I'm looking for suggestions regarding RPC libraries implemented in C++, for C++ developers.
Some requirements constraints:
- Should work on both linux/unix and win32 systems
- Be able to execute free function and class methods
- Hopefully written in modern C++ not 90's/java-esque C++
- Be able to function over networks and hetrogenous architectures
- Not too slow or inefficient
- Hopefully provide interfaces for TR1 style std::function's et al.
My example usage is to invoke the free function foo on a remote machine.
---snip---
// foo translation unit
int foo(int i, int j)
{
return i + j;
}
---snip---
---snip---
// client side main
int main()
{
//register foo on client and server
//setup necassary connections and states
int result;
if (RPCmechanism.invoke("foo",4,9,result))
std::cout << "foo(4,9) = " result << std::endl;
else
std::cout << "failed to invoke foo(4,9)!" << std::endl;
return 0;
}
---snip---
Something that can achieve the above or similar would be great.
Note: I am NOT interested in other language bindings. Please do not proffer a solution because it has other language bindings. I'm only interested in well designed RPC frameworks written in C++ for the C++ language, that are efficient and appropriate for HPC scenarios.
Answer
That's quite a set of requirements...
While not meeting all of them (as I'm not sure that any such beast exists - I commend to your attention ICE from ZeroC. Developed in part by Michi Henning of CORBA fame (and ask your friends in telecom, that really isn't a dirty word), ICE is what CORBA would have looked like if it started later and wasn't developed by a committee.
Their C++ mapping is everything that CORBA is not, it uses STL types, and is generally newer feeling.
It fails the free-function and std::function tests, but given the improbability of finding a product for that entire list, this does a good job of many of the remainder.
Good Luck