.
I'm looking for a bare-bones FTP client that...

1) watches a my local directory for changes (new files, deleted files,
changed files, moved files, renamed files, etc.)

2) immediately publishes those changes to an FTP server.

3) automatically generates tasty dessert recipes (optional)


This FTP client should be (in order of preference)

1) freeware

2) Perl script

3) low-cost shareware or commercial-ware (not because I'm a skinflint,
but because this is a simple program)

SOMETHING TO KEEP YOUR EYE OUT FOR:  I'd also find it helpful to
evaluate programs that do two-way syncronizing.  In other words, it a)
uploads changes to FTP site but also b) downloads changes that appear
on the FTP site.  (new files, renamed files, etc.)  Such programs
probably offer scheduling and/or logging and don't qualify as
"lowcost" or "barebones".

I'm aware of a very complex Perl script used for mirroring FTP sites.
That's *not* what I'm after.

Blessings upon your machinery,
Don

---

Request for Question Clarification by blader-ga on 08 Aug 2002 17:09 PDT

Dear don:

I've found a sh script that does exactly what you have described, and
it's free. I'm not sure if you want a shell script though, so this is
a clarification request:
sdirdiff, sgetdiff, sputdiff: sh scripts for directory synchonization.

    sdirdiff shows the difference between a local and a remote
directory. Uses ssh to log in to the remote host, and sum to determine
if a local and a remote file have the same contents.
    Native executables, ar archives, object, dependency info (*.d),
LaTeX auxiliary, and backup (*~ *.bak *.BAK) files are skipped. Native
binaries are recognized using the file command and looking for the
"ELF " or "COFF " string in its output.

jeltz~/public_html/util% sdirdiff sunserv
< ddsplit
< index.html
> index.html
	

    sputdiff uploads all the files from the CWD to the remote host
that are missing, or their remote version have different contents.
Uses tar and gzip to package and extract the difference, and ssh to
copy the difference to the remote host.

jeltz~/public_html/util% sputdiff sunserv
x ddsplit, 799 bytes, 2 tape blocks
x index.html, 4416 bytes, 9 tape blocks
	

    sgetdiff does the opposite: downloads the difference.

    All the three programs are contained in one script file. To use
them, download sdirdiff, make it executable, then make two hard links:

jeltz~/bin% chmod +x sdirdiff
jeltz~/bin% ln sdirdiff sgetdiff
jeltz~/bin% ln sdirdiff sputdiff
	

Alternatively, you can download sdirdiff.tar.gz which contains the
three hard linked executables.

http://www.kfki.hu/~cspeter/util/#sdirdiff

Best Regards,
blader-ga

---

Request for Question Clarification by blader-ga on 08 Aug 2002 17:10 PDT

Also, are you aware of rsync? If you must use Perl, it might fit your needs.

http://samba.anu.edu.au/rsync/

Best Regards,
blader-ga

Hello Don,

You didn't specify what kind of system that your "local directory" is
on, so I'll provide both Windows, Macintosh, and Unix (Linux)
recommendations. If this answer doesn't hit the mark - let me know
with a clarification request and I'll get you a better answer.

A browser based solution I found (runs on many different systems)
is...

Unlimited Ftp
  http://www.utechsoft.com/uftp/index.jsp
I would not call this cheap - $600 is the minimum license fee (plus
support). I mention this only because the flexibility to run on many
different types of systems.

On Windows, you have a few options...

A capability in your ftp client such as...

Ws_Ftp Pro
  http://www.ipswitch.com/Support/WS_FTP/guide/wsftpug7/08sync.html

Absolute Ftp
  http://www.vandyke.com/products/absoluteftp/quick_synchronize.html

These assume you have such a product - if not, try one of the
following...

A low cost synchronizer program such as...
 
Site Publisher (about $30)
  http://www.sitepublisher.net/

Sites with several shareware or freeware programs...

Simply the Best Shareware
  http://www.simplythebest.net/ftp.html

Google directory
http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Software/Shareware/Windows/Internet/FTP/

On Macintosh...
isync
  http://www.bluedays.com/isynch/index.shtml

or if you have OS X, use one of the Unix / Linux suggestions.

On Unix / Linux (and perhaps other systems)...

Rsync
  http://rsync.samba.org/
(I realize a comment already mentioned this, but here's the "official
source" of that product). It is released under the GNU General Public
License, so is free provided you comply with the license requirements.
Prebuilt binaries are available for AIX, BSDi, HP/UX, Irix, SCO, SVR4,
Solaris, Sunos, debian, Red Hat, and Linux PPC.

ftpsync
  http://www.linux-france.org/prj/ftpsync/
You mentioned a "complex" Perl script - if this one was it, I'm sorry.
This is in Perl - about 11k in size. I didn't run it, but the code
looks reasonable.

Rdist
  I use rdist a lot at work to synchronize two servers using rcp or
scp. You can do the same for your ftp server - though getting an ftp
client to move a file for you using rdist will require a small script.
You should have rdist on your Unix or Linux distribution - if not, let
me know and I'll find an on line source.

Scheduling jobs on Unix
  If you were not aware of it, cron is a good utility - usually
enabled on Unix or Linux systems. The default is usually daily,
weekly, and monthly tasks run on a regular basis (cat /etc/crontab,
cat /etc/daily). You can set up a regular ftp update using cron (man 8
cron, man 5 crontab). There is also the "at" command, but this is
sometimes NOT enabled. I can walk you through that step if necessary.

I hope this answer provides a solution that is acceptable to you.
  --Maniac

Thank you very much.  The ftpsync.pl file is a good tradeoff between
features and price (free). :-)