README for NetServer::Generic


NetServer::Generic is a perl module that implements an object-oriented
interface for developing internet servers.

It requires:

* Perl 5.004 or later
* The following modules:
  -- IO::Socket (part of the standard distribution, or available from
     CPAN)
  -- IO::Select
  -- ChatBot::Eliza (optional: used by the elizad example)

Two examples are included:

  elizad -- a simple psychotherapy daemon
  shttpd -- a really, stupidly, basic HTTP server

A test script, demonstrating client/nonforking operation, is also included.

NetServer::Generic is required by NetServer::SMTP and the leafmail package.

To install NetServer::Generic, follow the usual Perl module installation
practice, viz (probably as root):

  cd Generic
  perl Makefile.PL
  make
  make test
  make install

NOTE: The test mechanism is slightly non-standard, because 
      NetServer::Generic's quit() method interferes with Test::Harness.
      For this reason, the real test (testguts-forked.pl for the forking
      server and testguts-preforked.pl for the preforked server) is invoked 
      from within test.pl. 

Problems, questions, brickbats or plaudits to: charlie@antipope.org

Enjoy!


-- Charlie