RE: solving the SFTP text mode issue

[Dan O'Reilly <dano%process.com@localhost>]

At 02:00 PM 5/10/2002, denis bider wrote:
> > Text file conversion is best handled by the routines that
> > access the file on the system that the file is stored on.
>
> That is true, but I see no nice way to implement this in SFTP, because it
> clashes with SFTP's assumption that all files are binary. It is incompatible
> with SFTP's random-access concept.

Perhaps this means that the fundamental concept was flawed...?

> A perfect solution to the text-file issue probably requires a mechanism
> completely independent of SFTP's read/write operations. But an independent
> mechanism for text files seems like an overkill for implementations that
> will only interact with mainstream platforms anyway.

Ah, the chauvinism shows through.  The issues being raised here are by
real, live customers who need to make their UNIX systems interact with
VMS platforms, not just between VMS platforms.  Unless, of course, UNIX
is gone from "mainstream" now.  And by the way, I suggest you revisit your
definition of "mainstream" after reviewing all the critical applications
that exist and will continue to exist on VMS platforms in critical
industries that REQUIRE security, such as banking, manufacturing and
communications.

But platform bias aside, the implementation of an adequate mechanism seems
to be only moderately difficult.  Why not take a chance and make a standard
a REAL standard, not just one that applies to selective platforms?

> I would prefer to have standardized a simple solution that solves the
> problem for the mainstream platforms, and let the exotic people implement
> their own complicated extensions that I don't need to support.

"I don't need to support"?  Hmmm...why is constant support required, once
the standard is established and the basic coding complete?  Surely aside
from minimal maintenance, this would not be the support nightmare you seem
to make it out to be.  And text format files hardly qualify as "exotic".


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+-------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
| Dan O'Reilly                  |                                       |
| Principal Engineer            |  "Why should I care about posterity?  |
| Process Software              |   What's posterity ever done for me?" |
| http://www.process.com        |                    -- Groucho Marx    |
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