Re: Talks about HTTP server (Was: Re: Function move request.)

[Ivan Vučica]

I recently tried GNUstepWeb and it worked for me on Debian. I think I used 
everything from trunk.

Regarding WebUIKit, don't forget about Objective-J language and Cappuccino 
framework. You convert xibs into cibs and load them directly. I'm writing a 
university project in that plus Django; while everyone else is doing old school 
work with PHP and possibly a templating system, plus either JavaScript or lower 
level JS libraries, I was lazy. 

I hacked together a simple model with Django and exposed it via a RESTlike API 
using Django REST Framework. I put together user interface in Interface 
Builder, linked it to NSArrayControllers and linked array controllers to simple 
wrapper objects around Ratatosk (an Objective-J framework for accessing 
RESTlike APIs). It worked on day one; my mockups were screenshots, my "static 
HTML" was a functional app, my database design was the Python code for creating 
Django models. Not to mention 90% based on a tutorial I found, and more than 
compliant with requirements for the class.

By far easiest web stuff I did, and I really recommend any Objective-C 
developer that has to write a web application to look into Cappuccino and 
Ratatosk. It's only suitable for full-blown desktop-like web apps, and not for 
embedding into existing pages. But if you need a beautiful and complex web app, 
this is something you should look at.

And if you'll be writing WebUIKit, why not base it on Objective-J and 
Cappuccino's Foundation library? :-)

Sent from my iPad

On 17. 5. 2013., at 01:28, Chan Maxthon <address@hidden> wrote:

> Well that thing never compiled for me, using trunk libobjc2 and trunk 
> llvm/clang on my server, let alone I have portability in mind (Written under 
> OS X, it is required to build on Linux as well, using trunk libobjc2, trunk 
> llvm/clang and full Objective-C ARC.). And the reason I spawned this project 
> is not only make a server, but also make using it easier. WebUIKit mimics iOS 
> UIKit in behavior, very closely. (hence the namesake) To the extent that I 
> will even create a way to write pages with embedded WebUIKit objects just 
> like xibs.
> 
> 发自我的 iPad
> 
> 在 2013-5-17，6:25，Lars Sonchocky-Helldorf <address@hidden> 写道：
> 
>> 
>> Am 16.05.2013 um 21:50 schrieb Maxthon Chan:
>> 
>>> Well it turned out that my darned project is forced into using 
>>> CoreFoundation (I need CFRunLoop to manage some BSD sockets' lifetime, as 
>>> it is a portable HTTP server written in Objective-C.)
>>> 
>>> If I recalled right, the first HTTP stack is written in Objective-C, on a 
>>> NeXT box.
>>> 
>>> I have some web development experienced with ASP.net (as my current website 
>>> homepage is written in C# hosted on a Linux server using Mono) while the 
>>> web development suite for Objective-C, an equally powerful language as C#, 
>>> is pretty much dead.
>>> 
>>> I analysed and discovered that in order to get the most out of ASP.net, 
>>> Microsoft written their IIS in .net (version 7 up, I have a copy of Windows 
>>> Server 2012 as a secondary OS on my MacBook Pro and the IIS 8 shipped with 
>>> it is pretty much all .net).
>>> 
>>> This lead me to think: can I write an equally powerful HTTP server in an 
>>> equally powerful language, Objective-C, given its significance in the 
>>> history of World Wide Web.
>>> 
>>> And since the Objective-C language have improved vastly over decades, can I 
>>> implement something similar to ASP.net, hosted on this server which is 
>>> itself written in Objective-C?
>> 
>> Have you ever heard of WebObjects? WebObjects was started by NeXT in 1995 
>> and is an object oriented web framework originally written in ObjC (up to 
>> version 4.5) but nowadays in Java (up to version 5.4.3) While still in use 
>> at Apple internally (for the iTunes Store for instance) the last public 
>> release was in 2008 and it has been deprecated by Apple. Never the less it 
>> is still one of the most advanced web frameworks out there. Nowadays it is 
>> still in use in several companies (like the one I work for) and has been 
>> extended by a community driven effort (Project WOnder).
>> 
>> And now the best part: There is an free software clone of WebObjects 4.5 
>> available. It is called GNUstepWeb. Get it here:
>> 
>> http://wiki.gnustep.org/index.php/GNUstepWeb
>> http://svn.gna.org/svn/gnustep/libs/gsweb/trunk/
>> 
>> The documentation is still available at Apple:
>> 
>> http://developer.apple.com/legacy/library/#documentation/LegacyTechnologies/WebObjects/WebObjects_4.5/webobjects.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40006775
>> 
>> cheers,
>> 
>>   Lars
> 
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