C++ Networking Library

Goals and Scope

Objectives

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o Develop a high quality, portable, easy to use C++ networking library

o Enable users to easily extend the library

o Lower the barrier to entry for cross-platform network-aware C++

applications

Goals

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* Implement a simple message implementation which can be used in

network protocol-specific routines for inter-operability and

to provide a generic interface to manipulating network-oriented

messages.

* Implement easy to use protocol client libraries such as (but not

limited to):

- HTTP 1.0/1.1

- (E)SMTP

- SNMP

- ICMP

* Implement an easy to embed HTTP server container type that supports

most modern HTTP 1.1 features.

* Implement an efficient easy to use URI class/parser.

* Implement a fully compliant cross-platform asynchronous DNS resolver

either as a wrapper to external (C) libraries or as hand-rolled

implementation.

* Implement a MIME handler which builds message objects from either

data retrieved from the network or other sources and create

text/binary representations from existing message objects intended

for transport over the network.

Scope

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* The library will provide a generic message class which is intended

to be the common message type used by the protocol libraries.

* The library will only contain client implementations for the various

supported protocols.

* The library will use only STL and Boost C++ library components,

utilities, and libraries throughout the implementation.

* The library will strive to use C++ templates and template

metaprogramming techniques in order to not require the building of

external shared/static libraries. In other words, the library will be

header-only and compliant with the C++ standard.