Is Wookie production ready?

No, Wookie is currently in beta, as stated in the README, so it's not recommended for production use due to potential instability and unfinished features.

Wookie vs Hunchentoot: which is better for async?

Wookie is designed from the ground up for async, non-blocking I/O, while Hunchentoot is synchronous; Wookie excels in concurrency but lacks Hunchentoot's maturity and ecosystem.

How to set up a basic Wookie server?

Refer to the documentation site built on Wookie for examples; it typically involves loading the library in Common Lisp and defining async handlers, but setup may require familiarity with Lisp tooling.

What are Wookie's performance benefits?

By handling connections asynchronously, Wookie can manage many simultaneous requests without blocking, improving scalability for I/O-heavy applications, though specific benchmarks aren't provided.

Can I use Wookie with other Common Lisp web frameworks?

Wookie is a standalone server, so integration may require custom work; it diverges from Hunchentoot, so compatibility with existing frameworks isn't guaranteed.

Which license should I choose for my project?

Choose Wookie-MIT for a humorous, dog-themed license or standard MIT for simplicity; both allow permissive use, but Wookie-MIT adds playful terms about servitude to the dog.

Open-Awesome

wookie

MITCommon Lisp

An asynchronous HTTP server written in Common Lisp for high-performance web applications.

Visit Website GitHub

196 stars19 forks0 contributors

What is wookie?

Wookie is an asynchronous HTTP server written in Common Lisp that handles concurrent connections without blocking. It provides a high-performance alternative to traditional synchronous servers, particularly useful for I/O-intensive web applications. The project evolved from an attempt to port Hunchentoot to async but became its own distinct implementation.

Target Audience

Common Lisp developers building web applications who need asynchronous, non-blocking HTTP server capabilities. It's particularly valuable for those working on high-concurrency services or I/O-bound applications.

Value Proposition

Developers choose Wookie for its pure Common Lisp implementation of asynchronous HTTP serving, offering better performance for concurrent connections than traditional synchronous servers. Its divergence from Hunchentoot provides a specialized async-first approach rather than just an async port.

Overview

Asynchronous HTTP server in common lisp

Use Cases

Best For

Building high-concurrency web services in Common Lisp
Developing asynchronous APIs that handle many simultaneous connections
Creating non-blocking HTTP servers for I/O-intensive applications
Common Lisp projects needing better performance than synchronous servers
Educational exploration of async server patterns in Common Lisp
Prototyping scalable web applications with Common Lisp backends

Not Ideal For

Projects requiring a stable, production-ready HTTP server with long-term support
Teams unfamiliar with Common Lisp or asynchronous programming models
Applications that prioritize synchronous, blocking operations for simplicity
Environments needing extensive third-party middleware or plugin ecosystems

Pros & Cons

Pros

Asynchronous Performance

Handles concurrent connections efficiently without blocking, improving throughput for I/O-bound web applications as highlighted in its asynchronous architecture focus.

Pure Common Lisp

Built entirely in Common Lisp, leveraging the language's strengths for server development, making it a natural choice for Lisp-centric projects.

Self-Hosted Documentation

The documentation site is built on Wookie itself, serving as a practical reference implementation and demonstrating real-world usage, as noted in the README.

Flexible Licensing

Offers dual licensing under Wookie-MIT and standard MIT, providing humorous or straightforward options to suit different compliance needs.

Cons

Beta Stability Risks

Explicitly in beta, meaning it may have bugs, incomplete features, or breaking changes, making it unreliable for critical production deployments.

Niche Ecosystem

As a Common Lisp project, it has a smaller community and fewer integrations compared to HTTP servers in more popular languages, limiting support and tooling.

Asynchronous Complexity

Requires understanding of async patterns in Common Lisp, which can add development overhead and steeper learning curve versus synchronous servers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Projects

woo

A fast non-blocking HTTP server on top of libev

Stars1,397

Forks99

Last commit5 months ago

Clack

Web server abstraction layer for Common Lisp

Stars1,109

Forks89

Last commit6 months ago

Aserve documentation

AllegroServe, a web server written in Common Lisp

Stars204

Forks32

Last commit1 month ago

cl-http2-protocol

HTTP/2 interop library in Common Lisp

Stars106

Forks8

Last commit12 years ago

Community-curated · Updated weekly · 100% open source

Found a gem we're missing?

Open-Awesome is built by the community, for the community. Submit a project, suggest an awesome list, or help improve the catalog on GitHub.

Submit a project Star on GitHub