Re: object oriented Squid ?

Alex Rousskov wrote:
>
> On Fri, 28 Nov 1997, Christian Khoury wrote:
>
> > Hi, does anyone know about an object oriented version of Squid? or even
> > a project for developing one.....thanx
>
> I would love to write Squid in C++. In fact, I was thinking about benefits
> and drawbacks of doing that for quite a while. IMHO,
>
> 0) It is definitely feasible:
>
> Squid runs on Unix platforms and is compiled using gcc. Thus,
> there should be no major problems switching to g++. Low level I/O stuff
> can still use C libraries wrapped nicely into appropriate classes. C++ has
> no additional overhead compared to C if you know what you are doing. Core
> C++ stuff is definitely at _least_ as portable as C code.
>
> 1) It is very useful:
>
> a) Object oriented version of Squid could significantly speedup
> further development and enhancement. IMHO, it would be much easier to try
> new things in a properly designed OO Squid than it is in the current
> version. Adding a new scheduling algorithm or caching policy would be much
> easier. As a side effect, we could merge NOVM and VM branches back
> together because their actual essential difference can be localized in one
> or two interchangeable algorithms.
>
> b) Many things that cannot be easely fixed in the current Squid
> could be changed with little effort if an OO version is in place. For
> example, 50% smaller store_entry structures using MD5 or similar encoding
> of URLs, etc. Now, it can be done in the current Squid as well, but it
> would take more time and efforts; and when the result is questionable
> (memory vs. CPU tradeoff), we will probably never try it. Having a
> carefully designed OO version, we could supply both versions with a little
> extra effort.
>
> c) Adding various kinds of performance measurements and tuning is
> really easier when all actions are localized in classes, a client request
> is not represented by 3 isolated structures and does not change its
> "state" in 5 places that share no common data structures, etc.
>
> 2) It can kill Squid:
>
> I wish everybody in Squid community were C++ fans. Object
> orientedness clearly enhances collaboration _provided_ that all
> participants know what they are doing. However, it is probably not the
> case. Many nice folks who contribute to Squid development do not know C++.
> My major concern is that there will be almost no contributers left if we
> switch to C++. I wish I were wrong.
>
> One could argue that with a C++ Squid, one could still write a
> C-style "local" code. That is probably true, but all significant changes
> would still require some understanding of OO concepts.
>
> On the other hand, IMHO, OO is the programming technology of the
> future so why not to "push the envelope"? :)
>
> Any comments?
>
> Alex.

well, i'm sorry it took me time to react to what you said. I think that
it would be interesting to continue the work on Squid as it is on going
now..but in the same time, to begin organizing a group of people willing
to work on the object oriented version.

I asked this question because we (our project) got into trouble when we
wanted to integrate a new cooperation protocol into Squid. We were
forced to change Squid's code (add hooks to it) at some places in order
to integrate this new protocol. And i can think of many other aspects
where OO code would help implementing and integrating easily some new or
different algorithms.

Christian

-- 
Christian Khoury
INRIA - Projet SOR - B.P. 105 - 78153 Le Chesnay Cedex - FRANCE
Tel : +33 1 39 63 51 33      e-mail : Christian.Khoury@inria.fr