[webkit-efl] Dropping support for the libcurl network backend

[Raphael Kubo da Costa]

Gyuyoung Kim <gyuyoung.kim at samsung.com> writes:

> Hello Kubo,
>
>>> I don't see performance as a single determinant factor here, but I'd
>>> love to see some data from your colleagues.
>  
> Yes, my coworkers are going to start curl profiling vs. libsoup. If
> curl performance is better, we need to consider which network backend
> EFL port uses. If there is no difference from performance and features
> of view, I think it is better to use curl instead of libsoup in order
> to remove glib dependency. If so, my co-workers are willing to
> maintain libcurl port or participate in libcurl port.

I maintain the opinion I stated in my last message: it only makes sense
to seriously consider using the curl backend if the performance
difference is _much_ bigger (I don't think it is, at least nobody has
complained about webkit-efl being slow due to the network backend being
used).

On the features side, there already is code in ewk which only works with
the soup backend, and you can compare the number of notImplemented()
calls in the curl and soup network backends in WebCore.

We are kind of facing the same problem the webkit-gtk folks faced a few
years ago [1]. Specifically, Holger's message [2] in the thread applies
very much to the current situation with the EFL port.

And even if for some very weird reason someone decides it makes sense to
use the curl backend, then _only_ the curl backend should be used to
avoid the very problems we are trying to get rid of here (divided effort
into maintaining and testing two backends, lowest common denominator for
API and feature design etc).

> In addtion, we need to consider Ryuan's comment. If some guys don't
> want to use glib dependency, how to connect network via libsoup ?

The port will only work with the glib dependency. glib and libsoup then
become two additional dependencies, just like, say, Eina or Evas.

I have filed http://webkit.org/b/77874 to get rid of the curl code, by
the way.

[1]
https://lists.webkit.org/pipermail/webkit-dev/2008-December/006099.html
[2]
https://lists.webkit.org/pipermail/webkit-dev/2008-December/006118.html

-- 
Raphael Kubo da Costa
ProFUSION embedded systems
http://profusion.mobi