SiouX is a new lightweight HTTP server for Cincom Smalltalk that addresses limitations of older servers like VWAS. It improves performance by minimizing HTTP header parsing and allows direct writing to sockets. The architecture includes classes for the server, listeners, connections, and responders. Configuration can be done via GUI, web, programmatically, or XML files.

1. Cincom Systems, Inc.
SiouX HTTP Server
Jerry Kott, Senior Software Engineer
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2. Why SiouX?
★ Established Cincom® VisualWorks® technology: VisualWorks
Application Server (VWAS)!
★ Applications served via Smalltalk Server Pages, Servlets or
VisualWave. !
★ Uses Opentalk: a generic framework to develop distributed
applications.!
★ Difficult to debug and maintain
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3. Why SiouX? (continued)
★ Based on older standards (HTTP 1.0)!
★ Doesn’t allow to serve different technologies from the same server
(e.g., Seaside + SSP + WS)!
★ Limited or no support for new technologies as streaming and
chunked messages.!
★ Diverse and incompatible configuration tools!
★ etc…
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4. What’s new?
★ It’s light-weight, only a handful of classes!
★ Minimum Http header fields parsing to improve performance!
★ Provides file & directory management, as well as multiple log formats!
★ Supports writing directly to the socket stream:
- large objects don’t have to be held in memory
- using Server-Sent Events becomes easy
4

5. What’s new? (continued)
★ Optional components to provide support for Session Management,
Web Sockets & Servlets (backward compatibility)!
★ Includes fortification options (e.g., to set the rate at which new
connections are accepted, request line and header limits)!
★ Integrated with SSL/TLS!
★ Configurable, extensible request filters
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6. Architecture
★ Key classes:
- Server —> has listeners and responders
- Listener —> accepts and manages connections
- Connection —> accepts and dispatches requests in a single
process (one process per connection)
- Responder - handles requests
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7. Architecture (continued)
★ HTTP-specific classes:
- HttpRequest & HttpResponse
- HttpListener & HttpConnection!
★ HTTPS:
- HttpsListener & HttpsConnection
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8. Architecture (continued)
Server
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9. Architecture (continued)
Server
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Listener on xxxx

10. Architecture (continued)
Server
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Responder: /path1
Listener on xxxx

11. Architecture (continued)
Server
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Responder: /path1
…
Responder: /pathX
…
Listener on xxxx

12. Architecture (continued)
Server
8
Responder: /path1
…
Responder: /pathX
…
Listener on xxxx
xxxx listen

13. Architecture (continued)
Server
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Responder: /path1
…
Responder: /pathX
…
Connection
Listener on xxxx
GET /pathX
xxxx listen

14. Architecture (continued)
Server
8
Responder: /path1
…
Responder: /pathX
…
Connection
Listener on xxxx
GET /pathX
xxxx listen
dispatch

15. Architecture (continued)
Server
8
Responder: /path1
…
Responder: /pathX
…
Connection
Listener on xxxx
GET /pathX
xxxx listen
dispatch

16. Architecture (continued)
Server
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Responder: /path1
…
Responder: /pathX
…
Connection
Listener on xxxx
GET /pathX
xxxx listen
respond dispatch

17. Architecture (continued)
Server
8
Responder: /path1
…
Responder: /pathX
…
Connection
Listener on xxxx
xxxx listen

18. Architecture (continued)
Server
8
Responder: /path1
…
Responder: /pathX
…
Connection
……
Connection
Listener on xxxx
xxxx listen

19. Architecture (continued)
Server
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Responder: /path1
…
Responder: /pathX
…
Connection
……
Connection
Listener on xxxx
GET /wrong-path
xxxx listen

20. Architecture (continued)
Server
8
Responder: /path1
…
Responder: /pathX
…
Connection
……
Connection
Listener on xxxx
GET /wrong-path
xxxx listen

21. Architecture (continued)
Server
8
Responder: /path1
…
Responder: /pathX
…
Connection
……
Connection
Listener on xxxx
404 - Not Found
GET /wrong-path
xxxx listen

22. Architecture (continued)
Server
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Responder: /path1
…
Responder: /pathX
…
Connection
……
Connection
Listener on xxxx
GET /wrong-path
xxxx listen

23. Architecture (continued)
8
Responder: /path1
…
Responder: /
Server
Responder: /pathX
…
Connection
……
Connection
Listener on xxxx
GET /wrong-path
xxxx listen

24. Architecture (continued)
8
Responder: /path1
…
Responder: /
Server
Responder: /pathX
…
Connection
……
Connection
Listener on xxxx
GET /wrong-path
xxxx listen

25. Architecture (continued)
8
Responder: /path1
…
Responder: /
Server
Responder: /pathX
…
Connection
……
Connection
Listener on xxxx
xxxx listen

26. Architecture (continued)
8
Responder: /path1
…
Responder: /
Server
Responder: /pathX
…
Listener on yyyy
Connection
……
Connection
Listener on xxxx
xxxx listen

27. Architecture (continued)
8
Responder: /path1
…
Responder: /
Server
Responder: /pathX
…
Listener on yyyy
Connection
……
Connection
Listener on xxxx
yyyy listen
xxxx listen

28. Architecture (continued)
8
Responder: /path1
…
Responder: /
Server
Responder: /pathX
…
Connection
…..
Connection
Listener on yyyy
Connection
……
Connection
Listener on xxxx
yyyy listen
xxxx listen

29. Components
★ Open Parcel Manager!
★ Category: Web Development!
★ Key Parcels:
- SiouX-Server
- SiouX-Http
- SiouX-Tools
- plus more…
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30. Tools
★ GUI and Web Based!
★ Easy access from the Launcher
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31. Tools (continued)
GUI: Web:
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32. Configuration
★ From the GUI tool!
★ From the Web based ServerMonitor tool (limited)!
★ Programmatic, using pragmas and the Server / Responder API!
★ From an XML configuration file. The XML conf. file can be loaded
using a command line into a headless image.
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33. Configuration (continued)
Configuration methods with pragmas:
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34. Demo time!
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35. Demo time!
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36. Demo time!
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37. Demo time!
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38. Thank you!
★ Download from Cincom Smalltalk web site:
- http://www.cincomsmalltalk.com/main/developer-community/trying-cincom-smalltalk/try-cincom-smalltalk/!
★ Contact:!
• Suzanne Fortman: sfortman@cincom.com!
• Arden Thomas: athomas@cincom.com!
• Jerry Kott: jkott@cincom.com!
★ Q & A
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