Blink is a lightweight, powerful web server written in C that features a comprehensive templating system with support for dynamic content, conditional logic, loops, and SQLite database integration. It's designed to be fast, easy to use, and perfect for both development and small-scale deployments.
- Lightweight HTTP Server: Fast and efficient C-based HTTP server with minimal dependencies
- Hot Reloading: Automatic browser refresh when HTML files are modified
- WebSocket Support: Real-time bidirectional communication
- Comprehensive Templating System:
- Variable replacement
- Conditional logic (if/else blocks)
- Loops with item iteration
- Conditional loops with filtering
- Nested template structures
- SQLite Integration:
- Execute SQL queries directly in templates
- Display query results as formatted HTML tables
- Form-based database operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete)
- Placeholder substitution for safe user input handling
- Flexible Configuration:
- Customizable port settings
- Custom HTML file serving
- Database path configuration
- Template processing toggles
blink/
├── CMakeLists.txt # Build configuration
├── LICENSE # Project license
├── README.md # Project documentation
├── .gitignore # Git ignore file
│
├── include/ # Header files
│ ├── blink_orm.h # ORM functionality for SQLite
│ ├── debug.h # Debugging utilities
│ ├── file_watcher.h # File watching for hot reload
│ ├── html_serve.h # HTML serving functionality
│ ├── request_handler.h # HTTP request handler
│ ├── server.h # Main server header
│ ├── socket_utils.h # Socket utilities
│ ├── sqlite_handler.h # SQLite database integration
│ ├── template.h # Template processing
│ └── websocket.h # WebSocket protocol support
│
├── src/ # Source code files
│ ├── file_watcher.c # Implementation of file watcher
│ ├── handle_client.c # Client connection handler
│ ├── html_serve.c # HTML content serving
│ ├── request_handler.c # HTTP request processing
│ ├── server.c # Main server implementation
│ ├── socket_utils.c # Socket utility functions
│ ├── sqlite_handler.c # SQLite database functions
│ ├── template.c # Template engine implementation
│ └── websocket.c # WebSocket implementation
│
└── build/ # Build directory (generated)
└── bin/ # Compiled binaries
└── blink # Main executable
- CMake (version 3.10 or higher)
- GCC or another compatible C compiler
- OpenSSL development libraries
- SQLite3 development libraries
- Linux or WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) recommended
# Install dependencies (Debian/Ubuntu)
sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential cmake libssl-dev libsqlite3-dev
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/dexter-xD/blink.git
cd blink
# Build the project
mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make
# Run the server
./bin/blinkOptions:
-p, --port PORT Specify port number (default: 8080)
-s, --serve FILE Specify a custom HTML file to serve
-db, --database FILE Specify SQLite database path
-n, --no-templates Disable template processing
-h, --help Display help message
Example usage:
# Run with a custom HTML file and SQLite database
./bin/blink --serve myapp.html --database mydata.db --port 9000The Blink template engine allows dynamic HTML generation with various powerful features. Here's an overview of the main capabilities:
Define variables using HTML comments and reference them with double curly braces:
<!-- template:var username="John" company="Acme Corp" -->
<h1>Welcome, {{username}}!</h1>
<p>You are logged into {{company}} systems.</p>Use if-else blocks to display content conditionally:
<!-- template:var is_admin="1" -->
{% if is_admin %}
<div class="admin-panel">
<h2>Admin Controls</h2>
<!-- Admin content here -->
</div>
{% else %}
<p>You don't have admin privileges.</p>
{% endif %}Iterate over items using for loops:
<!-- template:items "Apple" "Banana" "Cherry" "Date" -->
<ul>
{% for item in items %}
<li>{{item}}</li>
{% endfor %}
</ul>Use pipe-delimited values for structured data:
<!-- template:items "Apple|Fruit|0.99" "Carrot|Vegetable|0.50" "Bread|Bakery|2.49" -->
<table>
<tr><th>Product</th><th>Category</th><th>Price</th></tr>
{% for item in items %}
<tr>
<td>{{item.0}}</td>
<td>{{item.1}}</td>
<td>${{item.2}}</td>
</tr>
{% endfor %}
</table>Filter items in loops using conditions:
<!-- template:items "Apple|Fruit|0.99" "Carrot|Vegetable|0.50" "Banana|Fruit|0.75" -->
<h2>Fruits Only:</h2>
<ul>
{% for item in items if item.1 == "Fruit" %}
<li>{{item.0}} - ${{item.2}}</li>
{% endfor %}
</ul>Execute SQL queries directly in your templates:
<h2>User List</h2>
{% query "SELECT id, name, email FROM users ORDER BY name LIMIT 10" %}
<h2>Item Statistics</h2>
{% query "SELECT category, COUNT(*) as count, AVG(price) as avg_price FROM products GROUP BY category" %}Create forms that perform database operations:
<form action="/sql" method="POST">
<input type="hidden" name="sql_action" value="insert">
<label for="name">Name:</label>
<input type="text" id="name" name="name" required>
<label for="email">Email:</label>
<input type="email" id="email" name="email">
<input type="hidden" name="sql_query" value="INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES ('[name]', '[email]')">
<button type="submit">Add User</button>
</form>For detailed documentation on all template features, see the Template Documentation.
<!-- template:var page_title="Welcome Page" username="Guest" -->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>{{page_title}}</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Hello, {{username}}!</h1>
<p>Welcome to our website.</p>
</body>
</html><!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Sales Dashboard</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Sales Dashboard</h1>
<h2>Recent Orders</h2>
{% query "SELECT id, customer_name, amount, date FROM orders ORDER BY date DESC LIMIT 5" %}
<h2>Sales by Category</h2>
{% query "SELECT category, SUM(amount) as total FROM orders GROUP BY category ORDER BY total DESC" %}
</body>
</html>Blink's hot reload feature automatically refreshes connected browsers when HTML files are modified:
- Start the server with default options
- Edit any HTML file in your project directory
- The browser will automatically refresh to show your changes
This feature works by:
- Watching file system events in the HTML directory
- Using WebSockets to notify connected clients
- Injecting a small JavaScript snippet into served HTML pages
Blink includes WebSocket support for real-time bidirectional communication:
- Access WebSocket functionality at
/wsendpoint - Establish a WebSocket connection from your client-side JavaScript
- Exchange messages between client and server in real time
To use SQLite features:
- Start Blink with a database:
./bin/blink --database mydata.db - Use
{% query "SQL_STATEMENT" %}tags in your HTML templates - Create forms with action="/sql" to perform database operations
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.
If you find Blink useful, consider supporting its development:
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
For full documentation on the template engine, see docs/Template.md.