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

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <turnbull@example.com>]

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tlug note from "Stephen J. Turnbull" <turnbull@example.com>
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>>>>> "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.

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

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

Does anyone have any experience with Kaffe and Guavac?

-- 
                            Stephen J. Turnbull
Institute of Policy and Planning Sciences                    Yaseppochi-Gumi
University of Tsukuba                      http://turnbull.sk.tsukuba.ac.jp/
Tel: +81 (298) 53-5091;  Fax: 55-3849              turnbull@example.com
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