Net::FTP file type and attributes

[fedelman]

Hi guys,
I'm developing a script for different synchronization tasks (remote2local, local2remote, remote2remote, local2local).

I've got the following HASH:

$src{$path}->{type}
$src{$path}->{size}
$src{$path}->{mtime}

$path = full path for an archive or directory
type = 'f' or 'd'. File or directory.
size = The size for the file file.
mtime = Modification time for the file.

When a I read the %src I need to know if the $path exist into the other side. In other words, I need to know if the $path into the remote side.

I've got a problem, when the source is local and the destination is an FTP.
Why? Simple, Both, Net:FTP and FTP protocol, doesn't provide the way to know if a $path is a 'directory' or 'file'.

I don't know what is the best way to fix.

Can anybody give me your opinion about what I would to do.

Thanks very much.

[pg]

Not really.

Net::FTP supports a command called dir() which can give you a detailed list of remote entities, that clearly indicate whether the entity is a directory or a file. I tested with the following code, local win2k, remote unix (trust that you will get a similar list if remote is non-unix):

use Data::Dumper;
use Net::FTP;

$ftp = Net::FTP->new("blah", Debug => 0) or die "Cannot connect: $@"; 
+   
$ftp->login("foo",'bar') or die "Cannot login ", $ftp->message;   
my @list = $ftp->dir();
print Dumper(\@list);
$ftp->quit;

I got something like (only a portion):

          'drwxr-xr-x   7 leinbd   aagdev       512 Oct 17 18:06 leinb
+d',
          'drwxr-xr-x  11 lois     aagdev      1024 Nov 14 14:04 lois'
+,
          'drwx------   2 root     system       512 Nov 10 15:41 lost+
+found',
          'drwxr-xr-x   2 maynec   aagdev       512 Nov 20 10:05 mayne
+c',
          'drwxr-xr-x  10 nanayn   aagdev       512 Oct 07 09:52 nanay
+n',
          'drwxr-xr-x   5 root     system       512 Nov 10 15:41 netin
+st',

[fedelman]

Hi, thanks for your reply.

The $filename should be a simple entry like a file or directory. I need check only for one entry, not for all directory content.

Futhermore, the $ftp->dir return different content according to FTP server. For example, the following commands return the same result:

$ftp->dir("/a/real/empty/directory");
$ftp->dir("/unexistent/directory/");

I think the solution is more complex. :(

Thank you anyway.

[flyingmoose]

No it's not more complex, you just won't listen to reason :)

If you start checking those directories from an FTP root, you will be able to check by descending that directory root whether /nonexistant/directory actually exists. Namely, "nonexistant" will not exist in the directory root. I'm speaking algorithmically here, as you have an algorithmic problem, not a Perl module problem.

As for the dir format being inconsistant between servers, any server should include enough for you to regex the beast and tell whether you have a directory or a file. Such is a limitation in FTP, not neccessarily in the Perl module. Dir is only a command that returns text, by definition of FTP. If this really bugs you, try an SFTP module.

[Anonymous Monk]

I had the same problem not knowing another option I wrote a small function to tell if it is a directory or not given the dir() output.

sub is_dir
{                                                                     
+                                                        
  my @list = split(//, $_);
if( $list[0] eq 'd' )
  {
  return 1;
  }
else
 {
  return 0;
 }                                                                    
+                                                         
}

Worked for me. Let me let me know if there is a better way.

[halley]

If you can't change the working directory, it's not a directory.

print "file" if not $ftp->cwd($filename);

If you can change the working directory, you may have to change back to the parent or starting directory at some point after your query.

[fedelman]

Hi, thanks for your reply.

If the $filename is a file (with the same name of SRC directory) or if the $filename is a directory and his permissions is not suitable, the $ftp->cwd($filename) will be fail.

[mce]