Re: [cpp-netlib-devel] [gsoc2008] Draft proposal for cpp-netlib andpion-net integration

[Dean M. C. B. <dmb...@fr...>]

Hi Divye!

> -----Original Message-----
> From: cpp...@li... 
> [mailto:cpp...@li...] On 
> Behalf Of Divye Kapoor
> Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 2:03 AM
> To: bo...@li...
> Cc: C++ Networking Library Developers Mailing List
> Subject: [cpp-netlib-devel] [gsoc2008] Draft proposal for 
> cpp-netlib andpion-net integration
> 
> Hello developers,
>    I'm attaching below a draft proposal for merging the cpp-netlib and
> pion-net projects. Its still in the making stage and I would specially
> like your feedback about the timeline and the deliverables. I've
> deliberately kept the timeline quite loose to allow for unforseen
> delays but I really want to get an estimate of how much more can be
> squeezed into the project without making the it overambitious given
> the timeframe involved (I'm pretty sure that implementation of rfc1867
> would require less than 3 weeks but I would like more feedback on this
> point). Also, I would like to know if any of the Boost library authors
> would be interested in mentoring this proposal because without them,
> this proposal is a sunken ship ;-)

It would be good (better) if you post this as well to the Boost mailing
list. (Although you may have already done that, I haven't checked my
personal mail yet so forgive me if you've already done this). That
should let the existing Boost authors that aren't on this list to be
able to respond to the message as well.

> ----
> Synopsis

[snip very well written synopsis]

I like what you intend to do, and support you 100%. However, I am a bit
worried about doing the caching which isn't really integral in the
implementation of HTTP clients/servers. There is no guarantee that
caches should be honored or even maintained by clients/servers.

What would be nice is to support proxies and cookies. I'm not sure if
libpion already does proxies, but I know it does do cookies.

[snip timeline]

I cannot say much about the timeline, because I really won't be the one
tracking progress. I'll leave this to whoever would like to mentor you
for the GSoC to decide.

> 
> Deliverables
>    A feature complete HTTP 1.1 header only implementation 
> conforming to the
> message <==> rfc data structure mapping of the cpp-netlib 
> project resulting in
> an integration of the pion-net and cpp-netlib projects 
> released under the Boost
> Software License.

I like this a lot. :D

>    Documentation, Test and Use cases for the most common 
> scenarios will be
> provided.
>    The library will compile and run successfully on atleast 2 
> platforms
> (intended Win32 and linux) and with 2 compilers (gcc 4.2 and 
> MSVC 8) in
> accordance with Boost portability policies and will follow 
> the Boost naming
> conventions.
> 

Sounds like good stuff to me.

> 
> Benefits for Boost
>    A network library supporting HTTP(S) and the most common 
> use cases will be
> ready for review.
> 
> Learning Experiences in store
>    As a result of this project, I'll gain valuable experience 
> in coding to rfc
> specifications and gain valuable insight into the working of 
> the HTTP protocol.
> In addition, I'll get a hands-on experience in working with 
> Boost.Asio and
> achieve a deeper understanding of the Boost libraries.
> 

Definitely a compelling proposal if you're asking me. ;)

> About Me
>    I'm a 19 year old student from the small town of 
> Jamshedpur, India. I'm
> pursuing my Integrated Dual Degree course in Computer Science 
> and Engineering
> (Bachelors) with a Masters specialization in Information 
> Technology at the
> Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. I have a strong 
> algorithmic and coding
> background. I've been ranked 2nd at the International 
> Informatics Olympiad 2005
> and 7th All India at the National Cyber Olympiad 2006. I've 
> been coding in C++
> for the past 6 years and I have been using the STL for the 
> past 3 years. Over
> the past year, I've come to use the Boost.Spirit, Boost.Bind 
> and Boost.Lambda
> libraries and I have gained valuable experience from them. 
> Now, I wish to make
> my own contribution to Boost by helping to bring network 
> abstraction to the
> Boost library.
> 

Welcome to the project, and I do hope you'll still continue to help out
even if your proposal doesn't get accepted -- although it is hard to
reject your proposal given the amount of thought and effort you've
already put into it. Have a good day, and thank you very much!