Long-polling, in app designs based from the start on long-polling, is a fine thing (or at least, I'll stipulate that).
Connections that you hold open while forking off and waiting for a process that will take many seconds to complete is just bad UX. There are better ways to do it.
You'll excuse me if after arguing with my response to your one-sentence "noob question: how do I make PDF generation asynchronous from an evented Ruby webserver" I am not chomping at the bit to get into a long architecture debate with you. I meant it: good luck with your design. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.
Connections that you hold open while forking off and waiting for a process that will take many seconds to complete is just bad UX. There are better ways to do it.
You'll excuse me if after arguing with my response to your one-sentence "noob question: how do I make PDF generation asynchronous from an evented Ruby webserver" I am not chomping at the bit to get into a long architecture debate with you. I meant it: good luck with your design. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.