Jonathan Morton wrote:
>
> >A built-in FTP server would be great, when using internet connection, not
> >lan.
>
> I'm thinking that maybe FTP per se isn't a good idea, mainly because it's a
> surprisingly big and complex protocol to implement. Ever noticed that
> *good* FTP clients and servers are hard to come by, especially for
> "desktop" systems such as Windows and Mac?
>
> How about a (simpler?) protocol which embeds "packets" of a file
> intermingled with regular RFB messages in a single connection, which would
> also make life *so* much easier for ppl who have to get through firewalls.
> Some means of encoding metadata associated with a file (eg. Macintosh
> filetype, UNIX file permissions) would also be highly desirable, so that
> files transferred between machines of the same platform remain as intact as
> possible.
I implemented something like this for WinVNC a while back, but never
finished it well or released it because finally the argument that RFB is
and should remain a *stateless* protocol seemed compelling. I suppose it
would be possible to do file transfer without state (NFS is a stateless
protocol, I gather, though I've never looked at it), but it seems
like a complicated thing. I did have functioning - though buggy -
patches, that worked pretty much exactly as you describe. If I can
find the code I'll post a pointer and maybe someone can take it
further. Or not; I suspect even if I can find the code I won't be too
proud of it :-/
I think it's true though that this functionality would really be
useful only over Internet connections, because machines on LANs
almost always have some better file transfer method available.
And most people who use VNC over the 'net are probably tunnelling
over either a VPN or SSH, and in either case a reasonable alternative
is already available (scp/sftp or, in the VPN case, plain FTP or
SMB).
Well, I oversimplify, since in the VPN/SSH case it is usually
possible *but often very inconvenient* to move files around. Personally,
I would like to see VNC have a file transfer capability, but not
at the cost of stability.
-- Joe Knapka
"It was just a maddened crocodile hidden in a flower bed. It could
have happened to anyone." -- Pratchett
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