Problem with many files in rsync server directory ?

[jw schultz]

On Wed, Jan 07, 2004 at 10:26:16AM -0000, Jon Hirst wrote:
> Having had a night to sleep on this I think rsync's limit
> on filename globbing needs pointing out more clearly.
> 
> I think we need:
> 
> 1) An entry in the FAQ (Done)
> 
> 2) A better error message from rsync when it exceeds the
>    limit.  Saying:
> 
>       rsync: read error: Connection reset by peer
>       rsync error: error in rsync protocol data stream (code 12) at
> io.c(201)
> 
>    doesn't help many users.  Not even programmers with 20 years
>    experience, like me ;-)
> 
> 3) How about adding a file called LIMITS to the source
>    distribution that tells system administrators and users
>    of the limits that are built in to rsync, and how they
>    can be changed.
> 
> 4) Or maybe even - horror or horrors - some comments in
>    the source file rsync.h.

5)  It trumpeted from the mountain tops (and maybe in the
documentation somewhere) that using * to get all files in a
directory is stupid or ignorant.

  a) * and ? are globbed by the shell unless quoted and may
     produce unexpected behaviour.

  b) There are limits to the size of command-lines.

  c) filenames with spaces glob badly.

  d) The only time the argument globbing is done by rsync is
     on the daemon, all other times it is done one shell or
     another.

I've lost track of the number of times someone has
complained on this list because blah/blah/* didn't behave as
he expected and the problem went away when he dropped the
unnecessary wildcard.


-- 
________________________________________________________________
	J.W. Schultz            Pegasystems Technologies
	email address:		jw at pegasys.ws

		Remember Cernan and Schmitt