@(#) $Id: Activity.html,v 1.16 1997/12/27 00:22:17 frystyk Exp $
The purpose of libwww is to provide an environment for experimenting with extensions and new features - most notably for HTTP but also for many other parts of the Web. The focus of libwww is client side applications like robots and browsers. Libwww is part of the W3C Architecture area and contains sample code for HTTP clients and for other Internet protocols such as FTP, Gopher, News, WAIS, Telnet servers. It has a rudimentary HTML parser which can only do the very basics but please have a look at the Amaya Web client for a full-blown HTML browser/editor application.
Libwww has been part of the World Wide Web almost from the beginning. Tim Berners-Lee designed and implemented the first version back in November 1992 in order to demonstrate the Web model. Many people have picked up the Library and used it in a variety of contexts. Applications such as Lou Montulli's Lynx character based client, Mosaic Web browser by Marc Andreesen and Eric Bena, and the CERN server by Ari Luotonen were all based on later versions of libwww. Later on, applications like the Arena browser by Dave Raggett and Håkon W. have been added to the list.
Libwww is freely available under W3C copyright for use by anyone. The distribution package contains a set of example applications spanning from very simple ones to more advanced ones like a robot, and a text based Web client.
With version 5.0 of libwww which was released September 10 1996, the status of libwww has changed from generic Web toolkit for writing applications to playground for experimenting with HTTP. The reason for this is that the need for a generic Web API written in basic C has changed and we are now more focused on how to improve HTTP than to provide a generic Web API.
Release 5.1 which was used in the HTTP performance work is expected to be the last release of Libwww from W3C. We are actively looking for a new home for libwww, which can take care of maintenance, development, and providing a forum for libwww discussions. Interested parties should contact Henrik for details.