solving the SFTP text mode issue

["denis bider" <ietf-ssh%denisbider.com@localhost>]

Judging from the number of times that text file support has been requested
for SFTP, we might as well do something about it. I suggest that, in the
next version of the filexfer draft, we document a recommended way for client
software to do text file conversion. (On its own, of course, without any
ugly hacks into the protocol.)

What if we provide an SFTP command that the client could execute to learn
the line separator on the server machine?

We could then document a text file conversion algorithm such as the
following:
1. The client queries the server about the server's line separator.
2. If the server's line separator is the same as the client's, the file is
transferred in binary mode.
3. Otherwise, the client determines whether the file is textual using, for
instance, the Kermit 8 algorithms mentioned by Jeffrey earlier on this list.
If the file is textual, the client converts it.