Feature request: Discussion.

[Ed Phillips]

On Mon, 13 May 2002 ewheeler at kaico.com wrote:

> Does the current ssh or scp implentation allow you to click a link and
> securely download a file (hopefully after you've entered a password)?

The browser implements the "click a link" feature, and the mapping of URL
to actual commands or protocal connections or whatever.  I can't see how
you'd actually make this work in any browser you don't compile yourself
(to tell it that "ssh://user@host..." means run "ssh ssh://user@host",
etc.).  And, if you compile it yourself, you can specify that
"ssh://user@host..." means "Run `ssh user at host...'".  I can't type
"ssh://blah.blah.blah" into any of my browsers and make it run some
command (although, I'll admit, I haven't actually tried to configure it to
do so)?  I could make a MIME type that is an "ssh connection" or "scp
command" or whatever - and I can put the actual arguments in the "helper"
configuration tho'.

If you want someone to securely download a file by clicking on a link, why
should we need to change ssh to accept a special URL as an argument...
because the browser can only pass a verbatim URL to "helper" programs that
it doesn't know about?

I like the "roll your own wrapper for ssh" idea.  Or you can use MIME
types and configure your own behavior using the existing scp/ssh syntax.

My 2 cents...

	Ed

Ed Phillips <ed at udel.edu> University of Delaware (302) 831-6082
Systems Programmer III, Network and Systems Services
finger -l ed at polycut.nss.udel.edu for PGP public key