From: Zed Shaw <zedshaw@...>
Date: 2006-01-21T10:33:35+09:00
Subject: Re: [ANN] Mongrel 0.1.1 -- A Fast Ruby Web Server (It Works Now, Maybe)


On Jan 20, 2006, at 2:33 PM, Michael Schoen wrote:

> Zed,
>
> Cool stuff. Is the intent that this enables an even more  
> straightforward approach for running apps (such as a RoR app) than  
> scgi under lighttpd? Ie., rather than scgi under lighttpd, just use  
> mod_proxy?
>

Yes, the intention is to produce the optimal deployment scenario for  
Ruby web applications.   A secondary purpose is to prove my  
unofficial "Zed's STFU Performance Razor":

"All languages are as fast as the fastest language they can access so  
STFU."

:-)

I'm imagining that if I can get the various web frameworks to run  
well and fast under Mongrel, and sprinkle in a few sexy features,  
then it'd be the best way to deploy the applications.  I'm thinking a  
primary concern is performance, followed by ease of deployment, then  
management, and finally API simplicity.  What's nice with just plain  
HTTP is that there's already a mountain of support for production  
HTTP hosting and deployment technology.

> Did you read this post, where Mark Mayo wonders why the newer  
> frameworks haven't just been using an http interface (and instead  
> have struggled with fcgi)?
>
> http://www.vmunix.com/mark/blog/archives/2006/01/02/fastcgi-scgi- 
> and-apache-background-and-future/
>

Yeah, I read that post literally as I was building the precursor to  
SCGI, and then decided to take the plunge and just do it.  The story  
goes like this:

1)  Win32 IIS dudes beg me to get SCGI working under IIS.
2)  I like Win32 dudes, hell I love everybody the same (which is very  
little, but it's equal at least).
3)  I start working on an HTTP->SCGI proxy.  I use Ragel to make a  
clean, fast, and correct parser.
4)  madrobby schools me on my parser with his mountain of browsers  
until I get it working better.
5)  I keep asking myself, "Why don't I just take the parser and make  
a Ruby web server?"
6)  I keep asking this but it doesn't sink in.  I decide to toy with  
the idea.  Someone shows me the articl  Then I read the above article  
and just do it.
7)  What you have is about 3-4 days later.

So, that's the semi-official story.  What I also have though is a  
HTTP parser that I can break out and make into a library.  This means  
that other languages could possibly pick it up and write their own  
similarly fast web servers with minimal effort.  Keep your fingers  
crossed.

Zed A. Shaw
http://www.zedshaw.com/