The ffead-cpp Framework

According to the latest tfb results, ffead-cpp [embedded+v-picov] is currently the 20th fastest web/http/sql framework in the world Latest Techempower benchmarks

ffead-cpp is a web-framework, application framework, utilities all bundled into one. It also provides an embedded HTTP/Web-Socket compliant high-performance server core. It is a collection of modules all geared towards performing individual roles which together form the cohesive back-bone of ffead-cpp.

It provides a very simple to use and maintain web-framework library with advanced features like Reflection, Dependency Injection (IOC), Inbuilt REST/SOAP support, Security/Authentication features. Moreover implementation for interfacing to caching tools like Memcached/Redis are provided in-built. Database integration/ORM framework (SDORM) solves all major issues with respect to interfacing with SQL/No-SQL database alike.

Multi-level serialization or template level serialization is a high point of ffead-cpp core serialization run-time. Any C++ POCO class can be marked as serializable and the run-time will take care of marshalling/un-marshalling the object to its intended serializable form and back(JSON/XML/BINARY).

ffead-cpp can be easily driven by XML configuration, Services/Controllers/Filters/Interfaces/API(s) are all simple POCO classes without any need for them to extend any classes. The differentiating feature in ffead-cpp is the usage/implementation/support for markers (Annotations in java). Simple #pragma directives can now be used to drive the entire configuration in ffead-cpp, so you can just forget XML configuration.

All in all ffead-cpp is the gap in the world of C++ web application or enterprise application development which I have tried to fill with my humble/honest effort.

cmake, autoconf, meson, xmake, scons, shellb, bazel and buck2 builds are supported

Detailed OS specific instructions, instructions for installing the available server backends and docker/docker-compose scripts are located at docker

Build validated for the following Operating systems/Toolchains

Features

• Multiple server backends (HTTP 1.1/HTTP 2/HTTP 3)

  embedded (HTTP1.1)	nghttp2 (HTTP2)	quiche (HTTP3)	seastar
  apache	cinatra (c++)	lithium (c++)	drogon (c++)
  libreactor (c)	h2o (c)	vweb (vlang)	picov (vlang)
  actix (rust)	hyper (rust)	thruster (rust)
  h2o.cr (crystal)	crystal-http (crystal)	fasthttp (golang)	gnet (golang)
  firenio (java)	rapidoid (java)	wizzardo-http (java)	hunt (d)
  swift-nio (swift)	http.jl (julia)	uv-cpp (c++)
  CppServer (c++)	nginx	nodejs (javascript)	openlitespeed (WIP)

• Support for multiple I/O event notification engines,
  • io_uring - Linux kernel >= 5.6
  • epoll - Linux
  • kqueue - BSD/MacOS
  • event_ports/devpoll - Solaris
  • wepoll - Windows (IOCP based epoll library)
  • poll/select - On all platforms that support these API's
• Embedded HTTP Server with single process and thread-pool backends
• SSL/TLS support
• Web Socket Support
• Advanced ORM - SDORM (sql/monogo)
• Raw database access (postgresql/mongodb/scylladb)
• PostgreSQL wire database access
• Cache API (memcached/redis)
• Improved Thread/ThreadPool API(s)
• Marker based configuration (java style annotations)
• Reflection support
• Serialization support
• Date/Time Ultility functions
• Dependency Injection
• Serverside dynamic C++ Pages and template engine (HTML/C++ pages)
• Sample app for Webrtc Signalling (websocket + api) (horizontally scalable peerjs compatible signalling server)
• Embedded HTTP2.0 Server support (experimental)

Examples (as per feedback from HN)

• REST API example - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/blob/master/web/te-benchmark/include/TeBkRestController.h
• Template example - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/blob/master/web/markers/tpe/mark.tpe & https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/blob/master/web/default/src/DefTemp.cpp
• Websocket example - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/blob/master/web/default/src/DefaultWebSocketHandler.cpp
• Webfilter example - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/blob/master/web/default/src/DefaultIOFilter.cpp
• Webcontroller example - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/blob/master/web/default/src/DefaultController.cpp
• Dynamic C++ page example - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/blob/master/web/default/dcp/test.dcp
• Action based view example - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/blob/master/web/default/fviews/test.html & https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/blob/master/web/default/src/TestFormController.cpp
• XML driven configuration example - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/blob/master/web/default/config/application.xml
• Annotation (#pragma) driven example - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/tree/master/web/markers/include
• ORM example - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/blob/master/web/default/config/sdorm-mysql.xml
• Caching example - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/blob/master/web/default/config/cache.xml
• Script execution example - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/tree/master/web/default/scripts
• Programming language integration examples - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/tree/master/lang-server-backends
• OS Build scripts - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/tree/master/docker/os-based
• Cross compiling (android, mingw54, dockcross) - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/tree/master/docker
• I/O Multiplexing - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/blob/master/src/modules/server-util/SelEpolKqEvPrt.h
• ThreadPool - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/tree/master/src/modules/threads
• Backend Server integration - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/tree/master/src/server
• Server modules (apache/nginx/openlitespeed*) - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/tree/master/modules
• Cron Jobs module - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/tree/master/src/modules/jobs
• SOLR-Zookeeper/Elasticsearch (Search module) - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/tree/master/src/modules/search
• Toy/Useless interpreter - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/tree/master/src/modules/interpreter
• Solaris/BSD vagrant builds - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/tree/master/vagrant
• A Dumb code autogenerator - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/blob/master/ffead_gen.sh
• All github workflows for build validations - https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/ffead-cpp/tree/master/.github/workflows

