
    Lighttpd offers straightforward configuration files that are easy to understand and modify.
  • Supports FastCGI, SCGI, and CGI
    It has built-in support for various interfaces like FastCGI, SCGI, and CGI, allowing it to interact with different types of applications.
  • Event-Driven Architecture
    The event-driven design allows for non-blocking and asynchronous operations, contributing to its speed and efficiency.

Possible disadvantages of lighttpd

  • Limited Module Support
    Lighttpd has fewer third-party modules and plugins compared to more popular web servers like Apache and Nginx.
  • Community Support
    The community around Lighttpd is smaller, which might result in slower updates and fewer tutorials or examples.
  • Learning Curve
    New users might find the initial setup and configuration challenging compared to more widely-used web servers.
  • Compatibility Issues
    Some applications or tools that are designed with Apache or Nginx in mind might not work seamlessly with Lighttpd.
  • Less Frequent Updates
    The development and release cycle for Lighttpd updates may not be as frequent as for more popular web servers.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to SimpleHTTPServer and lighttpd)
Web And Application Servers
Web Servers
7 7%
93% 93
Application Server
5 5%
95% 95
Events
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare SimpleHTTPServer and lighttpd

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lighttpd Reviews

13 Best XAMPP Alternatives
Lighttpd is a simple and lightweight web server that allows you to do very fast static file serving. It can also be used as a content cache, a reverse proxy, or an HTTP accelerator. Lighttpd is not only lightning-fast but also straightforward to set up; in many cases, you only need one configuration file to work. Lighttpd has been around for some time now, so there are...
Source: thetechtian.com
Top 5 open source web servers
Great article Robin. Most of my experience is with Apache. I first started using it on Windows about 1998 or 1999. When I got into using Linux in 2001 I switched my previous install to that OS and have since deployed it many times. I have tried NGINX and lighttpd but never in production.
Source: opensource.com
Alternative web servers compared: Lighttpd, Nginx, LiteSpeed and Zeus
The huge leap for Lighttpd in January-March of 2007 is most likely due to one or more web hosting or domain registration companies switching over to Lighttpd either for their regular pages, or for parked pages, or both. If anyone knows what happened there in more detail, please feel free to let us know in the comments.
Source: www.pingdom.com

What are some alternatives?

When comparing SimpleHTTPServer and lighttpd, you can also consider the following products

nginx - A high performance free open source web server powering busiest sites on the Internet.

Apache HTTP Server - Apache httpd has been the most popular web server on the Internet since April 1996

Microsoft IIS - Internet Information Services is a web server for Microsoft Windows

nanoweb - Nanoweb is an HTTP server written in PHP, designed to be small, secure, and extensible.

LiteSpeed Web Server - LiteSpeed Web Server (LSWS) is a high-performance Apache drop-in replacement.

Apache Tomcat - An open source software implementation of the Java Servlet and JavaServer Pages technologies