Re: [boost] [RFC] Preferred API for a CGI library proposal

From: Phil Endecott (spam_from_boost_dev_at_[hidden])
Date: 2007-04-06 15:44:21

Jarrad Waterloo wrote:
> Phil Endecott wrote:
>> I have also used the Apache module API, and have written 
>> standalone HTTP servers.
> How does one go about doing that?

Which - the Apache module or the standalone HTTP server?

Apache has copious documentation, which is good because the API is very 
complex in a kind of "C++ written in C" sort of way.  I did not enjoy 
using it, but it is stable and featurefull.

The code for my standalone server, which is part of Anyterm (GPL 
licence), is online at

http://svn.anyterm.org/anyterm/trunk/daemon/HttpDaemon.cc

This makes use of a general-purpose thread-per-session TCP daemon class 
of mine, combined with an HTTP request parser written using Spirit.

The rest of Anyterm is designed so that it will work as either an 
Apache module or with this standalone HTTP daemon.  This makes it all 
much more complicated than it would otherwise need to be (for example I 
have to use shared memory in the Apache case; luckily the Boost shared 
memory library first appeared at exactly the right moment - thanks 
Ion!).  So unless you really need something that will work in both 
contexts I don't recommend copying it.

In fact, I think that I would recommend always using a standalone HTTP 
daemon, and using Apache's mod_proxy, or something similar from another 
web server, to communicate with it.

> I have tried 
> using POCO but it's a little buggy and I can't seem to get any support. So, 
> if I could learn to do the same but using Apache, I would be ecstatic! Could 
> you provide a tutorial/example on how this could be done?

Well my code is all online, and there is lots of Apache documentation.  
But what I have is far from a general-purpose C++ API for Apache, and 
the Apache API itself is not great for rapid application development.

At one time there was a "mod_cplusplus" for Apache, but I don't think 
it is up to date.  You might like to ask about this on the Apache lists.

Please feel free to mail me privately if you have any non-Boost 
questions about any of my code.

Regards,

Phil.