85879 - rsync support

Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX

(Core :: Networking, enhancement)

Description

[Lapo Luchini]

It would be great to have internal supporto for rsync:// protocol, similiar to
current support of ftp:// with directory browsing, saving and, of course,
updating of existing local files.

Comment 1

[Keyser Sose]

Marking NEW.

Comment 2

[benc]

qa to me.
-> networking
changed summary - could not find rsync: URL definition, so subject describes as 
protocol.
+qawanted - anyone want to do this?

Comment 3

[Lapo Luchini]

The algorithm is described here: http://rsync.samba.org/rsync/tech_report/
There's also a project that is creating a library than will be used in next
major version of rsync, librsync, here: http://rproxy.samba.org/doxygen/librsync/
The rproxy group has the objective to build a highly optimized form of
delta-encoding between browser (eventual proxy) and server, targetting Mozilla,
Squid and Apache. But that's another story.
An implementation of the current rsync:// protocol (e.g. to download new mozilla
builds and/or interrupted rsync downloads) could be very helpful also before the
rproxy project is ready.
I'd want to implement this myself but I've got too little time to learn Mozilla
and rsync's sources enough to do this (but I'm studying them nonetheless). If
no- one else can do this I'll do it as soon as I'm ready (within some months, I
guess).

Comment 4

[Dave Dykstra]

Speaking as one of the maintainers of rsync and the owner of another tool that
supports the rsync:// URL, it is not practical to implement rsync:// via a
library because the protocol used by the rsync command is highly optimized for
just that command and cannot be easily duplicated by a separate implementation.
 It is practical, however, to invoke the rsync tool as a subprocess or coprocess.
-- Dave Dykstra

Comment 5

[Doug Turner (:dougt)]

moving neeti's futured bugs for triaging.

Comment 6

[Lapo Luchini]

Changing OS from "Win2000" to "All" as this RFE is of course not only for
Win2000 clients: rsync is available on many platforms.

Comment 7

[Renich Bon Ciric]

This would be great! I was just going to ask for the same thing. Supporting rsync:// would be out of this world. This will give a lot of exposition to this protocol! Maybe samba.org is willing to help?