roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith) (08/21/89)
Does there exist an ftp client program for the macintosh? We have
NCSA telnet, and are generally happy with it, but the server-only ftp
support is very frustrating. It is also very counter-intuitive, especially
for novice users, and very un-mac like.
We want our Mac users (including secretaries) to be able to
transfer files to and from our Unix systems without having to know anything
about ftp or unix. The ideal interface would be to start up the ftp
client, have it prompt you for a user name and password, and then present
you with a normal mac-like file diaglog, just like the current "set
transfer directory" (*) dialog, but on the unix side. I don't see any
reason why an ftp client can't, on its own initiative, get a directory
listing of the remote side, parse the "ls -l" output to discover which
entries are files and which are directories, and present it as a normal
scrollable mac file menu. Perhaps you could have two side-by-side file
menus, in the style of the Font/DA handler.
Does such a thing exist?
--
Roy Smith, Public Health Research Institute
455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016
{att,philabs,cmcl2,rutgers,hombre}!phri!roy -or- roy@alanine.phri.nyu.edu
"The connector is the network"amanda@intercon.uu.net (Amanda Walker) (08/21/89)
In article <3949@phri.UUCP>, roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith) writes: > Does there exist an ftp client program for the macintosh? [...] > The ideal interface would be to start up the ftp > client, have it prompt you for a user name and password, and then present > you with a normal mac-like file diaglog, just like the current "set > transfer directory" (*) dialog, but on the unix side. > [...] Perhaps you could have two side-by-side file > menus, in the style of the Font/DA handler. > > Does such a thing exist? The Stanford MacIP code is the only freely available code that I know of that does this, and the FTP client does bear something of a resemblence to the space shuttle command console (buttons 'R' us), but... Kinetics HostAccess product is very similar (being based on the Stanford code). Our (InterCon's) TCP/Connect package has a Font/DA Mover-style FTP client. Ungermann-Bass's Net One package (which I don't think is actually shipping yet, but has been shown at trade shows) has something in between Stanford's and ours in Macishness. These are the only Macintosh FTP clients that I know of. -- Amanda Walker InterCon Systems Corporation -- amanda@intercon.uu.net | ...!uunet!intercon!amanda
meggers@orion.cf.uci.edu (mark eggers) (08/22/89)
In article <3949@phri.UUCP>, roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith) writes: > > Does there exist an ftp client program for the macintosh? We have > NCSA telnet, and are generally happy with it, but the server-only ftp > support is very frustrating. It is also very counter-intuitive, especially > for novice users, and very un-mac like. There is a modification from BYU that has client ftp. Available from the same place that NCSA telnet is (ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu). > We want our Mac users (including secretaries) to be able to > transfer files to and from our Unix systems without having to know anything > about ftp or unix. The ideal interface would be to start up the ftp > client, have it prompt you for a user name and password, and then present > you with a normal mac-like file diaglog, just like the current "set > transfer directory" (*) dialog, but on the unix side. Unfortunately, it is not very intuitive. Basically, you get a 'raw' ftp connection with no prompts. You have to know to type user 'username' and you have to deal with what appears to be a standard Unix ftp interface. It's not nice, but it is workable. > I don't see any > reason why an ftp client can't, on its own initiative, get a directory > listing of the remote side, parse the "ls -l" output to discover which > entries are files and which are directories, and present it as a normal > scrollable mac file menu. Perhaps you could have two side-by-side file > menus, in the style of the Font/DA handler. This sort of interface exists in SU/IP from Stanford. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a robust terminal interface (my opinion), and does not use MacTCP. If you don't use MacTCP, then you could use the Stanford program for file transfers, and NCSA Telnet for terminal connections. You have to quit one application to start up the other . . . . again not nice. So in summary, there doesn't seem to be a no-cost solution that does everything yet. /mde/
sage@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (David Martosko '91) (08/22/89)
In article <3949@phri.UUCP> roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith) writes: > > Does there exist an ftp client program for the macintosh? We have >NCSA telnet, and are generally happy with it, but the server-only ftp >support is very frustrating. It is also very counter-intuitive, especially >for novice users, and very un-mac like. There is a program in development here at Dartmouth that may fit the bill... it is called Fetch, and consists of a DA that guides the user through signon and retrieval of files (Mac-like file boxes, etc...) No clue as to how long it'll be before we see it for real, though... ;-{ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Martosko E-mail:sage@eleazar.dartmouth.EDU Dartmouth College HB 2216 Phone:(603) 640-4663 Hanover, NH 03755
matthews@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Jim Matthews) (08/22/89)
In article <3949@phri.UUCP> roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith) writes: > We want our Mac users (including secretaries) to be able to >transfer files to and from our Unix systems without having to know anything >about ftp or unix. The ideal interface would be to start up the ftp >client, have it prompt you for a user name and password, and then present >you with a normal mac-like file dialog.... > > Does such a thing exist? You've just described Fetch, a DA which just entered beta test here. Fetch supports uploads and downloads of text and binary files plus Mac files in MacBinary II and BinHex formats. The interface looks just like the SFGetFile dialog (a list of files, pop-up menu of directories, double-click to enter a directory or get a file). It sure is nice to double-click on a .hqx file at sumex and have the *real* file show up on my desktop. I would send you a copy but Fetch uses KSP, a local stream protocol, and talks to TCP machines through a gateway that does KSP<-->TCP translation. We may develop a MacTCP version of Fetch if there is interest (and if Apple fixes MacTCP so that it works on our net). Disclaimer: I wrote Fetch and am totally biased. Jim Matthews Dartmouth Software Development