About The All-Clarion HTTP Server Demo Built Using the Internet Framework ToolsI have worked with internet technologies for six years - that is a long time in internet time.
Desktop programming and Internet technology were increasingly converging over those years
so that today's WIndows programmer will have to make some decision about how his or her applications will communicate over the Internet. Either the programmer will use it or the programmer will not use it. This web server is an example of how a Clarion programmer can use the Internet.OK, so you have a web server. What can you do with it?
Don't let the pages fool you, a full web server is no trivial matter. I don't have to just present static pages (from HTML files), I can present dynamic and interactive information. I can present my own Java interfaces to a browser. I can build n-tiered distributed database applications, servers exchanging data with other servers or clients (that I may choose to build) , etc. Also, TCP/IP is great (and often cheaper) alternative to serial communications.TCP/IP is one of the most popular protocols for networks. A Clarion developer can more easily develop networked applications for Windows. So you can build a distributed databased applications without DDE, CGI, ActiveX or web server interfaces. It is not that these technologies are bad. The use of a technology must be weighed against project requirenments, acceptable risks, staffing, costs, and available skills. However if you need to own it all, so to speak, you can own it all. You can have HTTP services, application logic, and database services wrapped in one or, at least, a tighter package.
How does it work?
It calls the asynchronous Winsock API's. Winsock stands for Windows Socket. Sockets are based on a network communications model where communications occur between to endpoints or sockets. Plugging you application in to the network is comparable to plugging your toaster into your kitchen socket. The Winsock API is an interface to a set of DLLs that translate your commands into network tasks.The web server example is asynchronous. This means that the server receives messages to distribute processing time among clients. As each message is received the server does a littlle bit of work and returns control to the operating system and the Winsock DLLS. Thus, asynchronous mode uses Windows operating system instead of working around it.
The web server takes advantage of Clarion's abiity to easily and safely thread procedures within an application. This allows each thread started to specialize on an activity or a set of activities requested from the operating system and the Winsock DLLs.
The web server adheres to HTTP/1.0 protocols. So I can execute GET (retrieve resource data, such as, an HTML file) , POST (send data) , and HEAD (request data about a resource without retrieving the resource) commands with it. I can make up my own commands (actually I have) for use with your own HTTP client (more about that template later). Write your end-user internet development environment (kind of like Allaire's Cold Fusion - Clarion Fusion, anyone?) based on the needs of your clients or market. There are so many possibilities. But it will be based on high-performance Clarion code and your skills.
How can I get my hands on this great technology?
The Internet Framework Tools - HTTP Server Edition for Clarion have been released.
Get your copy by clicking on the Secure Order Online button above.
You will be able to quickly assemble,compile and test an HTTP server. Examine the included examples.
Watch for further add-ons, template updates and articles here at Logic Central. You write your own server,
and, if you wish, write your own load balancer if you wish, and hopefully you will discover a new
world of programming
See The All-Clarion Web Server Example operate online here.
(Sometimes it will be down. You know how easy it is to add functionality
using Clarion)
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