C++ programming for HTTPS

Question

Hi,

I am a C++ programmer new to HTTPS. I need to write a COM based windows service in C++ which can handle HTTPS requests. But for that I would need to understand how the technologies and protocol fit together.

I understand this is a very open ended question but my intent is to find some documentation that introduces a C++ programmer to HTTPS programming.

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Writing your own HTTP server is no minor undertaking (if you want to get everything right), and writing one to support SSL is even more difficult. You would be much better advised to use one of the many open source servers (see here for a list), many of which can be embedded in your c++ code. Personally, I have found Mongoose very easy to embed in C++ code.

Answer 2

The other option for windows vista/Windows Server 2008 or later is to use the IIS Hostable core. For client versions this is available even in home basic, though IIS is not.

This does basically all the work of the HTTP and HTTPS protocols for you and all that is left to do is write the callback functions which define what to send out over the pipe.