> For a hobby developer or small business where time is precious, using built-in HTTP libraries is far easier and faster ... Sorry, but you're not going to convince me that rolling your own implementation of Apple's APNS is better than an HTTP-based APNS would have been.
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark; if this can be done in 20 lines of Python (see comment above), then why do so many ostensibly capable engineers find it so difficult?
In which case the failure to communicate is mutual; In OP, I said:
... this position drives me bonkers ("not HTTP, too hard")!
As professional engineers, it's my hope that opening up a persistent TCP socket and sending a small, stateless binary message should be easier, faster to implement, and better performing than marshaling everything into HTTP (for no other reason than HTTP is more familiar to you!).
If that's not the case, then I would strongly recommend that any engineers that are uncomfortable with this simple task should review UNIX Network Programming Vol 1, and Network Security with OpenSSL, rather than complain that an HTTP interface isn't available.
At the very least, such a study would provide a necessary understanding of what HTTP is doing. With that in place, opening up a connection to APNS should be a walk in the park.
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark; if this can be done in 20 lines of Python (see comment above), then why do so many ostensibly capable engineers find it so difficult?