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socketserver Module¶

The socketserver module provides classes for writing network servers, supporting both synchronous and asynchronous request handlers.

Complexity Reference¶

Operation	Time	Space	Notes
Server creation	O(1) + network latency	O(1)	Bind/listen; network setup dominates
Handle request	O(n)	O(n)	n = request size
Serve loop	Varies	Varies	Blocking accept + per-request handling

Creating Network Servers¶

TCP Server¶

import socketserver

class MyHandler(socketserver.StreamRequestHandler):
    def handle(self):
        """Handle client request - O(n)"""
        # Read from connection
        data = self.rfile.readline()
        print(f"Received: {data.decode()}")

        # Send response
        self.wfile.write(b"Echo: " + data)

# Create server - O(1)
with socketserver.TCPServer(("localhost", 8000), MyHandler) as server:
    # Serve - blocking accept + per-request handling
    server.serve_forever()

Multi-threaded Server¶

import socketserver

class MyHandler(socketserver.StreamRequestHandler):
    def handle(self):
        """Handle - O(n)"""
        data = self.rfile.readline()
        self.wfile.write(b"Response")

# Multi-threaded - O(1) setup
server = socketserver.ThreadingTCPServer(
    ("localhost", 8000),
    MyHandler
)

# Serve - blocking accept + per-request handling
server.serve_forever()