----------- Quoth David Binger: -------------
> ...Add my vote to the idea of having some sort of simple
> server included for tire-kickers--I'm not so sure about
> Jim's Death March application.

The Quixote/Medusa server and basic page-generating functions are the
parts of my app which have been solid and reliable for a long time
while I cope with with more esoteric matters, so a server test will
not be difficult to do.

The Death March would have been much deadlier if Quixote and Medusa
had not been there to solve a big chunk of the problem very handily
and definitively. Having a cut-down "Medusa" included in Quixote
would be a great convenience, but it is not essential to my project.

Quixote has already proved its usefulness and reliability in
combination with Apache etc. on public web site such as the MEMS
Exchange, but its scope does not have to be limited to that. There is
a lot of potential for people to use Quixote with a built-in async
HTTP server in intranet applications or in www applications having a
limited user base.

My application is an example of another type - one which will go out
to hundreds of sites on a CD, instead of just being installed in one
place by the developer. In most cases, the software will be installed
and used by a busy engineer or chemist who does not have a clue what
an HTTP server is and who would not be willing or able to set one up
and then cope with the ensuing alphabet-soup issues. (And I would not
be able to provide the documentation or end-user support for that
either). This issue was one of the original things that turned the
project into a Death March in the first place. ("Web interface for
this application? Sure! Piece of cake! See? Prototype running it two
weeks flat!" Neglected to consider the distribution, installation, and
maintenance aspects of an application with a web user interface).

All that being said, I agree that providing a ready-to-go demo
environment for Quixote tire-kickers certainly is a significant
benefit.

Jim Dukarm
DELTA-X RESEARCH
Victoria BC Canada