Support for Comet?

So someone finally named server-push through HTTP-keepalive “Comet”

It’s also been implemented in a very nice Java/Javascript library called
DWR.

Has there been any discussion by “the core” about adding this to Rails
1.2?
:slight_smile:

Crickets

I saw Alex Russell from Dojo give a presentation at Emerging Tech on
Comet. It’s interesting, but there are solid technical reasons why Comet
will not become part of the rails core. In order for Comet to work, you
require some very specific configuration hacks at the webserver level.
It’s certainly not going to happen on Windows any time soon.

The goal of Rails is to give most people what they need most of the
time. Most Rails developers do not need server push, and so it will not
be in Rails. If you need server push in Rails, write a plugin!

Now, that said, what was demonstrated by David at CoR was a great hack
he called Armageddon. Using a 1kb, 1x1 pixel flash movie that opens a
listener socket and registers with the server, it was possible to easily
implement a push-type system. It’s pre-alpha and not yet under actual
serious development, but David had a Rails helper set up for it, so
perhaps expect a plugin in a few months. Really cool stuff there.
----- Original Message -----
From: subimage interactive
To: rails
Sent: Friday, April 14, 2006 12:33 AM
Subject: [Rails] Support for Comet?

So someone finally named server-push through HTTP-keepalive “Comet”

It’s also been implemented in a very nice Java/Javascript library
called DWR.

Purchase Intent Data for Enterprise Tech Sales and Marketing | TechTarget

Has there been any discussion by “the core” about adding this to Rails
1.2? :slight_smile:


seth at subimage interactive
http://www.subimage.com/sublog/



Rails mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.rubyonrails.org/mailman/listinfo/rails

On Apr 15, 2006, at 11:59 AM, Pete F. wrote:

The goal of Rails is to give most people what
they need most of the time.

It’s been very specifically stated that the goal
of Rails is give David what he wants. :slight_smile:

That’s the whole point of opinionated software!

The good thing for the rest of us is that:

  1. The Rail core team accepts patches
    (if they like them) thereby giving
    us a way to get what we want (sometimes)

  2. We want what he wants

Speaking for myself only, of course. :slight_smile:


– Tom M.

Now, that said, what was demonstrated by David at CoR was a great hack
he called Armageddon. Using a 1kb, 1x1 pixel flash movie that opens a
listener socket and registers with the server, it was possible to easily
implement a push-type system.

with the amount of NAT and proxying out there, this would not work in a
lot of situations, plus it requires flash. theres no reason you can’t
leave the clients normal xhr open for longer periods of time, restarting
it as needed via a javascript watchdog…

anyways if campfire didnt need an overhaul of the HTTP protocol and
firewalls worldwide, why should you? if you need to stream push-style
data to thousands of clients at once, and are finding the ‘shared
nothing’ approach is gobbling your server’s RAM alive, check out
lightstreamer, its been designed from the ground up for this purpose

Now that sounds really interesting…Does the project have a home page
or
anything?

Has there been any discussion by “the core” about adding this to Rails
1.2?
:slight_smile:

David showed off an Armageddon project at Canada on Rails. I believe
it’s only going to be a plugin though, and not part of core. I don’t
believe it counts as what “most people need most of the time.”


Rick O.
http://techno-weenie.net

subimage interactive wrote:

So someone finally named server-push through HTTP-keepalive “Comet”

It’s also been implemented in a very nice Java/Javascript library called
DWR.

i promise i’ll stop promoting proprietary software after this, but check
this out tho: an full featured streaming-data AJAX framework, with
full-on windowed graphical IDE/GUI-builder, running in a webpage,
written in itself:

http://weblog.infoworld.com/udell/gems/tibco.html

Has there been any discussion by “the core” about adding this to Rails
1.2?
:slight_smile:

do you have numbers for the kind of load generated by a ‘frequent small
requests’ RJS application? what youre requesting is really a rewrite of
a lot of things, including a the webserver, to implement a ‘shared
everything’ approach, with a server maintaining a observer/observable
model, doing a single data query and ferrying the results to all the
subscribers… im sure zed Shaw would love to implement it if you haev a
real project and are willing to paypal him lots of Chimay money