Over time I have installed applications that offer or require an interface runs through the browser on localhost (for example, Transmission web interface, StackApplet configuration, Veracity web interface). I also develop software that I test via localhost.
Of course, all these applications must run on different ports, and if there happen to be conflicts it is up to me to resolve them by configuring the application in question. But I have no localhost "manager" that I could use to:
- require applications register themselves against (e.g. for port allocation)
- record port allocations (if the underlying application doesn't have the functionality to register itself)
- start/stop the web services
- control port access from other machines on the network/Internet
- other things I haven't thought of ;)
As more end-user-style applications offer web interfaces, it looks like I'll end up running a little multi-application web server for myself. How can I (easily) manage this?