Quickstart (Using cmake/make)

• Install cmake >= 3.8.2 and prerequisites
• mkdir build && cd build
• cmake -DSRV_EMB=on -DMOD_SDORM_MONGO=on ..
• make install -j4 (Build ffead-cpp along-with the sample applications in web + generate ffead-cpp binary)
• Sip some coffee
• cd ../ffead-cpp-7.0-bin/ (Navigate to the ffead-cpp binary folder)
• chmod +x *.sh
• ./server.sh (Startup ffead-cpp !!)

Quickstart (Using cmake/ninja)

• Install cmake >= 3.8.2, ninja and prerequisites
• mkdir build && cd build
• cmake -GNinja -DSRV_EMB=on -DMOD_SDORM_MONGO=on ..
• ninja install (Build ffead-cpp along-with the sample applications in web + generate ffead-cpp binary)
• Sip some coffee
• cd ../ffead-cpp-7.0-bin/ (Navigate to the ffead-cpp binary folder)
• chmod +x *.sh
• ./server.sh (Startup ffead-cpp !!)

Quickstart (Using xmake)

• Install xmake >= 2.5 and prerequisites
• xmake f --cxflags="-I/usr/local/include -w" --MOD_SDORM_MONGO=true -v -D -c
• xmake && xmake install (Build ffead-cpp along-with the sample applications in web + generate ffead-cpp binary)
• Sip some coffee
• cd ffead-cpp-7.0-bin/ (Navigate to the ffead-cpp binary folder)
• chmod +x *.sh
• ./server.sh (Startup ffead-cpp !!)

Quickstart (Using meson)

• Install meson and prerequisites
• meson setup build_meson && cd build_meson
• ninja install (Build ffead-cpp along-with the sample applications in web + generate ffead-cpp binary)
• Sip some coffee
• cd ../ffead-cpp-7.0-bin/ (Navigate to the ffead-cpp binary folder)
• chmod +x *.sh
• ./server.sh (Startup ffead-cpp !!)

Quickstart (Using scons)

• Install scons pip3 install scons --break-system-packages and prerequisites
• scons -Q (Build ffead-cpp along-with the sample applications in web + generate ffead-cpp binary)
• Sip some coffee
• cd ../ffead-cpp-7.0-bin/ (Navigate to the ffead-cpp binary folder)
• chmod +x *.sh
• ./server.sh (Startup ffead-cpp !!)

Quickstart (Using shellb)

• Install shellb with wget -q https://github.com/sumeetchhetri/shellb/releases/download/2.0.0/shellb -P . && chmod +x ./shellb and prerequisites, Always check for the latest version or use the one available already in the package
• chmod +x ./shellb && ./shellb ffead-cpp-shellb (Build ffead-cpp along-with the sample applications in web + generate ffead-cpp binary)
• Sip some coffee
• cd shellb_out/ffead-cpp-7.0-bin/ (Navigate to the ffead-cpp binary folder)
• chmod +x *.sh
• ./server.sh (Startup ffead-cpp !!)

Quickstart (Using bazel)

• Install bazel
• chmod +x ./shellb && ./shellb ffead-cpp-bazel (Build ffead-cpp along-with the sample applications in web + generate ffead-cpp binary)
• The above command will auto-generate BUILD/WORKSPACE/OTHER bazel files for building with bazel
• Sip some coffee
• cd shellb_out/ffead-cpp-7.0-bin/ (Navigate to the ffead-cpp binary folder)
• chmod +x *.sh
• ./server.sh (Startup ffead-cpp !!)

Quickstart (Using buck2)

• Install buck2
• chmod +x ./shellb && ./shellb ffead-cpp-buck2 (Build ffead-cpp along-with the sample applications in web + generate ffead-cpp binary)
• The above command will auto-generate .buckconfig/prelude/BUCK buck files for building with buck2
• Sip some coffee
• cd shellb_out/ffead-cpp-7.0-bin/ (Navigate to the ffead-cpp binary folder)
• chmod +x *.sh
• ./server.sh (Startup ffead-cpp !!)

Quickstart (Using autoconf)

• Install autoconf, automake and libtool prerequisites
• ./autogen.sh
• ./configure --enable-srv_emb=yes --enable-mod_sdormmongo=yes
• make install -j4 (Build ffead-cpp along-with the sample applications in web + generate ffead-cpp binary)
• Sip some coffee
• cd ffead-cpp-7.0-bin/ (Navigate to the ffead-cpp binary folder)
• chmod +x *.sh
• ./server.sh (Startup ffead-cpp !!)

For further details checkout the wiki page