Re: [boost] Marshalling library

From: Scott Woods (scottw_at_[hidden])
Date: 2007-04-17 16:44:56

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Yigong Liu" <yigongliu_at_[hidden]>
To: <boost_at_[hidden]>

Hi Yigong, Hans, Stjepan...

Good to hear about all the "marshalling" activity out there. Sounds like
we have been treading similar paths.

I have grumbled about the tools and techniques available in this area for
years. Recently I was cornered into a lot of distributed software 
development
and re-discovered how hard it all is. I now have a wish-list for tools
and techniques I might consider for marshalling in the future. Here are a 
few;

* single definition of external representation (i.e. serialization) for 
persistence and network messaging purposes
* multiple encodings (e.g. readable, fast or secure)
* purely async software at the lower levels, i.e. only an application thread 
may block on a sync RPC
* multiple program and threading models (e.g. simple server like an FTP 
server vs a complex program that initiates
and accepts multiple connections with different encodings and protocols)
* formalized protocols, i.e. an RPC protocol might have CALL, RETURN and 
EXCEPTION entries.
* object-based message routing (e.g. a (local) object originates a message 
and a (possibly remote) object is the target)

The scope of this list get daunting quickly. What is the scope for you guys?