[exprla-devel] [XPL] BXXP - the answer to our transfer protocol prayers??

[reid_spencer <ras...@re...>]

--- In xpl-dev@y..., "Richard Anthony Hein" <935551@i...> wrote:
The Blocks eXtensible eXchange Protocol (BXXP) was developed by 
Mashall
Rose:

"BXXP is essentially a tool kit that developers can use to quickly 
create
protocols for a range of applications including instant messaging, 
file
transfer, content syndication, network management and metadata 
exchange.
Because it uses a peer-to-peer architecture, BXXP is a good 
foundation for
creating protocols that govern distributed file-sharing applications 
such as
Gnutella, iMesh and Freenet."

"Application-specific protocols can be stacked on top of the reusable 
BXXP
code, and developers can update the add-on protocols without changing 
the
underlying BXXP foundation.
BXXP-enabled applications work by setting up and maintaining a network
connection between two users, which can alternate between functioning 
as
clients and servers. The two users can respond to requests for data 
as well
as push data back and forth over a network connection.

One special feature of a BXXP connection is it can carry multiple
simultaneous exchanges of data - called channels - between users. For
example, users can chat and transfer files at the same time from one
application that employs a network connection. BXXP uses XML to frame 
the
information it carries, but the information can be in any form 
including
images, data or text.

BXXP runs on top of TCP and acts as an alternative to HTTP or a 
custom-made
data exchange protocol. HTTP was designed to handle the transport of
hypertext documents and is ideal for Web browsing. However, HTTP 
doesn't
work well for the transfer of XML data, nor does it support multiple
simultaneous exchanges between users. For these types of applications,
developers have to create their own special-purpose protocols. Now 
they can
use BXXP to speed that process. "

Get more information at 
http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2000/0626bxxp.html
(slow today), and follow a discussion at www.slashdot.org, where a 
variety
of people will be discussing the ins-and-outs of BXXP.

What does Simon St. Laurent think about this, considering his view 
points
expressed in earlier messages (Simon?)?  How does this compare to 
WorldOS
(Lucas?)?

Richard A. Hein
<plug>who has finished up his last contract and is now looking for a 
new job
<email_ me> 935551@i...</email_me> </plug>
--- End forwarded message ---