jpm@cs.hut.fi (Jussi-Pekka Mantere) (05/06/91)
In article <6567@husc6.harvard.edu> conrad@popvax.uucp (M20400@c.nobili) writes:
There is a program called superserver someplace which you can
install on one of your local unix machines. Basically it is some
sort of daemon which looks for connections on a particular port
from the client program which you will use to access the
service(s).
And here is the README for the client:
--- clip clip ---
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
README:
This is the "README" file from the directory '/usr/ftp/pub/mac/client'
on ssyx.ucsc.edu (128.114.133.1). The Macintosh Client DA may be ftp'd
from this directory / site.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Macintosh Client DA
The Macintosh Client DA is a desk accessory that communicates with a
superserver running on some Unix Machine. Macintosh users who have
Steven Grimm's unix-side client/server software (also available for
anonymous ftp from ssyx) and MacTCP (available from APDA) may use this
DA to remotely execute unix programs from their Macintosh.
The Macintosh DA is bundled in the file "Client DA.sit.hqx". Use
stuffit! to unbinhex and unstuff the suitcase file, then use font/DA
mover to install the DA in your system.
Source code for the DA is also available from ssyx in the file
"Client Source.sit.hqx".
The Client DA and its source code is (c) 1990 U.C. Regents.
Permission is granted to use, modify and distribute this code freely,
provided no profit is made by its distribution.
Programs that can be used
The client/server software works similarly to rsh, but requires no
password to use. Because there is no password protection, the only programs
that may be used are those that are explicitly offered as services on the
Unix machine running the superserver.
Any user who has access to a Unix machine may offer a program as a service.
When a client invokes a service, the program runs using the permissions
of the user who offered the service.
Any program that takes input from stdin and sends its output to stdout
my be offered as a client/server service.
Difference between Client DA and Telnet
Anything that can be done with the Client DA can also be done by a user who
has telnet'ed into the same Unix machine with NCSA telnet. There are,
however, some advantages to using the client DA:
1. The DA does not take up as much overhead as NCSA telnet
does in a Multifinder partition. Also, the DA may be
used when Multifinder is not active.
2. The client DA is available to users who do not have
accounts on the Unix machine, and it is not necessary
to go through the login process to use the DA.
3. The DA allows the user to select a unix program by
scrolling through a list of available services using
the standard Macintosh point-and-click interface.
Because the Client DA never logs the user into the Unix machine and never
asks the user for a password, it cannot be used for opperations requiring
security (e.g. ftp, mail & c.).
The Client DA is much easier to use than Unix, however, and has proven to
be a useful interface to the many large databases stored on unix hosts
at the University of California at Santa Cruz.
KNOWN BUGS:
The Desk Accessory cannot handle output > 32K.
<Undo> is not implemented.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Send comments and suggestions to:
Greg Anderson
sirkm@ssyx.ucsc.edu
....!ucbvax!ucscc!ssyx!sirkm
Social Sciences Computing
29 Kerr Hall
The University of California at Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California 95064
(408) 459-2658
NOTE: Greg Anderson left the University of California on 20 June 1990.
The above mail path may or may not have a .forward to his current
address.
(At the time of this writing, sirkm@ssyx forwards to greggor@apple.com)
--- clip clip ---
Superserver itself was posted to comp.sources.unix a whole while back
(April '89?), and here's the scoop:
--- clip clip ---
Subject: v18i106: "Super" network server for easy service-building
Newsgroups: comp.sources.unix
Submitted-by: koreth@ssyx.UCSC.EDU (Steven Grimm)
Posting-number: Volume 18, Issue 106
Archive-name: superserver
This program allows individual users to set up network services without
having to worry about the intricacies of socket I/O. It is similar in
function to the "rsh" program, but restricts the commands which can be
executed by remote users. No .rhosts or password is required, since
the remote user can only execute commands from a specified (presumably
safe) list.
The service programs think they're talking to a pipe (because they are).
Stdin and stdout are redirected to the pipe; stderr is mapped to stdout.
Shell scripts can be offered as network services, but make sure you have
execute permission on them and that the line "#!/bin/sh" (or csh, or
whatever shell you're using) appears at the top of the file, or UNIX won't
recognize it as an executable-format file.
--- clip clip ---
Actually, one should get the file /pub/unix-misc/suprsrv.shar from
ssyx.ucsc.edu as well, as that seems to be the most recent source.
There are files called "superserver.Z" hanging around ftp sites, but
they seem to be outdated...
For European (Internet-)sites: check ftp.funet.fi for:
- 33721 Jun 29 14:59 1990 /pub/mac/source/suprsrv.shar
- 18481 Jun 21 11:21 1990 /pub/mac/da/clientda.sit
- 61535 Jun 21 13:13 1990 /pub/mac/source/clientsource.sit
Regards,
Chape