A HTTP and WebSocket library for c++ built on boost.asio
Beast is a cross-platform C++ library built on Boost.Asio and Boost, containing two modules implementing widely used network protocols. Beast.HTTP offers a universal model for describing, sending, and receiving HTTP messages while Beast. WebSocket provides a complete implementation of the WebSocket protocol.
These are the project goals:
- Symmetry: Interfaces are role-agnostic; suitable for use building clients, servers, or both.
- Ease of Use: Messages are modeled to be simple, accessible objects. Functions and classes used to interact with HTTP or WebSocket messages are designed to resemble Boost.Asio as closely as possible. Users familiar with Boost.Asio will be immediately comfortable using this library.
- Flexibility: Beast doesn't require specific implementation strategies; important decisions such as buffer or thread management are left to users of the library.
- Performance: Beast is fast, making it a good choice for building high performance network servers.
- Scalability: Beast is built to efficiently support thousands of concurrent connections, and is a solid base for further abstraction.
I will be giving a lightning talk on Beast at CppCon 2016 in Bellevue, Washington from September 18 to September 22. If you'd like to meet me and hear the talk or ask questions about Beast feel free to approach me in person or send me an email at vinnie.falco@gmail.com to schedule some time.
Beast is used in rippled, an open source server application that implements a decentralized cryptocurrency system.
About CppCon 2016: http://cppcon.org
This software is currently in beta: interfaces are subject to change. For recent changes see CHANGELOG. The library has been submitted to the Boost Library Incubator
please submit issue tickets above
Beast provides implementations of the HTTP and WebSocket protocols built on top of Boost.Asio and other parts of boost.
Usage Requirements:
- Boost
- C++11 or greater
- OpenSSL (optional)
Standard project installation example:
-
Copy the Beast library headers to your project include directory, eg:
/ My Project / include / beast / core / http / websocket **.hpp files* / src **program** CMakeLists.txt -
Edit your CMakeLists file to include Beast header files
... include_directories( ${YOUR_OTHER_INCLUDES} include/beast ) ...\ -
That's it! See the usage examples below.
Build and test scripts can be found in the project scripts directory.
Example WebSocket program:
#include <beast/core/to_string.hpp>
#include <beast/websocket.hpp>
#include <boost/asio.hpp>
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
int main()
{
// Normal boost::asio setup
std::string const host = "echo.websocket.org";
boost::asio::io_service ios;
boost::asio::ip::tcp::resolver r(ios);
boost::asio::ip::tcp::socket sock(ios);
boost::asio::connect(sock,
r.resolve(boost::asio::ip::tcp::resolver::query{host, "80"}));
// WebSocket connect and send message using beast
beast::websocket::stream<boost::asio::ip::tcp::socket&> ws(sock);
ws.handshake(host, "/");
ws.write(boost::asio::buffer("Hello, world!"));
// Receive WebSocket message, print and close using beast
beast::streambuf sb;
beast::websocket::opcode op;
ws.read(op, sb);
ws.close(beast::websocket::close_code::normal);
std::cout << to_string(sb.data()) << "\n";
}Example HTTP program:
#include <beast/http.hpp>
#include <boost/asio.hpp>
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
int main()
{
// Normal boost::asio setup
std::string const host = "boost.org";
boost::asio::io_service ios;
boost::asio::ip::tcp::resolver r(ios);
boost::asio::ip::tcp::socket sock(ios);
boost::asio::connect(sock,
r.resolve(boost::asio::ip::tcp::resolver::query{host, "http"}));
// Send HTTP request using beast
beast::http::request_v1<beast::http::empty_body> req;
req.method = "GET";
req.url = "/";
req.version = 11;
req.headers.replace("Host", host + ":" + std::to_string(sock.remote_endpoint().port()));
req.headers.replace("User-Agent", "Beast");
beast::http::prepare(req);
beast::http::write(sock, req);
// Receive and print HTTP response using beast
beast::streambuf sb;
beast::http::response_v1<beast::http::streambuf_body> resp;
beast::http::read(sock, sb, resp);
std::cout << resp;
}The Beast licence can be found here.
Please report issues or questions here: https://github.com/vinniefalco/Beast/issues