Long-running survey from PHP to Apache

Question

I hope I can explain it quite well. I am working on creating a PHP library to handle ajax requests through PHP in an object oriented way. I'm currently thinking about how to implement a long survey, but I'm interested in something.

Apache cannot handle the fact that multiple connections open very well. The per-request flow model makes Apache extremely inefficient for long polling. Using a server, such as nginx and lighttpd, handles these streams much better, so in the library I plan to implement various functions optimized for specific servers accessible from a single function call. In the case of Apache, which, as it turns out, has a huge market share for PHP applications, I need a better solution.

Is there a way to place an incoming hold / pause request and continue processing other requests until I can reactivate it?

I'm not sure if this makes sense, or I'm even on the right track. What is the possible solution that SO recommends for long polling in PHP on an Apache server?

Answer 1

It sounds like a sequel. You definitely cannot do this in PHP, in any elegant way. If you want to do this, your best chance is to save the current state and write the code so that you can resume from where you left off when the state was loaded.

Answer 2

I do not think there is a solution. You cannot distinguish a polling request from a regular request. Just avoid Apache, which could help (for example, run nginx on 80, forward all requests to Apache on 81, except polling requests).

I also do not think you have a problem. Nginx or another server is not much more efficient than Apache. A poll is a PHP request, Apache with mod_php is a less or better choice. Nginx will not use less resources than Apache in PHP maintenance.