[Vortex] Compression of payload

[Robert M. Münch]

On Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:53:57 +0200, Jens Alfke <jens at mooseyard.com> wrote:

> I'm pretty certain it doesn't. I haven't seen any code related to
> compression, and it doesn't link against zlib or anything like that.

Hi Jens, ok, I was not sure if Vortex contained any own compression code.

> Compression would be a good option for larger payloads, provided they
> weren't already in a compressed format (like most graphics / audio /
> video files). I suspect it wouldn't provide any measurable benefit for
> small requests and responses, though.

Yes, but this could be handled by a short test for good known "magic  
numbers" in data to identify the data-type. Or by letting the user specify  
if compression should be used.

> It's easy enough to add it yourself. Just use zlib to compress the
> payloads, and make sure to declare a MIME type like application/zip in
> the VortexMessages you send.

I will give it a try and let you know.

> Having Vortex compress automatically would be a bit problematic
> because the BEEP standard doesn't say anything about how to indicate
> that a frame is compressed. So at that level it's something that's up
> to the profile designer to specify.

I will take a look into the BEEP docs. I hope the BEEP specs can still be  
extended because adding native compression and maybe encryption is a good  
idea. Packing to much layers around BEEP to get encryption etc. done would  
make the samll & elegant design vanishing.

-- 
Robert M. Münch
http://www.robertmuench.de