GNU's Embed-Friendly Web Server Updated With Better OS Portability, Performance

[phoronix]

Phoronix: GNU's Embed-Friendly Web Server Updated With Better OS Portability, Performance

Libmicrohttpd as the GNU project's embedded HTTP web server library is out with a final release of 2020...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=GNU-libmicrohttpd-0.9.72

[kpedersen]

I looked into this a while back for a small project. It looked fairly decent. The only minor niggle was this weirdness:

https://github.com/rboulton/libmicrohttpd/blob/master/src/examples/minimal_example.c#L47

Something about not responding on the first request because only the headers are sent? It looks like a massive hack how this is dealt with. I am not even sure why it is necessary. After deciding to write my own (BSD licensed), I never encountered this issue.

You can also see it on the main page here: https://www.gnu.org/software/libmicrohttpd/

if (0 != strcmp(method, "GET"))
  return MHD_NO; /* unexpected method */
if (&dummy != *ptr)
{
  /* The first time only the headers are valid,
  do not respond in the first round... */
  *ptr = &dummy;
  return MHD_YES;
}

Just seems a little bizarre.

[bug77]

Probably nitpicking, but does a library provide a web server? I think a library is more likely to provide the tools for you to build/bootstrap your own server instead.
(Not bashing at anyone, it's just this thing I have about using the right term in the right spot. Probably some sort of CDO.)

[rastersoft]

Probably nitpicking, but does a library provide a web server? I think a library is more likely to provide the tools for you to build/bootstrap your own server instead.
(Not bashing at anyone, it's just this thing I have about using the right term in the right spot. Probably some sort of CDO.)

No, it is integrated inside EMACS

[Venemo]

I looked into this a while back for a small project. It looked fairly decent. The only minor niggle was this weirdness:

https://github.com/rboulton/libmicrohttpd/blob/master/src/examples/minimal_example.c#L47

Something about not responding on the first request because only the headers are sent? It looks like a massive hack how this is dealt with. I am not even sure why it is necessary. After deciding to write my own (BSD licensed), I never encountered this issue.

You can also see it on the main page here: https://www.gnu.org/software/libmicrohttpd/

if (0 != strcmp(method, "GET"))
return MHD_NO; /* unexpected method */
if (&dummy != *ptr)
{
/* The first time only the headers are valid,
do not respond in the first round... */
*ptr = &dummy;
return MHD_YES;
}

Just seems a little bizarre.

It's actually not a bug, but a part of the design. The documentation states that the callback function is called twice per request, in order to give you more flexibility:

The callback function for the respective URL will be called at least twice. The first call happens after the server has received the headers. The client should use the last void** argument to store internal context for the session. The first call to the callback function is mostly for this type of initialization and for internal access checks.

[quaz0r]

void**

its 2020 we have this thing called c++ now

[kpedersen]

It's actually not a bug, but a part of the design. The documentation states that the callback function is called twice per request, in order to give you more flexibility:

Many thanks for that. I just thought I wasn't quite "getting it"

If you have time, could you point a link to where you got that documentation from. I cannot seem to find it within the main docs here: https://www.gnu.org/software/libmicr...icrohttpd.html

its 2020 we have this thing called c++ now

Believe it or not, the use of C things like void** makes it easier for binding developers to interface their languages of choice with the native library.

Don't think of C as yet another language. Think of it as an entire platform. Without it, almost every other language will fall down.

[Vistaus]

No, it is integrated inside EMACS

What *can't* Emacs do?

[numacross]

What *can't* Emacs do?

Be a decent text editor?

*hides*

[Venemo]

Many thanks for that. I just thought I wasn't quite "getting it"

If you have time, could you point a link to where you got that documentation from. I cannot seem to find it within the main docs here: https://www.gnu.org/software/libmicr...icrohttpd.html

On this page, scroll to the "Queueing responses" section: https://www.gnu.org/software/libmicrohttpd/