Re: LYNX-DEV Automatic proxies

[pg]

In a recent note, Heikki Kantola said:

> Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 18:25:00 +0200
> 
> According to Kevin R.J. Ellwood <address@hidden>:
> > I was wondering if you could tell me if lynx will support automatic proxy
> > configuration (as opposed to manual proxy).  I have read the faq and I see
> > how I am supposed to set up the unix environment variables for manual
> > proxy.  However, no mention is made of Automatic proxy configuration
> 
> If I'm not mistaken, those automatic proxy systems are implemented in
> JavaScript, which Lynx doesn't support. However, as JavaScript is just
> text you should be able to extract the needed information for Lynx's
> manual proxy settings quite easily.
> 
There are a couple reasons this likely to be unsatisfactory:

1) If you're planning on doing the extraction automatically,
   remember that while JavaScript is "just text", that text is
   the representation of a computer program.  Interpreting that
   text requires that the extractor be, in the general case,
   a Java interpreter.

2) Lynx's proxy definitions are static; Automatic Proxy exists to
   provide dynamic proxy identification.  For example, for a
   while we had a situation like:

       emporium.stortek.com  requires proxy; otherwise

              *.stortek.com  requires no proxy; otherwise

                          *  requires proxy.

   This configuration is handled easily with a couple "if" statements
   in a script.  In Lynx, it can be handled only by enumerating all
   the hosts that match the wildcard in the second line, but aren't
   "emporium".  There might be hundreds.

-- gil