Is it possible to create custom HTTP errors?

Question

Well this thing has came to my head now, and can't find any info. I would like to know if it's possible to create custom HTTP errors, no custom pages, like 404 pages, I mean error codes. The idea came when I saw Slackware's Connie server although that may be a simple index page. Well that was my question, thanks :)

Answer 1

RFC 2616 describes all possible status and error codes. Everything else is not defined. And if it is not defined in the documentation how should a server and client react when they see such errors?

Answer 2

The RFC clearly states the list of codes is extensible. The Value of the first digit is important. Unknown status codes are supposed to be treated as X00 where X is the first digit of the status code.

Answer 3

Well, that page is just returning an error page with a 200 OK response, so it's nothing exciting. But there's nothing stopping you from returning a customer error code if you want, although it's not a particularly good idea unless you're only ever going to be returning it to your own custom clients that know what it means and how to deal with it. I also wouldn't be violating the standard conventions (2xx for success, 4xx for per-request errors, 5xx for server-side problems, etc)