AOLserver
Encyclopedia
AOLserver is America Online's open source
web server
. AOLserver is
multithreaded, Tcl
-enabled, and used for large scale, dynamic web sites.
AOLserver is distributed under the Mozilla Public License
.
AOLserver was originally developed by NaviSoft
under the name "NaviServer", but changed names when AOL
bought the company in 1995. Philip Greenspun
convinced America Online to open-source the program in 1999.
AOLserver was the first HTTP server program to combine multithreading
, a built-in scripting language, and the pooling of persistent database connections. For database-backed Web sites, this enabled performance improvements of 100X compared to the standard practices at the time of CGI scripts that opened fresh database connections on every page load. Eventually other HTTP server programs were able to achieve similar performance with a similar architecture, but AOLserver was several years ahead of the competition.
AOLserver is a key component in the Open Architecture Community System (OpenACS
) which is an advanced open-source toolkit for developing web applications.
In Sept 2007, a port of AOLserver for the iPhone
was made available and later fork
ed under the name "Joggame Server". This fork is described on its Sourceforge
project page as being a spin-off of AOLserver for devices.
NaviServer
(also hosted on SourceForge) is a fork of AOLserver.
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
web server
Web server
Web server can refer to either the hardware or the software that helps to deliver content that can be accessed through the Internet....
. AOLserver is
multithreaded, Tcl
Tcl
Tcl is a scripting language created by John Ousterhout. Originally "born out of frustration", according to the author, with programmers devising their own languages intended to be embedded into applications, Tcl gained acceptance on its own...
-enabled, and used for large scale, dynamic web sites.
AOLserver is distributed under the Mozilla Public License
Mozilla Public License
The Mozilla Public License is a free and open source software license. Version 1.0 was developed by Mitchell Baker when she worked as a lawyer at Netscape Communications Corporation and version 1.1 at the Mozilla Foundation...
.
AOLserver was originally developed by NaviSoft
NaviSoft
NaviSoft was a web server company based in the United States. It was acquired by AOL on November 30, 1994.In 1993, Linda Dozier set up NaviSoft Inc. in the basement of her Goleta, California home with business partner David C. Cole. In that Goleta basement, network publishing, for which Dozier...
under the name "NaviServer", but changed names when AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
bought the company in 1995. Philip Greenspun
Philip Greenspun
Philip Greenspun is a semi-retired American computer scientist, educator, and early Internet entrepreneur who was a pioneer in developing online communities.-Biography:...
convinced America Online to open-source the program in 1999.
AOLserver was the first HTTP server program to combine multithreading
Thread (computer science)
In computer science, a thread of execution is the smallest unit of processing that can be scheduled by an operating system. The implementation of threads and processes differs from one operating system to another, but in most cases, a thread is contained inside a process...
, a built-in scripting language, and the pooling of persistent database connections. For database-backed Web sites, this enabled performance improvements of 100X compared to the standard practices at the time of CGI scripts that opened fresh database connections on every page load. Eventually other HTTP server programs were able to achieve similar performance with a similar architecture, but AOLserver was several years ahead of the competition.
AOLserver is a key component in the Open Architecture Community System (OpenACS
OpenACS
The Open Architecture Community System is an open-source web application framework licensed under the terms of the GNU GPL.The Open Architecture Community System provides:...
) which is an advanced open-source toolkit for developing web applications.
In Sept 2007, a port of AOLserver for the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
was made available and later fork
Fork (software development)
In software engineering, a project fork happens when developers take a legal copy of source code from one software package and start independent development on it, creating a distinct piece of software...
ed under the name "Joggame Server". This fork is described on its Sourceforge
SourceForge
SourceForge Enterprise Edition is a collaborative revision control and software development management system. It provides a front-end to a range of software development lifecycle services and integrates with a number of free software / open source software applications .While originally itself...
project page as being a spin-off of AOLserver for devices.
NaviServer
NaviServer
NaviServer is a high performance web server written in C and Tcl. It can be easily extended in either language to create web sites and services...
(also hosted on SourceForge) is a fork of AOLserver.