Re: FTP in the Finder
Re: FTP in the Finder
- Subject: Re: FTP in the Finder
- From: Eric Gundrum <email@hidden>
- Date: Thu, 28 Mar 2002 11:17:05 -0800
--- At 6:03 PM +0000 3/28/02, Quinn wrote:
>
The biggest problem I see with FTP as a file system is that it
>
doesn't support byte range reads. So, to read 5 bytes form the
>
middle of a 100 MB file, you have to download the entire file.
>
That's going to introduce file opening latencies that really mess up
>
applications, like the Finder, which expect to be able to open files
>
quickly.
When does the Finder open files? Clippings is all I can think of off the
top of my head.
What applications open a file and then very soon attempt to read from a
large offset? I expect very few. When the open occurs, the underlying FTP
could begin retrieving the file into a cache.
There certainly will be problems if people try to use FTP as a file system.
I am suggesting that people can learn FTP will not work as a file system,
yet having FTP access in the Finder still can provide an improved user
experience. I would have the tool return errors rather than block while it
performs a lengthy operation.
I still believe putting FTP into the Finder is entirely possible (and
worthwhile), but it requires a little creative thinking and a willingness
to compromise in reasonable ways.
--eric
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