Re: lynx-dev Revised patch for HTFTP.c

[Doug Kaufman]

The discussion raised by the patch I submitted for HTFTP.c seems to
have died down, so perhaps this is an opportunity to summarize at
least what I drew from the thread.

1. ASCII mode for the ftp protocol is designed to transfer text files
between machines with different native formats, converting the formats
as transfer is done.

2. The FTP server can not determine the format of the files.

3. It is the responsibility of the client, not of the server, to
specify Binary or Ascii transfer mode.

4. Lynx can render text files that have EOLs for Macintosh (CR),
DOS (CR LF), or unix (LF).

5. ASCII transfer mode would be appropriate when transfering text
files from servers whose native mode is not Macintosh, DOS, or unix
(e.g., VM/CMS).

6. We can not count on the fact that files that appear to be text
will always be in the native format of the server, although it is
apparently common practice for this to be true.

It appears to me that the patch fixes the problem with extra lines
appearing in rendering of DOS style files on unix servers, without
breaking anything. If no one sees anything that gets broken by the
patch, I would still recommend its incorporation into the lynx code.
                          Doug

__ 
Doug Kaufman
Internet: address@hidden



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