web server in Samba4

[Keith Farrar]

Deryck Hodge wrote:
 > I'm aware of the advantages of text browsers in keeping sites
 > accessible... see my comments above.  Perhaps I wasn't clear in what I'm
 > asking.
 >
 > Is this all people are concerned about -- accessibility?  Or are people
 > trying to use a text-based SWAT as a console admin tool?  What I am
 > trying to imply is that a console tool and a GUI are two different
 > things and trying to design one to be the other will be a frustrating
 > and/or futile exercise.


I'm simply asking that accessibility not be sacrificed in favor of
gobs of JavaScript. A web interface which remains accessible will,
as a side effect, tend to work well over low bandwidth connections
(e.g. SSH over a dial up link) for those administrators who are
unfortunate enough to use one (though I probably should leave my
laptop behind on my future vacations :).

Also, in the absence of an integrated console (text mode) interface,
the web interface is the integrated administrative interface. It
would be a kindness to administrators if that interface was made as
accessible as possible, while retaining the ability to effectively
administer Samba.


Disclaimer and Tangent:
  Personally, I cannot use the current SWAT - I put lots of (multi-line)
comments in my Samba configuration files (to document the intent of
configuration directives and shares), which SWAT would not preserve.
I also keep them under revision control. People make mistakes,
especially sleep-deprived, overloaded people. Human-readable configuration
files (or utilities to generate them human-readable text from a binary
configuration), a human-readable history of configuration changes, and
the ability to view recent changes in the configuration reduce the
effort required to correct mistakes. Having a quick undo helps an
administrator correct mistakes when under time pressure to "fix" things.
I would like to be able to use SWAT, as that could simplify handing off
responsibility to a junior administrator when I'm out of the office.