forked from boostorg/beast
117 lines
4.4 KiB
Plaintext
117 lines
4.4 KiB
Plaintext
[/
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Copyright (c) 2013-2017 Vinnie Falco (vinnie dot falco at gmail dot com)
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Distributed under the Boost Software License, Version 1.0. (See accompanying
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file LICENSE_1_0.txt or copy at http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt)
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]
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[section:overview Introduction]
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[important
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Beast is a cross-platform, header-only C++11 library for
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[*low-level HTTP/1, WebSocket, and network protocol] programming
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using the consistent asynchronous model of __Asio__. Beast is
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not an HTTP client or HTTP server, but it can be used to build
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those things. It is a foundation for writing interoperable
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libraries by providing HTTP vocabulary types and algorithms. The
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examples show how client and server applications might be built.
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]
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This library is designed for:
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* [*Symmetry:] Algorithms are role-agnostic; build clients, servers, or both.
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* [*Ease of Use:] __Asio__ users will immediately understand Beast.
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* [*Flexibility:] Users make the important decisions such as buffer or
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thread management.
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* [*Performance:] Build applications handling thousands of connections or more.
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* [*Basis for Further Abstraction.] Components are well-suited for building upon.
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[heading Audience]
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Beast is for network programmers who have some familiarity with
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__Asio__. In particular, users who wish to write asynchronous programs
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with Beast should already know how to use Asio sockets and streams,
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and should know how to create concurrent network programs using
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Asio callbacks or coroutines.
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[heading Motivation]
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An absence of high quality C++ network protocol libraries has led
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to a patchwork of open-source solutions lacking suitable conciseness
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and expressive power for standardization. Part of this problem is a
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lack of common C++ networking interfaces. This is changing soon with
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the Networking Technical Specification (__N4588__): a uniform interface
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on track to become standardized. This technical specification is modeled
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closely after Boost.Asio.
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The HTTP and WebSocket protocols drive most of the World Wide Web.
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Every web browser implements these protocols to load webpages and
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to enable client side programs (often written in JavaScript) to
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communicate interactively. C++ benefits greatly from having a
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standardized implementation of these protocols.
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[note
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The Beast roadmap includes a port to the networking
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interface based on __N4588__.
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]
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[heading Requirements]
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Beast requires:
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* [*C++11:] Robust support for most language features.
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* [*Boost:] Boost.Asio and some other parts of Boost.
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* [*OpenSSL:] Optional, for using TLS/Secure sockets.
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[note Supported compilers: msvc-14+, gcc 4.8+, clang 3.6+]
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This library is [*header-only]. To link a program using Beast
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successfully, add the
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[@http://www.boost.org/libs/system/doc/reference.html Boost.System]
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library to the list of linked libraries. If you use coroutines
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you'll also need the
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[@http://www.boost.org/libs/coroutine/doc/html/index.html Boost.Coroutine]
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library. Please visit the
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[@http://www.boost.org/doc/ Boost documentation]
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for instructions on how to do this for your particular build system.
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[note
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Beast does not compile using the
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[@https://github.com/chriskohlhoff/asio stand-alone Asio],
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since it relies on other Boost parts. There are no immediate
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plans to offer a version that works with stand-alone Asio.
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]
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[heading Credits]
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Boost.Asio is the inspiration behind which all of the interfaces and
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implementation strategies are built. Some parts of the documentation are
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written to closely resemble the wording and presentation of Boost.Asio
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documentation. Credit goes to
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[@https://github.com/chriskohlhoff Christopher Kohlhoff]
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for his wonderful Asio library and the ideas in __N4588__ which power Beast.
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Beast would not be possible without the support of
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[@https://www.ripple.com Ripple]
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during the library's early development, or the ideas, time and patience
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contributed by
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[@https://github.com/JoelKatz David Schwartz],
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[@https://github.com/ximinez Edward Hennis],
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[@https://github.com/howardhinnant Howard Hinnant],
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[@https://github.com/miguelportilla Miguel Portilla],
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[@https://github.com/nbougalis Nik Bougalis],
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[@https://github.com/seelabs Scott Determan],
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[@https://github.com/scottschurr Scott Schurr],
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Many thanks to
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[@https://github.com/K-ballo Agustín Bergé],
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[@http://www.boost.org/users/people/glen_fernandes.html Glen Fernandes],
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and
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[@https://github.com/pdimov Peter Dimov]
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for tirelessly answering questions on
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[@https://cpplang.slack.com/ Cpplang-Slack].
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[endsect]
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