| Steve's Networked Programming Newsletter
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Making Nets Work
May
2008
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Dear Steve,
Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter. This
month I have an article about a C++ library I recently
learned about called asio - check it out and let me know
your thoughts.
I also have a quick note about HP's recent
announcement of end-of-sale dates for HP 9000 series
systems. If you are in an HP shop, you should be aware
of this.
As always, be sure to forward this note to other
people you work with to be sure they know what's
happening in the world of networked application
development.
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A 'Modern' Replacement for ACE?
Ummm, no...
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I read a blog posting this week
(One Unified Blog - Evaluating Inter-Process Communication Frameworks)
recounting the author's experiences searching for C++
toolkit(s) with which to build a networked application.
You can read the full entry (linked above) but one item
that grabbed my attention (after a nice review of ACE
and the ACE books) was a brief description of a library
I hadn't heard of - asio (http://asio.sourceforge.net/). It was
described as a "'modern' replacement for ACE" so I just
had to check it out. Here's my take on it:
- asio uses some modern C++ features such as
template metaprogramming. These are cool, but you
really have to be a C++ wiz to "get it".
- asio has been ported to only a few platforms; it
requires boost, which prohibits its use on many
platforms that ACE runs on today
- asio covers primarily what is, in ACE, the lower
levels; no higher-level frameworks
- There are probably some neat lessons to learn here
and maybe apply
So, I wouldn't call asio a
replacement for ACE in the large, but if you love boost
and fancy C++, it may be an item you should look into.
I'd really like to hear from you if you've tried asio
out as well. Email me at shuston@riverace.com and let me know
what you think.
Have you ever wished ACE had a
replacement, or at least a renovation? Do you like
boost? I'd love to hear your thoughts on
this!
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| HP Announces End-of-Sale Dates for
HP 9000 |
If you are using HP-UX on the HP
9000 series hardware (PA-RISC), you should be aware that
HP has announced the end-of-sale date for the HP 9000
series systems. You have until the end of this year to
order any HP 9000 systems you'll need.
For
complete information, see http://www.hp.com/products1/evolution/9000/eol_announcement.html.
Riverace
is supporting ACE on HP-UX PA-RISC hardware as
follows:
- HP-UX 11.00 on PA-RISC: ACE 5.5 is the last ACE
version to be supported. When ACE 5.7 is released
later this year, ACE 5.5 will become unsupported and
so will HP-UX 11.00
- HP-UX 11iv2 on PA-RISC: Will remain supported as
long as we have sufficient customer
usage.
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| Do You Need Help Designing Your
Next System? |
Nobody has to tell you that
designing a well-formed, efficient, maintainable
networked application is hard. You've had to deal with
it. The problem is that networking functionality is
usually in a supporting role to your system's main
purposes, and your skills and experience are much better
used to focus on specific business and technology
issues. It may make more sense to bring in seasoned
expertise to help design a solid networking base in your
next system.
I've helped many companies get great
networked applications built - I may be able to help you
as well. Let's talk and see if I can help take care of
the networking, and let you focus on applying your
expertise and experience to the business features
that'll really help your system stand out.
Call
me at 508-541-9180 or email me at shuston@riverace.com.
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If you have any ideas for areas of networked
programming you'd like to hear about in future issues,
please email me with your suggestions. In the meantime,
keep those nets working!
Sincerely,
Steve Huston
Riverace
Corporation
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