Re: Our friend FTP, again

["Ryan Russell" <Ryan.Russell () sybase com>]

> Mechanisms exists to upload files with HTTP, they're just not real well
> fleshed-out, and we have to go thorugh the iterations of permissions
> problems we have already done with FTP.

(That's me I'm quoting)

It further occurs to me that FTP allows a whole bunch of other
options like, cd, mkdir, chmod, etc... that there is not a mechanism
for in HTTP.  So, killing FTP (at least, with HTTP as a fully
equivalent replacement) isn't as simple as Marcus and I
implied.

Still, FTP as it is now with the port and reverse-connection funny
business must die.  HTTP is as good a protocol as any to further
complicate by adding in the upload features.

We could either kill the extra features, and make it a straight upload
to a fixed directory.. no, that wouldn't work.  You need to be able
to do a chmod equivalent, else you're picking up the umask only,
and asking for holes.  Perhaps a rights masks gets uploaded
with the file.

Or, we take the higher-level functions of FTP and graft it onto HTTP.

Either way, we pick up SSL as a free bonus...

How hard to merge something like wu-ftp and Apache to do
uploads?

                         Ryan