Re: zftp bit of a dark horse?

[DervishD <raul@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

    Hi zzapper :)

 * zzapper <david@xxxxxxxxxx> dixit:
> Is it a relatively new feature? I've been looking for a really
> flexible FTP client for ages, can't tell if zftp would fit the bill

    Well, my opinion may be a little... biased, because I *really*
love zftp. For me is perfect at the user interface level, because you
have that lovely zsh completion system, functions (and you can make
your own), fully automation with scripts if you like, etc. In fact it
is pretty usable even without the functions, just by using the raw
builtin. A very good client :)

    Now, the bad points (yes, it has some):

    The first one is that, even though a ftp client has the burden on
the user interface, a shell is not the proper place (in my humble
opinion, of course) to have a ftp client implemented, no matter how
good the user interface of that shell is. The tao is to separate the
user interaction part of the shell so you can use all that power in
third party applications that have a crappy user interface. This way
you can use your favourite ftp client but with a good and powerful
user interface. That said, ZLE is not going to be separated (at least
soon) from the rest, so zftp seems to me as a very good solution.

    But the worst part is derived from zftp being a builtin. If it
gets stuck, you have to kill the shell. And it gets stuck easily,
believe me :(( It's immune to signals, doesn't timeout, etc. If you
don't make heavy use of FTP, zftp IS YOUR OPTION. Period. It's easy
to use, powerful and fully integrated with any shell script you can
think of. But if you make heavy use of FTP, zftp may be a bit
annoying, getting stuck anytime your network connection, the server
or whatever doesn't work well. I must confess I like it even in that
'bad' moments...

    I wrote a couple of times to the list relating the problem an
some suggestions, but I must confess that my suggestions were not
accompanied by code nor real solutions so nobody really cared. zftp
needs a rewrite to be really useful, but I understand that is not a
high priority task. Give zftp an opportunity, you won't regret ;)

    Raúl Núñez de Arenas Coronado

-- 
Linux Registered User 88736
http://www.pleyades.net & http://raul.pleyades.net/