Re: lynx-dev Revised patch for HTFTP.c

[Mike Castle]

On Mon, Aug 07, 2000 at 07:45:03AM -0600, address@hidden wrote:
> In a recent note, Mike Castle said:
> 
> > Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2000 08:27:41 -0500
> > 
> > Would it not be better for you to force the download with ascii mode or
> > inform the person that their site is broken because they put up DOS mode
> > text on a Unix server?
> > 
> The Internet is supposed to be oblivious to the genus of the server.  DOS
> mode text is a more venerable Internet convention than UNIX mode.  And,
> I suspect (I need to consultRFC 959), the general standard for FTP
> interchange of text files.
> 
> What do you perceive as broken about a server?

My use of the word "site" was not as precise as it should have been.  I
was not refering to the ftp server, but rather, that particular files that
are placed on the server in an incorrect format.

If I am placing a text file on a Unix server, then I should place that file
on the server in Unix format.  That is, LF only.  If I do this via ftp,
then I upload the file in ascii format.  If I used zmodem or kermit to
upload the file, then I upload the file in ascii format.  If I put the file
on there using Samba, then I run some utility to change the file from DOS
to Unix format (on either the client or the Unix box).  If I unzip a file
using Info-Zip, I use the -a option to autoconvert text files to native (LF
only) format.  In short, I normalize the file to native format.

Similarly, if I place a text file on a Win32 based ftp server, I place the
file on the server in DOS format (CR LF).  If I do this via ftp, then I
upload the file in ascii format.  If I used zmodem or kermit to upload the
file, then I upload the file in ascii format.  If I put the file on there
using smbclient, then I will do whatever magic is necessary to make sure
the file is on the server in it's native format.

In short, I make sure that a text file is on a server in the servers native
format.

Anything else is broken, and I should not expect any client application to
fix my stupidity.

mrc
-- 
       Mike Castle       Life is like a clock:  You can work constantly
  address@hidden  and be right all the time, or not work at all
www.netcom.com/~dalgoda/ and be right at least twice a day.  -- mrc
    We are all of us living in the shadow of Manhattan.  -- Watchmen

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