Simple node server

server.js

var http    = require("http")
  , url     = require("url")
  , path    = require("path")
  , fs      = require("fs")
  , qs      = require('querystring')
  , tasks   = {}
  , port    = process.argv[2] || 8888
  , next_id = 1
;

// Create a basic server
http.createServer(function(request, response) {

  var uri      = url.parse(request.url).pathname
    , filename = path.join(process.cwd(), uri)
    , id
  ;

  // Log the request
  console.log( request.method + " " + uri );

  // If this is a request to /tasks/#, let's parse the number and rewrite the uri
  if ( match = /tasks\/(\d+)/.exec( uri ) ) {
    uri = '/tasks';
    id = match[1];
    if ( typeof tasks[ id ] === 'undefined' ) {
      response.writeHead( 404, { "Content-Type": "application/json" } );
      response.end();
      return;
    }
  }

  switch ( uri ) {
    case '/tasks' :
      // regardless we'll be sending JSON, and by now we'll assume it's 200 or 201
      response.writeHead(
        ( 'POST' === request.method ? 201 : 200 ),
        {"Content-Type": "application/json"}
      );

      // read the body of the request if applicable
      var body = '';
      request.on('data', function(data) {
        body += data;
      });

      // If this is a POST, we're save a new task, so we need a new id
      if ( 'POST' === request.method ) {
        id = next_id++;
      }

      switch ( request.method ) {
        case 'POST':
        case 'PUT':
          request.on('end', function() {
            var post = JSON.parse( body );
            tasks[ id ] = {
              id: id,
              title: post.title || '',
              due: post.date || 'today',
              complete: ( typeof post.complete === 'undefined' || post.complete === 'true' ? false : post.complete )
            };
            response.end( JSON.stringify( tasks[ id ] ) );
          });
          break;

        case 'DELETE':
          delete tasks[ id ];
          response.end();
          break;

        default:
          response.end( JSON.stringify( tasks ) );
      }
      break;

    // If we're not dealing with a /tasks url, we'll load static files. Simple, no?
    default :
      fs.exists(filename, function(exists) {
        if(!exists) {
          response.writeHead(404, {"Content-Type": "text/plain"});
          response.write("404 Not Found\n");
          response.end();
          return;
        }

        if (fs.statSync(filename).isDirectory()) filename += '/index.html';

        fs.readFile(filename, "binary", function(err, file) {
          if(err) {
            response.writeHead(500, {"Content-Type": "text/plain"});
            response.write(err + "\n");
            response.end();
            return;
          }

          response.writeHead(200);
          response.write(file, "binary");
          response.end();
        });
      });
  }

}).listen(parseInt(port, 10));

console.log( "File server running at\n  => http://localhost:" + port + "/\nCTRL + C to shutdown" );