Re: FTP type proposed solution..

On Wed, 26 Feb 1997, Don Lewis wrote:

> IMHO, if we can't figure out the type of the file based on it's
> extension (if any), then we should present two links for the file in a
> directory listing, one with ";type=a", and one with ";type=i". If the

If we're going to do any form of "type matching", say on RE's as was
suggested, would there still be a need to duplicate entries in directories
(which, sadly, does confuse some users.. *sigh*)?

If it's to happen, I hope it's a compile-time option so people who want it
can have it, and others can chose the other method... :-)

> The current implementation does ASCII mode ftp transfers if and only if
> the mime_encoding is "7bit". I think some of the 8 bit types (latex,
> shar, and tex) should also be transferred in ASCII mode to get the
> expected line termination.

For whom? If I'm on a Macintosh (urgh) my line termination is CR; using
Squid on UNIX where line termination is LF, how does either Squid or the
FTP server know that my line termination is CR? Once cached, what about
the next user to come along (using Windows, of course .. ick) where line
termination is CR *plus* LF?? :-)

Isn't this a perfect example of why this stuff should be downloaded in
*binary* mode, and leave the translation (if any) to the presentation
layer (in the client) where it should be?

Cheers..

dave
Received on Wed Feb 26 1997 - 04:19:34 MST