The built-in Python http.server module cannot close the socket by itself

To address the issue where Python’s http.server module doesn’t close sockets automatically, we’ll create a custom HTTPServer subclass that ensures all sockets are closed upon shutdown. Here’s how to implement it:

Solution Code

import http.server
import socket
import sys

class CustomHTTPServer(http.server.HTTPServer):
    def __init__(self, server_address, RequestHandlerClass):
        super().__init__(server_address, RequestHandlerClass)
        self._base_sockets = []

    def _get_socket(self, sock):
        “””Helper method to add sockets to the list for later cleanup.”””
        self._base_sockets.append(sock)

    def close_sockets(self):
        “””Closes all open sockets associated with the server.”””
        for sock in self._base_sockets:
            try:
                sock.close()
            except socket.error:
                pass

    def shutdown(self):
        “””Shuts down the server and closes all associated sockets.”””
        super().shutdown()
        self.close_sockets()

def run_server():
    server_address = (”, 8000)
    handler = http.server.SimpleHTTPRequestHandler
    server = CustomHTTPServer(server_address, handler)

    try:
        server.serve_forever()
    except KeyboardInterrupt:
        print(“\nShutting down the server…”)
        server.shutdown()
    finally:
        server.close_sockets()

if __name__ == “__main__”:
    run_server()

import http.server

import socket

import sys

class CustomHTTPServer(http.server.HTTPServer):

def __init__(self, server_address, RequestHandlerClass):

super().__init__(server_address, RequestHandlerClass)

self._base_sockets = []

def _get_socket(self, sock):

“”“Helper method to add sockets to the list for later cleanup.”“”

self._base_sockets.append(sock)

def close_sockets(self):

“”“Closes all open sockets associated with the server.”“”

for sock in self._base_sockets:

try:

sock.close()

except socket.error:

pass

def shutdown(self):

“”“Shuts down the server and closes all associated sockets.”“”

super().shutdown()

self.close_sockets()

def run_server():

server_address = (”, 8000)

handler = http.server.SimpleHTTPRequestHandler

server = CustomHTTPServer(server_address, handler)

try:

server.serve_forever()

except KeyboardInterrupt:

print(“\nShutting down the server…”)

server.shutdown()

finally:

server.close_sockets()

if __name__ == “__main__”:

run_server()

Explanation

CustomHTTPServer Class:
Inherits from http.server.HTTPServer.
Maintains a list of sockets ( _base_sockets) to track all open connections.
Overrides the shutdown() method to close all sockets before calling the parent’s shutdown.
close_sockets() Method:
Iterates over _base_sockets and closes each socket using sock.close().
Uses a try-except block to handle any potential errors during closure.
run_server() Function:
Creates an instance of CustomHTTPServer.
Starts the server with server.serve_forever(), which handles requests until interrupted.
On interruption, it calls server.shutdown(), ensuring all sockets are closed properly.

This solution ensures that when the server is stopped, either through a keyboard interrupt or other means, all associated sockets are gracefully closed, preventing resource leaks.