suggestions for improvements to SSH based functionality

[gfim]

G'day all,

I'm using BC 3.1.6 Pro under both Windows and Linux. I want to use it for syncing with my web hosting server using SSH based comms. The current stuff works but leaves a bit to be desired. Here are a couple of suggestions:

1. Most important - The machine I connecting from is used by a number of users. So I don't want my passphrase to be remembered. Please add an option to allow it to be asked for as needed (once per session).
2. Allow use of rsync protocol. It's much more efficient for comparison as the whole file doesn't need to be transferred over the link.

Thanks for a great piece of software.

Graham

[Aaron]

Hello Graham,

1. Under the Tools menu -> FTP Profiles, select your profile and uncheck Save Password, then delete it if it was already saved.

2. Thanks for the suggestion. Rsync is a separate product; partial file transfers are something we would like to support, but that is a very large change and is not in the immediate future.

[gfim]

Thanks for replying, Aaron.

1. Under the Tools menu -> FTP Profiles, select your profile and uncheck Save Password, then delete it if it was already saved

Sorry, I didn't explain myself well enough. I'm using SSH public key authentication. I don't want the passphrase for the private key saved. Nothing to do with passwords.

2. Rsync is a separate product

I'm not suggesting the rsync program (at the Beyond Compare end) - just the rsync algorithm/protocol. This would have two advantages - it would save Scooter having to invent their own "partial file transfers". It would also make BC compatible with existing rsync daemons. It's publicly documented and code is available under the GPL. Now, that license probably doesn't suit Scooter, but it makes doing your own implementation much easier since a reference implementation is available to test against.

Graham

[Aaron]

Thanks for the suggestions. Both ideas are now on our Customer Wishlist.

Our current SSH key options are global, and we currently do not support asking for the passphrase. For the current version, you could create a usb key Portable install of Beyond Compare, and bring it with you when you use the public computer. Or use a password on your Windows account that would lock out the other users from your Beyond Compare settings (stored in %AppData% by default).

While Rsync's code may be available for reference under the GPL, that unfortunately does not make implementing partial transfers a trivial task. Partial transfers is something we would like to support, but it is still a large change.

[osolo]

rsync

Arron,

I've been a happy paying custom for over 9 years, and rsync has been on the top of my wishlist for almost that long.

I can appreciate that partial updates are a huge change, but rsync as a protocol has other immediate advantages over FTP:
1. Atomic file updates
2. Native compression (many FTP servers still don't support MODE Z)
3. Faster "downloads" if you have the local file

None of which have anything to do with partial updates. I would pay more $$$ to have that.

And at the end it's just a protocol like FTP is a protocol, so I hope you would consider it on that merit. I really hope that you can implement it in a manner similar to your FTP integration so that it won't require major rework of the code and decades to implement.

Just my 5 cent's worth (but more if you add the feature :P)

[Dorgo]

rsync capability would be an awesome addition. I already use this program probably more than anything other than my IDE.

My main two tasks are merging and comparisons with git and synchronising websites.

With websites often containing 30-40k files this takes a long time. I have messed around with getting rsync to work on windows and have vague plans for remote deployment repositories but having this functionality built into beycomp would make it a killer(er) application.

could something like http://www.itefix.no/cwrsync/ be used by beycomp?

[Aaron]

Hello,

Thanks for the feedback; I'll add your use case to the entry's notes.

I'm not sure if cwrsync could be plugged into BC3, but if it can be called from the command line, you may be able to set up an "Open With" that uses it. We have a quick sample Open With KB article, here:

http://www.scootersoftware.com/support.php?zz=kb_openwithapp