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The Return of C

Stefan Tilkov,

Not that it has ever disappeared, but I can’t help but notice that the good old C programming language is becoming a serious option to Web developers again — witness Tim Bray’s mod_atom, an implementation of the Atom Publishing Protocol as an Apache HTTPD Module, or the NY Times’ DB implementation called DBSlayer:

The DBacesslayer aka DBSlayer aka Släyer (as we like to call it when we’re feeling ironically heavy metal) is a lightweight database abstraction layer suitable for high-load websites where you need the scalable advantages of connection pooling. Written in C for speed, DBSlayer talks to clients via JSON over HTTP, meaning it’s simple to monitor and can swiftly interoperate with any web framework you choose.

It seems wire protocols, preferably those of the Web, are the new standard to meet to build “components” that are usable anywhere …