Waitress vs gevent: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this article, we will discuss the key differences between Waitress and gevent, two popular Python servers. Markdown code will be used for easy integration into a website.

1. Concurrency Model: Waitress is based on a threaded concurrency model, where each request is handled by a separate thread. On the other hand, gevent is built on an event-driven concurrency model using coroutines, making it lightweight and efficient.

2. Performance: Waitress provides good performance, but it may not be as fast as gevent, especially when handling a large number of concurrent connections. Gevent's asynchronous architecture allows it to handle a higher number of requests efficiently and achieve better performance.

3. Dependencies: Waitress has minimal external dependencies and can be easily installed without any complex setup. Gevent, however, requires libevent to be installed on the system and has additional dependencies, making the initial setup more involved.

4. Compatibility: Waitress is compatible with both WSGI (Web Server Gateway Interface) and ASGI (Asynchronous Server Gateway Interface) applications, making it versatile and flexible. Whereas gevent is primarily designed for WSGI applications and may require additional configuration to work with ASGI applications.

5. Community and Support: Waitress has a relatively larger community and better documentation, making it easier to find help and resources when needed. Gevent, although popular, has a smaller community and may require more effort to find support.

6. Integration with Web Frameworks: Waitress has seamless integration with popular Python web frameworks like Flask and Django, allowing developers to easily deploy their applications. Gevent, on the other hand, may require additional configuration and specific handling to work with some web frameworks.

In summary, Waitress and gevent differ in their concurrency models, performance, dependencies, compatibility, community support, and integration with web frameworks. Choose Waitress if you need versatility and compatibility, while gevent is a great choice for high-performance and scalable applications.