Re: Executing files on vfs [was Re: graphical ssh based file browser.. (a gmc addition ?)]

[Ryan Leduc <leduc control toronto edu>]

Pavel Machek wrote:
> 
> Hi!
> 
> > > > This should be fixed on CVS.   Next release will include the fix.
> > >
> > >   Which part, the location icon or the fish-linking? :-)
> >
> > A fish link on the desktop.
> >
> > Boy, I just realized how confusing this can be.  Given that we have
> > Wanda the Fish and a Fish file system.
> >
> > >   How difficult would it be to enable execution of files over an ssh link?
> > > Does VFS support doing this?  It should at least be possible to run X programs
> > > this way (using ssh-forwarding)
> >
> > It might be doable.  It needs a number of tweaks, but it is possible
> > to do.
> 
> Sorry. No.
> 
> Clicking "exec" on remote file should mean and means something
> different. It would mean "download binary and execute it
> locally". Think of nfs mount. When you click "exec" on nfs mounted
> file, you of course want it executed locally. There's no reason ftpfs
> or fish should behave differently.
> 

I'd have to disagree with this..

nfs is a file system integrated in the kernel, and the mc VFS is not (to
my knowledge).

Your interpretation is fine for a simple, standard program like 'ls'.
To run it on a linux machine, just a copy of the binary is enough..

But, let's take word perfect 8.0 as an example..

Say I have wp installed at my computer at school, but not at home..
I use /#sh to browse the school machine and I find 'xwp'
 I double click, and you download xwp binary and run  it..

It dies immediately because it's missing libraries and other programs,
and files that I don't have locally..

To get the type of functionality you want, the VFS would need to be
mounted, and the kernal would have to map all file requests through it..


Now, with commands like rsh and ssh, the expected behaviour is run
externally, display locally..  ssh makes this easy by forwarding x
conections.. 

Ryan

-- 

__________________________________________________________________________
         Ryan Leduc         |    leduc@control.toronto.edu
                            |                                       
   University of Toronto    |   'Any mans death diminishes me,
                            |    because I am involved in Mankind;
   Dept of Electrical and   |    And therefore never send to know
    Computer Engineering    |    for whom the bell tolls;
   Systems  Control Group   |    
                            |    It tolls for thee.'
                            |   
    Toronto, Ont, Canada    |         John Donne
                            |   
                            |    http://www.control.toronto.edu/~leduc 
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