Chinchilla is the easy way to create browser-based presentations or powerful applications with a MS Windows look and feel. Chinchilla is a tiny (3.3 MB) local HTTP server that requires no installation and creates no registry dust. Your (D)HTML, OpenLaszlo, or Flex RIA composes the UI, while an on-board Perl 5.10 interpreter does the work and provides full system access, using CGI and AJAX techniques. A customizable browser window under full server control helps to convincingly fake a real Windows application. Chinchilla as a RIA runtime can be a viable quick and dirty alternative to Adobe AIR. Ideally suited for autorun.inf presentations or fancy product installers on CD/DVD. The server binary can run multiple, independent instances of itself, and can be synchronized with the user's default browser, a Windows HTA, or its own browser window: Starting the server starts your (D)HTML application, and closing the app window terminates the server. By renaming Chinchilla's .EXE file and swapping out its icon, programmers can create fake MS Windows applications from humble HTML pages - all with the proper Windows look and feel. For beginners shying away from the learning curve of setting up a production server, Chinchilla is an ideal entry-level HTTP server to test small web sites locally. At the most basic level, Chinchilla requires no configuration - just dump all your files in the directory where the server binary lives and they are served from there. Additionally, the server can be slowed down artificially to simulate network congestion for testing purposes.

proggies2go.org - Chinchilla[TM] No-Frills HTTP Server
©2009 Volker "Bill" Schülbe - All Rights Reserved


LICENSE

The software in this package is copyrighted intelectual property. However, you may use, modify, or redistribute this package as you see fit, with the following stipulations:

(1) The use of this software is free of charge to non-commercial users only. Businesses must contact the author and negotiate a license fee. Please e-mail volker.schuelbe@proggies2go.org with your inquiry.

(2) No warranty of any kind is given, neither express nor implied. The risk of using this software is entirely with you and not the author. The author is in no way liable for any damages you may incurr as a result of using the Chinchilla[TM] software.

(3) Reverse-engineering or decompilation of the Chinchilla.exe binary is prohibited. Specifically, you may not remove the copyright notice.

(4) This license file must be included if you redistribute this software.

(5) You may not use this software to emanate offensive, dehumanizing, or criminal material, including, but not limited to political propaganda, acts of terror, pornography, child pornography, child abuse, or animal cruelty. The material you present with this software must be in good taste by commonly accepted standards.

(6) If you make this software available for download on your web site, you must provide a backlink to proggies2go.org similar. You may design this link to fit your web site, or even hide it from view, as long as it remains visible to all search engines.