Python
With
Python, a simple web server can be started in the document root like so:
python -m SimpleHTTPServer 7777
7777 is obviously the port number.
Alternatively, a webserver can also be started with
sudo python -m http.server 80
Note: the port is optional. The sudo is apparently required for ports below 1024(?).
Early webservers
CERN httpd
CERN httpd was the first web server.
CERN httpd was programmed 1990 onwards by Tim Berners-Lee and others in
C.
Later, the development was taken over by
W3C which released the latest version 3.0A in 1996.
After this release, W3C focused on the development of the Java-based Jigsaw server.
CERN httpd was later also known as W3C httpd.
Plexus Server
Developped by Tony Sanders in Perl.
NCSA HTTPd
The NCSA HTTPd was developped at the
NCSA (hence its name) and first released 1993.
The Apache project took the code base of NCSA HTTPd.
This webserver introduced
CGI.