Re: libwww c++ wraper? (fwd)

> From: "Bang, Steinar" <Steinar.bang@tandbergtv.com>
> Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2001 09:36:56 +0100 

> I just gave libcurl a look.  If I understand it
> correctly, libcurl is blocking?  Ie. the request
> for an URL doesn't return until the data or an
> error response is received.  Is this correct?

Yup. I believe so.

> My primary reasons for using libwww, was 
> 1. its event-driven single thread operation.
> 2. the stream building response, which let the
> application parse and use data before they are
> completely received

I have no doubt that wwwlib is a more powerful system.  The problem for
me is it was too complicated and the stream flow was ill documented
(IMHO).  I would insert (or remove ) a stream handler and there would be
side effects all over the place.  I also got very tired of dealing with
the massive global state in libwww.

BTW, curl/libxml allows you to parse pages in chunks as they arrive
also.

Everytime I had a question it would go unanswered on the list.  Active
libwww development has died and I don't think it is fit for new
projects.  It needs to be shattered and rebuilt as a large set of
maximally independent components rather than a monolithic/incestuous
application framework.

I had a problem with the URL parsing and escaping code in libxml and
within 36 hours I had a patch into CVS and in 3 days a new fixed version
was released.  Do you see this happening with libwww?

> Hmm... I'm wondering how they do such things as 
> keeping an HTTP 1.1 connection open across requests?

I don't know how (cause I haven't read that part of the source), but
curl does as long as you use the same curl object.

By the way, when I think about what a www library should be capable of I
think of libwww.  It is the mark which the others are measured against.


Joel

Received on Monday, 5 November 2001 10:42:39 UTC