FastCGI for Smalltalk: Integrating Smalltalk Into An Apache based Web Site
presentation
Peter Lount: Active Information Corp.
Monday 4:45:00 pm to 5:30:00 pm
FastCGI for Smalltalk: Integrating Smalltalk Into An Apache based Web Site
A presentation on the FastCGI system created by Tomas Vanak and Peter William Lount. FastCGI for Smalltalk enables a Smalltalk virtual machine to be able to integrate seamlessly into an Apache Web Server based web site along site with PHP, Perl, JSP or whatever else the site is running. FastCGI for Smalltalk is written entirely in Smalltalk and has versions for Smalltalk/X (the original version), Squeak and Dolphin Smalltalk. Porting is quite easy. FastCGI for Smalltalk takes advantage of and implements the FastCGI Protocol which is a protocol that can be added to Apache. It's implemented as a C based Apache Module. Before selecting FastCGI, Peter looked at a number of other methods of integrating Smalltalk and Apache and choose FastCGI as the quickest path to achieve this. The FastCGI for Smalltalk effectively enables Smalltalk based web applications that run on the same server or on application servers. FastCGI for Smalltalk was written in less than a month by Tomas Vanak at the request Peter William Lount. The request was published on http://mod.smalltalk.org/ and after six months Tomas picked up the torch. Peter and Tomas worked together designing, debugging and extending the main body of Tomas's code. A FastCGI "hub router" prototype was written in six hours that takes FastCGI requests and "routes" the requests to multiple Smalltalk images located on the same or other servers. Peter William Lount has written an extensive web engine known as the AIMS Web Engine that is being used in a number of web sites under development (including Smalltalk.org). Recently a HTTP server has been added to the FastCGI for Smalltalk capabilities. This was possible since the Smalltalk based FastCGI Server has a lot in common with an HTTP server. FastCGI for Smalltalk is open source.
What is FastCGI?
"FastCGI is a language independent, scalable, open extension to CGI that provides high performance and persistence without the limitations of server specific APIs. ... FastCGI applications use (TCP or Unix) sockets to communicate with the web server. This scalable architecture allows applications to run on the same platform as the web server or on many machines scattered across an enterprise network. ... FastCGI applications are fast because they're persistent. There is no per-request startup and initialization overhead. This makes possible the development of applications which would otherwise be impractical within the CGI paradigm (i.e. a huge Perl script, or an application which requires a connection to one or more databases)." http://mod.smalltalk.org/
This presentation will be presented by Peter William Lount.
Bio: Peter William Lount is the president of Active Information Corporation and has been using Smalltalk for over twenty years since the early 1980's. Active Info has worked with companies such as JPMorgan, Fannie Mae and Deluxe Check Printing applying his Smalltalk knowledge in the banking and financial services industry as well as the construction, real estate, medical, web services and other industries. Peter wrote and owns the Metameric Bridge software that was used to design and build the Vancouver Sky Train "via-duct" (bridge) and other bridges around the world. Through Active Info Peter offers consulting, mentoring and coaching services. In addition Peter is the senior editor of Smalltalk.org, a Smalltalk advocacy web site. For more info please see http://www.activeinfo.ca, http://www.peter.lount.com, and http://www.MetaMere.com.
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