Change of plans...

neoxed · 07-09-2006, 02:47 AM

In a previous post of mine I gave you a brief schedule of my plans. I'm sorry to say that they no longer apply. Now that I've seen the “next generation core” darkone was working on before he disappeared, I've decided to change my approach.

The v0.5.x code base, to be blunt, is a disorganized and poorly-documented mess. There are no design documents, no function descriptions, no useful comments, and no source history which makes the learning curve quite steep. Granted, that code base is several years old and there was only one person working on it (darkone).

The “next generation core”, while vastly incomplete, is a great improvement. This code is not documented either, but is organized better and written cleaner. I’m working on documenting the code, which at the same time forces me to learn and understand it. This new core features IPv6 and Unicode support, amongst many other things. Since this is a complete rewrite, it will take a while to build up the feature set of the Beta-5.8 series.

Implemented:

Configuration reader
Database API (dynamic data storage)
Directory cache
File and socket I/O API
ID management (resolving user/group IDs and names)
Memory allocater
SSPI encryption/decryption (used for SSL)
Timer functions
Virtual file system
Worker threads

To be implemented (not necessarily in this order):

Module interface
Logging interface
FTP service handler
FTP base/site commands
Directory listing
Users and groups
NT service support
Event handler (script events like pre/post events etc.)
Custom site commands
Scheduler
Script language modules (PHP, Tcl)
IPC (shared memory and messaging)

Will not be re-implemented:

Telnet service (an insecure protocol that should have died years ago )
Windows Shell based shared memory (only file mapping will be)

The HTTP service may return, but not anytime soon. This is an FTP server after all.

PS: I'm no longer in pain from the surgery, but I'm still not able to walk for another month or two. So I'm pretty much confined to the indoors (i.e. coding all day)

.

WarC · 07-09-2006, 04:15 AM

3 cheers for neoxed

You can do it!

FTPServerTools · 07-09-2006, 12:22 PM

Sounds interesting. I hope I dont need to jumble up my ioftpd utils and scripts too much.

oslike · 07-12-2006, 04:46 AM

god bless neoxed... I am glad to see that there are still people in this comunity that are able to take responsiblity ....

peep · 07-13-2006, 12:29 AM

Yup, it's really great to see neoxed, who's been an active member of the community for several years, working on this task.

zOrP · 07-13-2006, 07:02 AM

You're the man Neo...

neoxed · 07-15-2006, 12:00 AM

Thank you for your kind words

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FTPServerTools

I hope I dont need to jumble up my ioftpd utils and scripts too much.

Darkone was working on a database storage interface for ioFTPD (he posted about it a while ago). User and group information would be stored and organized in the same manner as database tables (i.e. columns and rows). This effectively means no more static all-inclusive USERFILE/GROUPFILE structures.

I would like to continue the idea, but it involves a lot of work and planning. I'm considering putting it off for a later release and just sticking with the existing USERFILE/GROUPFILE idea.

EwarWoo · 07-16-2006, 08:06 AM

Good to hear whats happening on things, cheers

FTPServerTools · 07-16-2006, 07:04 PM

Well it'd be fairly easy to add sqlite to ioftpd. This way storing user/group data in a faile would be a breeze as would extending the tables with extra stuff would be easy. O fcourse I have hands on experience with sqlite since I tend to use it in some smaller apps I made. The useage is simple and fast and!! you can use memory tables. Meaning it is a database that is stored in memory. Have a look, maybe you'll like it. Personally I find sqlite 2 for very small apps more then enough, even tho sqlite 3 has a few extras. And you can fairly easily get it to work without dll's if you so wish.

neoxed · 07-17-2006, 05:16 PM

Yes, I have a lot of experience with SQLite v2/v3 and I agree it would work great for ioFTPD. But the storage backend isn't the problem. It's the layer between the storage backend and internal user/group data that will take time. I would like to implement it, but maybe in a later release (say the v0.7 series).

Also, the "SITE CONFIG" and "SITE STATS" commands won't be re-implemented; they're more suitable for third-party scripts.

m4r3z · 07-31-2006, 03:45 PM

Good good good !!

/me hugs neoxed

I can help ! just let me know when u need a refill of beer

oslike · 08-01-2006, 04:37 PM

any news on development ?

neoxed · 08-01-2006, 07:58 PM

This last week has been quite chaotic for me, and I haven't been able to spend as much time as I wanted to on ioFTPD (boring real-life crap

). Things will clear up on Wednesday (tomorrow) and I'll be back in the game.

Expect a more in-depth post from me late-night tomorrow, or early Thursday. I'll talk about the extension framework, new modular design, and other stuff relating to it. Also worth noting – I've moved to an XML file for ioFTPD's configuration, the INI file simply does not scale.

ACiD · 08-03-2006, 08:46 AM

dude 3 words, or maybe 2 and a contraction - "You're The Shit!"

LordM · 08-21-2006, 07:25 PM

nice to hear/read, that again somebody else looks into this project as it was frozen for such a long time. And then one of the most active ppl around io. Many ppl put all their hopes on you neoxed! Hope to hear in the near future, that things walk on again.