SFTP support [was: Re: Distribute beta versions of iOS app]

[Peter TB Brett]

On 2015-08-18 22:42, Brahmanathaswami wrote:

> I have FTP off on the server by default. no one from anywhere for any
> reason can log in with clear text, its just not done, period. (why LC
> HQ doesn't get this and provide this as part of lib URL is beyond
> me... <end my perennial rant on no SFTP in the engine>

The LiveCode engine can already do secure communication using SSL 
(Secure Socket Layer).  It would *probably* be possible to use "secure 
socket" to implement FTPS (FTP over SSL) in scripts, without any engine 
changes (i.e. in libUrl).

SFTP is not FTPS or FTP.  It's an unrelated file transfer protocol that 
runs over Secure Shell (SSH).  It would be a relatively large project to 
add it to the engine, because we would be able to use the existing 
secure network communication support in LiveCode, and we wouldn't be 
able to use *any* of the existing FTP support in LiveCode.


The regular requests for SFTP support are noted and SFTP support is on 
our internal list of feature requests -- indeed, I was recently 
discussing it with Mark Waddingham.  However, it will be a large project 
that will involve writing and thoroughly testing a lot of new, 
security-critical code.  When we have the resources available to 
implement it, it will therefore very likely be introduced an extension 
available to LiveCode Business customers.

In the meantime, you could work around the absence of SFTP support 
(while maintaining server security) by creating an HTTPS web service 
that allows uploads only by authenticated clients which provide a valid 
API token.

One thing I don't understand - please can you explain why you can't just 
do your uploads by shelling out to the "scp" or "rsync" commands?

                                              Peter

-- 
Dr Peter Brett <peter.brett at livecode.com>
LiveCode Engine Development Team