Messaging the Administrator

zombus · 03-05-2002, 06:40 AM

Why can't I send a message to the administrator, or reply his message, while transfer is going on?

I often receive a question from the administrator while I'm down/up-loading. The only way to reply (or do any raw command) is to abort transfer, do a SITE MSG and (hopefully) resume.

Why is that that he can do it during transfer and I can't?

Fusion · 03-05-2002, 06:51 AM

Because the client isn't multi-threaded, the server is.

zombus · 03-05-2002, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Fusion
Because the client isn't multi-threaded, the server is.

Meaning what exactly?
Please bear with me here, the server is not making a new connection with me to do it.
Does it mean that no client can do it at all?

Fusion · 03-05-2002, 07:30 AM

In layman's terms, flashfxp can only do one thing at a time within that one session. The server is simply passing the message on through the same text-layer as it uses for the normal text-messages that accompany a transfer.

Notice how you are able to navigate the tree-view that covers your local files while the remote-view is locked while it is executing a command? The client would have to use a separate thread to interact with the server while eg. a transfer is underway.

You could always use another instance (F12), but it would obviously require another login.

zombus · 03-05-2002, 08:24 AM

Thanks Fusion,

It's a shame there's no way to halt transfer for the fraction of second it takes to transfer those few tekst bytes, without a full abort. With some non-passive-supporting servers it's a pain in the neck...

Running a new instance is usually no option with private servers, they only allow a couple of users anyway, mostly with one connection per user restriction.

Ethanol · 03-05-2002, 01:16 PM

Maybe a cool feature (on servers that support file resuming) would be to have the option of sending a message to the server during a transfer.

This could ask for the message parameters, halt the transfer, send the appropriate message, then resume where the transfer left off. I think this would be a rather funky option. Wonder what Bigstar thinks of it...

bigstar · 03-05-2002, 01:17 PM

technically you shouldn't recieve messages during a transfer, by design and following the FTP RFC, it should come after the transfer has completed.

Most ftp servers do not allow commands to be sent during a transfer, some windows ftp servers are an exception. Since there is no simple and 100% perfect way to indentify windows ftp servers that allow commands during a transfer, FlashFXP treats all ftp servers the same and simply doesn't allow any commands to be sent during a transfer.

You're best bet is to press the 'stop after current transfer' button and wait until the current file finishes and then send your reply.

zombus · 03-05-2002, 01:42 PM

The BulletProof and the Guild servers sure can send during transfer.

Waiting till after current file can be very "impolite" if it takes a couple of hours or more...

Fusion · 03-05-2002, 02:55 PM

Impolite? Well, yes, maybe if the admin sending the message doesn't have the presence of mind to note what file is being transferred and how big it is. Then again, if that's the case, the same admin is more than likely to simply kill the connection, and then it falls back on you, the user, if you auto-connect and just resume the transfer. You bad, bad, bad user!

zombus · 03-06-2002, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bigstar
.. Since there is no simple and 100% perfect way to indentify windows ftp servers that allow commands during a transfer, FlashFXP treats all ftp servers the same and simply doesn't allow any commands to be sent during a transfer.

If I understood right, you're saying it is technically possible, but for sake of compatibility you chose not to do it.

Don't you find it a cool idea though? A client that will allow a bit of a "chat session" between administrator and user, while a long transfer is going on, might become extremely popular IMHO.

With those servers that it won't work, it just won't work. I mean as it is now, there are often some "command not understood" instances, they don't cause any crisis.

On the other hand, this feature might prove so popular, that server developers might just make their babys compatible.

You never know..

bigstar · 03-06-2002, 07:52 PM

well not exactly, for those that don't work it will either corrupt the file transfer or cause it to fail/hang. not to mention cause FlashFXP to get out of sync with the ftp server, which is very easy to do when it encounters a reply it's not expecting.

zombus · 03-07-2002, 03:15 AM

That's that then,
We sure don't want anything jeopardizing reliability and stability.

Cheers Bigsar.