[OSM-dev] API/XAPI caching proxy server

[Wyo]

After being told to create my own API/XAPI instance 
(http://gis.638310.n2.nabble.com/XAPI-server-unusable-tt5796609.html) I've 
looked at how to set up a server. Well the current procedure using osmosis etc 
is simply impossible for me and I guess for a lot of others as well. IMO if it 
were easier to set up a server, many more would do it, meaning a lot less load 
on the current infrastructure. IMO a API caching proxy would do the job as well 
and doesn't need to handle Gigs of files.

Lets say such a proxy exists, than requests to the API are directed at the proxy 
and only if the proxy doesn't contain the data, the request is forwarded to an 
API server. Assuming further such proxy exists on the internet anyone allowed 
could use such a proxy. So in the future only proxies may access the API server 
directly, any user has to connect via a proxy. And if this still means too much 
load on the API server, primary and secondary proxies could be created etc. This 
works similar as a P2P network.

To have as many as possible proxies running in the internet means to stick with 
technologies easily available. That limits the choice almost entirely to a 
PHP/MySQL solution, at least for the beginning.

Wyo