C: Language => OS API protocol ?

 C Isn't A Programming Language Anymore - Faultlore

C is the lingua franca of programming. We must all speak C, and therefore C is not just a programming language anymore – it’s a protocol that every general-purpose programming language needs to speak.

If you want programs written in your language to be good citizens that work well with the major operating systems, you need to interact with the operating system’s interface.

Rust and Swift cannot simply speak their native and comfortable tongues – they must instead wrap themselves in a grotesque simulacra of C’s skin

The simplest local web file server

How do you set up a local testing server? - Learn web development | MDN

with Python (3.x) installed on the computer, it is just one command:

> python -m http.server

By default, this will run the contents of the directory on a local web server, on port 8000. You can go to this server by going to the URL localhost:8000 in your web browser. Here you'll see the contents of the directory listed — click the HTML file you want to run.

On Mac computers may need to use `python3` command instead of  `python`

To run server of different port, just add port number to the command, i.e. for port 9000

> python3 -m http.server 9000 

When using node.js / npm, there is also a web server module, that can be installed "globally"

> npm install http-server -g

and then to can use it in any folder/directory

> cd D:\Folder
> http-server

or 

> http-server D:\Folder
or 
> http-server -a localhost -p 8080
source:
http-party/http-server: a simple zero-configuration command-line http server @GitHub

and to make your own, self-sufficient (no dependencies) exe, GoLang may be the simplest way to go :)

Simple Static File Server in Go

/*
Serve is a very simple static file server in go
Usage:
  -p="8100": port to serve on
  -d=".":    the directory of static files to host
Navigating to http://localhost:8100 will display the index.html or directory
listing file.
*/
package main
import (
  "flag"
  "log"
  "net/http"
)
func main() {
  port := flag.String("p", "8100", "port to serve on")
  directory := flag.String("d", ".", "the directory of static file to host")
  flag.Parse()
  http.Handle("/", http.FileServer(http.Dir(*directory)))
  log.Printf("Serving %s on HTTP port: %s\n", *directory, *port)
  log.Fatal(http.ListenAndServe(":" + *port, nil))
}

of course, then you need Go SDK installed, and need to build with 

> go build web_srv.go

then run, with no dependencies on any compatible machine (same OS and CPU type)
> web_srv

to reduce exe size from about 6 MB to about 4MB, remove debug info when compiling

> go build -ldflags "-w" web_srv.go