gwan

Gwan is a lightweight, high-performance web server designed for handling high concurrency and low latency. It is written in C and is known for its minimalistic design and efficient resource utilization. Gwan was created by Gilles Chehade and has been in development since 2003. The server is particularly noted for its ability to handle thousands of simultaneous connections with minimal overhead, making it suitable for applications requiring high concurrency, such as real-time web services and online gaming.

One of the key features of Gwan is its event-driven architecture, which allows it to manage multiple connections efficiently without the need for multi-threading or multi-processing. This design choice results in lower memory usage and reduced context-switching overhead, contributing to its high performance. Gwan also supports various programming languages for scripting, including C, PHP, and Lua, providing flexibility for developers.

Gwan's configuration is straightforward, with a simple text-based configuration file that allows administrators to define server settings, virtual hosts, and scripting environments easily. The server also includes built-in support for SSL/TLS, enabling secure communications without the need for additional software.

Despite its performance advantages, Gwan has a smaller user base compared to more established web servers like Apache and Nginx. This is partly due to its relatively recent development and the preference for more mature solutions in many production environments. However, Gwan continues to be maintained and updated, with ongoing efforts to improve its features and compatibility.

In summary, Gwan is a high-performance web server optimized for handling high concurrency and low latency. Its event-driven architecture, efficient resource utilization, and support for multiple scripting languages make it a viable option for developers seeking a lightweight and fast web server solution.