[Gnu-arch-users] [BUG: 94] Unable to create .listing files via ftp

[Magnus Henoch]

address@hidden (James Blackwell) writes:

> This sounds to me like a broken ftp server that doesn't allow the creation
> of dotfiles.
>
> Try ftping to the machine by hand and see if you can create dotfiles. If
> you can, mail address@hidden with a the same subject I used in
> this email and we'll go from there. 

I got some debugging help earlier; summarizing with proper subject for
Bug Goo...

The FTP server is indeed buggy.  When executing

RNFR from
RNTO to

where "from" is an absolute path, the RNTO command gives "550 rename:
No such file or directory."

I contacted the server admin, but the server will not be fixed in the
foreseeable future.  They avoided the question on what software the
server is running.  SYST returns "215 UNIX Type: L8 Version:
BSD-199506", which seems to be BSD ftpd or wu-ftpd running on BSD/OS.

I patched tla to get around the problem:

http://w1.312.comhem.se/~u31227643/archives/
address@hidden/tla--ftpbug--1.3

With patch-1 + patch-2, tla retries the rename with CWD and a relative
path if the absolute path fails.  With patch-3, tla remembers seeing
this bug for the FTP session; I'm not sure whether the latter is
worthwhile complexity.

Thanks,
Magnus