Abstract HTTP servers are the single most important component of the content delivery system for the Web. This presentation introduces an architecture from Sun Labs, Project Brazil, a third-generation HTTP server. Project Brazil uses well-established software engineering principles to support small, modular objects called handlers.
Handlers implement specific abilities such as file services, security services and so on.
There are more than 50 handlers implementing a broad spectrum of services that developers can reuse. Sun Labs' Project Brazil architecture provides an extensible yet understandable framework for developers looking to build small, possibly application-specific HTTP servers without incurring the higher learning curves and administration costs of current servers. The Project Brazil architecture can scale to meet different requirements, since application developers can extend the architecture independently. Project Brazil prototypes are running on large computers as HTTP servers, on workstations and PCs as a personal Web server, and on embedded computers such as TINI for HTTP-addressable devices and appliances. Sun Microsystems Inc. All Rights Reserved.