1[/ 2 Copyright (c) 2016-2019 Vinnie Falco (vinnie dot falco at gmail dot com) 3 4 Distributed under the Boost Software License, Version 1.0. (See accompanying 5 file LICENSE_1_0.txt or copy at http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt) 6 7 Official repository: https://github.com/boostorg/beast 8] 9 10[section Introduction] 11[block'''<?dbhtml stop-chunking?>'''] 12 13Beast is a C++ header-only library serving as a foundation for writing 14interoperable networking libraries by providing [*low-level HTTP/1, 15WebSocket, and networking protocol] vocabulary types and algorithms 16using the consistent asynchronous model of __Asio__. 17 18This library is designed for: 19 20* [*Symmetry:] Algorithms are role-agnostic; build clients, servers, or both. 21 22* [*Ease of Use:] __Asio__ users will immediately understand Beast. 23 24* [*Flexibility:] Users make the important decisions such as buffer or 25 thread management. 26 27* [*Performance:] Build applications handling thousands of connections or more. 28 29* [*Basis for Further Abstraction.] Components are well-suited for building upon. 30 31This library is not a client or server, but it can be used to build those 32things. Many examples are provided, including clients and servers, which may 33be used as a starting point for writing your own program. 34 35[heading Motivation] 36 37Beast empowers users to create their own libraries, clients, and servers 38using HTTP/1 and WebSocket. Code will be easier and faster to implement, 39understand, and maintain, because Beast takes care of the low-level 40protocol details. 41The HTTP and WebSocket protocols drive most of the World Wide Web. 42Every web browser implements these protocols to load webpages and 43to enable client side programs (often written in JavaScript) to 44communicate interactively. C++ benefits greatly from having a 45standardized implementation of these protocols. 46 47 48 49[section Requirements] 50 51[important 52 This library is for programmers familiar with __Asio__. Users who 53 wish to use asynchronous interfaces should already know how to 54 create concurrent network programs using callbacks or coroutines. 55] 56 57Beast requires: 58 59* [*C++11:] Robust support for most language features. 60* [*Boost:] Beast only works with Boost, not stand-alone Asio 61* [*OpenSSL:] Version 1.0.2 or higher. Required to build the tests, examples, and to use TLS/Secure sockets. 62 63Tested with these compilers: msvc-14+, gcc 4.8.4+, clang 3.6+. 64 65Sources are [*header-only]. Adding additional libraries to the 66linking step for your programs to use Beast is normally not 67necessary, except for these cases: 68 69* When using coroutines created by calling 70[@boost:/doc/html/boost_asio/reference/spawn.html `boost::asio::spawn`], 71you will need to add the 72[@boost:/libs/coroutine/index.html Boost.Coroutine] 73library to your program. 74 75* When using 76[@boost:/doc/html/boost_asio/reference/ssl__stream.html `boost::asio::ssl::stream`], 77you will need to add the 78[@https://www.openssl.org/ OpenSSL] 79library to your program. 80 81Please visit the [@boost:/more/getting_started.html Boost documentation] 82for instructions on how to build and link with Boost libraries for your 83particular environment system. 84 85[endsect] 86 87 88 89[section Reporting Bugs] 90 91To report bugs or get help using Beast, GitHub issues are preferred. 92Please visit 93[@https://github.com/boostorg/beast/issues https://github.com/boostorg/beast/issues] 94to ask a question, report a defect, or request a feature. If you 95prefer to keep your issue or question confidential please email the author at 96[@mailto:vinnie.falco%40gmail.com vinnie.falco@gmail.com]. 97 98[endsect] 99 100 101 102[section Credits] 103 104Boost.Asio is the inspiration behind which all of the interfaces and 105implementation strategies are built. Some parts of the documentation are 106written to closely resemble the wording and presentation of Boost.Asio 107documentation. Credit goes to 108[@https://github.com/chriskohlhoff Christopher Kohlhoff] 109for his wonderful Asio library and the ideas in 110[@http://cplusplus.github.io/networking-ts/draft.pdf [*C++ Extensions for Networking]] 111which power Beast. 112 113Beast would not be possible without the support of 114[@https://www.ripple.com Ripple] 115during the library's early development, or the ideas, time and patience 116contributed by 117[@https://github.com/JoelKatz David Schwartz], 118[@https://github.com/ximinez Edward Hennis], 119[@https://github.com/howardhinnant Howard Hinnant], 120[@https://github.com/miguelportilla Miguel Portilla], 121[@https://github.com/nbougalis Nik Bougalis], 122[@https://github.com/seelabs Scott Determan] and 123[@https://github.com/scottschurr Scott Schurr]. 124Many thanks to 125[@https://github.com/K-ballo Agustín Bergé], 126[@http://www.boost.org/users/people/glen_fernandes.html Glen Fernandes], 127and 128[@https://github.com/pdimov Peter Dimov] 129for tirelessly answering questions on the 130[@https://slack.cpp.al/ C++ Language Slack Workspace]. 131 132Thanks to 133[@https://github.com/djarek Damian Jarek] 134for his generous participation and source code contributions. 135 136Thanks to [@https://github.com/madmongo1 Richard Hodges] (hodges.r@gmail.com) 137for maintaining Beast on behalf of the [@https://cppalliance.org C++ Alliance]. 138 139Many thanks to [@https://www.jetbrains.com Jetbrains s.r.o.] for generously providing the 140Beast development team with All Product Developmnent Licenses. 141[endsect] 142 143 144 145[endsect] 146 147[include 1_quick_look.qbk] 148