HTTP2 Support
lazarus / 38-Networking and Web Programming

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Amir61 · 2026-05-13 05:58

Hi,

I have been working on a Proto Compiler for Pascal (Here is the
[https://github.com/AmirAavani/PB2PAS]repo[/url]). I have been able to
implement Marshaling and Unmarshaling of proto3. Recently I took a
stab at generating code of Services (as I need it for a project of
mine). The problem is that GRPC requires http2 support and I have not
been able to figure out where to find an http2 library.

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valdir.marcos · 2026-05-13 08:10

Quote from: Amir61 on May 13, 2026, 07:58:14 amHi,

I have been working on a Proto Compiler for Pascal.

Here is the repo.

I have been able to implement Marshaling and Unmarshaling of proto3.

Recently I took a stab at generating code of Services (as I need it
for a project of mine).

The problem is that GRPC requires http2 support and I have not been
able to figure out where to find an http2 library.
Free Pascal offers limited native support for HTTP/2, but full and
functional implementation mainly depends on the use of third-party
libraries or specific frameworks, as the standard fcl-web library
focuses more on HTTP/1.1 and basic components.

https://github.com/iLya2IK/wchttpserver

The main solution available is the wchttpserver project, a server
written in Lazarus/Free Pascal that supports HTTP/2, HTTP/1.1, and
WebSocket. This project builds on the fpWeb modules (part of the Free
Component Library) and extends its functionality with the following
features:

- Protocols: Support for HTTP/2 (RFC 7540) and HTTP/1.1, with the
ability to switch between modes.

- Security: Uses modified OpenSSL modules to create and maintain
HTTP/2 connections, including TLS support.

- WebSocket: Supports the WebSocket protocol (RFC 6455) with the
"permessage-deflate" extension (RFC 7692). Additional Features:
Includes gzip/deflate compression, session management via cookies,
multithreading with thread pools, and SQLite data persistence.

- Dependencies: Requires Free Pascal v3.2.0+, Lazarus v2.0.10+,
OpenSSL (v1.1.0 or higher), SQLite, and Zlib.

For HTTP/2 clients, the standard Free Pascal ecosystem (via fcl-web or
TFPHttpClient) does not provide robust documented native support for
HTTP/2, generally focusing on HTTP/1.1. For advanced HTTP/2 needs, the
recommended approach is to use the wchttpserver server or integrate
external libraries via bindings, although specific documentation for
pure HTTP/2 clients in Pascal is scarce compared to server solutions.