To speed eyeOS up and make it work properly on slower servers, we have had to work on small details such as the programming code and the internal small pieces that makes eyeOS work.
eyeOS is divided in two big components: one executed on the user’s server that loads the desktop, and the other one, that is executed from the web server. This component is of great importance as it manages the speed of the whole eyeOS. If the answers from the web server are returned slowly, the whole desktop works slowly.
eyeOS uses PHP language to answer and attend users requests, such as creating folders, deleting groups, sharing information and any other action available in eyeOS. PHP is a very popular programming language used in many dynamic webpages, including Wikipedia, Facebook, wordpress, Drupal and a countless highly popular webpages.
PHP is a language very effective to create web pages, and its popularity stems on the fact is very easy to develop with it and on the large developer and expert community using this language. However, there are some other languages that are lighter and more efficient, though more complex, both to develop new ideas with them, and to find professional developers that have good grasp of them.
One of the more efficient languages existing to create software (web or traditional software) is C++. Webpages or programs developed in C++ tend to be fasters than those developed in PHP.
After reviewing comparative speed and efficiency researches, any person could say that developing a webpage in C++ could be a very good idea, better than developing it using PHP. However, the programming process for a webpage will be more complex and will involve more financial resources, since it means finding a programming team with high C++ knowledge, which is more difficult than finding a skilled team in PHP.
This is why tit already exists a Project named HIPHOP FOR PHP that translates PHP code into C++. With this tool it is possible to develop webpages using PHP, with all the advantages of these languages, and the convert the code to C++ with a translation program.
The result is to have the advantages of both worlds: easily programming using PHP and gain more efficient pages with C++-
One of the advantages of HIPHOP i s that it has been developed by Facebook, and that it is used daily to provide Facebook to milions of users every day, whereby it is a tested and stable software.
For this reason we have decided to use HIPHOP to translate eyeOS to C++ and upload it to try.eyeos.org to see and study how it works at first-hand. Moreover, we have make all kind of modifications in the server to replace other internal components, such as Apache that has been replaced with NGinx in almost all the platform and adding cache systems, that reduces the workload on the server side and the answer times for the user.
In conclusion, a complete restructuring of the server ensures not only a better speed for the end-user, but the possibility that more and more users test eyeOS demo at the same time, with no saturation troubles on the server side.
Regarding personal servers, installed all over the world, this change does not have impact on eyeOS code, as they do not require any kind updates.
All this advantages are changes on the server technologies and they should be done when servers are installed. eyeOS has the exactly the same code as our latest release, and this is why there is to release any new version.
