Re: tlug: Re: servlets [Was: Re: LaTeX vs sgml [was Re: ...]]

["Andrew S. Howell" <andy@example.com>]

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tlug note from "Andrew S. Howell" <andy@example.com>
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>>>>> "Stephen" == Stephen J Turnbull <turnbull@example.com> writes:


    Stephen> --------------------------------------------------------
    Stephen> tlug note from "Stephen J. Turnbull"
    Stephen> <turnbull@example.com>
    Stephen> --------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> "craig" == craig <craig@example.com> writes:

    craig> I've recently been writing some cgi programs in Java.  I
    craig> did a search for a package that would allow me to have the
    craig> same functionality as Perl's CGI lib.  I found something,
    craig> but I also found repeated references to Java servlets.  I
    craig> downloaded the Java servlet development kit from
    craig> www.javasoft.com and it appears that servlets are small
    craig> extensions to a HTTP server that function like CGI
    craig> programs.

    Stephen> These seem to be like Apache dynamically loadable
    Stephen> modules.  Again, like Apache's modules, it is a
    Stephen> server-specific technology, I think.  That is, unlike
    Stephen> CGI, which communicates via stdin and stdout, you need a
    Stephen> server which is capable of understanding the servlet's
    Stephen> function calling sequence.  So I think you are limited to
    Stephen> the Javasoft server, or (at best) in general servers
    Stephen> written in Java (probably they have to be JavaBeans).

What one of our products does is use our own network API to pass CGI
type requests out to other servers on the network. The problem with
CGI is that it forks another process, so its not very scaleable. This
is not to plug our products, more to the point that there are better
ways to do things that CGI. 

    Stephen> My experiences with Java suggest that this is something
    Stephen> you want to avoid at all costs for the near future,
    Stephen> unless you're willing to run to the store for more RAM
    Stephen> every hour or so as Java leaks memory like a sieve on
    Stephen> Linux.  (Maybe it's not a leak, maybe it just uses memory
    Stephen> as an exponential function of the memory usage of the
    Stephen> functionally equivalent C++ program.  Or maybe my system
    Stephen> is misconfigured.  But HotJava's VM usage went over 100MB
    Stephen> the last time I tested it.  I'm not going to use large
    Stephen> Java programs, applets or apps, except for fun, until
    Stephen> that gets fixed.)

    Stephen> Does anyone have any experience with Kaffe and Guavac?

Built them both, but thats about as far as I got. The latest Guavac is
supposed to have some 1.1 features, I think, but not fully
compliant. I've got to stop putting my fat little fingers into too
many cookie jars.... never enough time to finish a whole cookie :(


Andy
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