General Questions FAQ

1999/12/05 by Crescent


Q: What is FTP4ALL ?
A: FTP4ALL is a ftp daemon for unix systems. It runs under any normal user account and doesn't require any special rights to start. It has its own permission and user handling, and is mainly independent from the operating system it runs under (although it inherits any limitations of the user account under whcih it is running).

Q: Why should I use FTP4ALL, if there is <any ftp daemon> ?
A: First, every other ftp daemon I know needs special privileges to run it. Then, there are system-integrated daemons which are used to access your shell accounts with the FTP protocol. FTP4ALL is different: you can generally run FTP4ALL from any account, without root access, with no power hit as compared with other advanced ftpdaemons.

Q: Why shouldn't I use FTP4ALL ?
A: If you're looking for a wu-ftpd type of daemon, which allows for such things as individual home directories, then FTP4ALL is not (currently) for you. Different ftp daemons are suited to different tasks, and you might wish to consider a daemon such as proftpd if your requirements are for tasks such as www-hosting. Generally, FTP4ALL is suited for any task that is not "system-integrated", by which we mean that FTP4ALL does not lend itself to allowing access by multiple users to system shell accounts.

Q: Mhhh... sounds like a great deal, what does it cost ?
A: FTP4ALL is distributed under the GPL. Please read and understand the conditions of this licence.

Q: Are there any FTP4ALL related limitations ?
A: No, just the normal limitations that applies for user accounts under your unix environment. The only possible limitations I can think of are disk quota limitation.

Q: I found/got this neat file - where can I get the latest version of FTP4ALL ?
A: http://www.ftp4all.de/v3/noframes/download.html and ftp://ftp.ftp4all.de/pub/ftp4all/.

Q: Are there any beta versions ? How could I become a beta tester ?
A: All the latest beta versions are available from the ftp site. Take a look at the ftp://ftp.ftp4all.de/pub/ftp4all/beta/ directory.

Q: Tell me about the FTP4ALL concept.
A: What you've read so far will already have given you a good indication as to the f4a concept, and you can always find more information on the FTP4ALL webpage. To sum it up in one sentence: FTP4ALL provides a solid and stable ftp daemon that allows full configuration and a means for developing powerful "addons" to supplement the power of the daemon.

Q: Is there a port of FTP4ALL for the ... operating system ?
A: Probably not. ;)
It should compile on nearly all unix systems, at least with only minor modifications. There is is currently no Windows-32bit version, and there will be none. There are major differences between Windows and UNIX system programming and porting ftp4all to Win-32 will require many internal changes (e.g. interprocess communication, or if you use processes anyway, the preferred way to do it under windows seem to be threads, signal handling, daemon or service startup, process spawning and so on). An Amiga version of ftp4all is also available; refer to our webpage for the address.

Q: I'd like to port FTP4ALL to the ... operating system.. May I ?
A: Great ! :) Just get in touch with us. But if you want to port it you should work on your own (or contact us before if you need help) and stay in the FTP4ALL "boundaries" :)

Q: I've already ported FTP4ALL to the ... operating system !
A: Even more great ! :), Please drop us a line at ftp4all@ftp4all.de and let us know details (Operating system, URL, version, differences).

Q: How can I contribute to the FTP4ALL project ?
A: If you are experienced in writting clean ANSI-C code for unix operating systems and willing to contribute, please contact us as soon as possible :) Especially people with platform-related knowledge would help us to make FTP4ALL more compatible and easier to port.
However, any new features would also be considered for inclusion within the FTP4ALL project so long as the c code you write is of high quality. We don't want people who like to put everything into the daemon (zipchecker, site give, nuke, ...).
If you cannot write C, but you want to do something else, contact us, too, for example if you can write in another language, you can write a configuration system or keep track of the documents, or write a better FAQ :)

Q: Why isn't there a zipchecker/unfoline setting/<insert script> included in the ftp4all setup ?
A: It is at odds with the FTP4ALL concept to include everything imaginable into the daemon. Unlike some other daemons, FTP4ALL allows the siteop instead to implement external scripts for functionality such as zip checking, user statistics, and so forth.

Q: I'd like to write my own addons. How should I start ?
A: Addons can be written in any language you please. You might wish to take a look at existing addons (see above) before beginning work on your own scripts. Popular languages for addons include C, Perl, and simple shellscript.

Q: Why is so much of the FTP4ALL syntax so different from glftpd / rftpd / gftpd / <insert daemon name here> ?
A: FTP4ALL's syntax is designed for power, simplicity and consistency, and we feel that it provides the most logical means for controlling a site and its users. However, if you don't like it, write your own !
Because FTP4ALL provides sophisticated scripting functionality, it is a simple process to override any internal scripts with your own, that work as you would like them to.

Q: I think I've found a bug, what should I do about it ?
A: Please be sure to check all other questions in this FAQ, and the webpage, also be sure you've installed the newest version, since the FTP4ALL team works continuously to fix bugs. If you know about it, chances are that we do too...
If you still think it's a bug email us as soon as possible with a detailed description of your system, your site, your ftpd configuration options, the programs running on the system, when the bug appears, and most importantly, how to reproduce the bug.
Please don't harrass us to get bugs fixed- we are only human and get no money for our work on the daemon -- but we do what we can. If you are familar with FTP4ALL, and you have a suggestion how to fix the bug that you're encountering, please do include any suggestions.
The second thing to do is to set the environment-variable "f4a_deb" (no specific value) and send the ftp4all-debug and the core-file (if one has been created) to us.

Q: I want to be able to have lots of people log in with the same user name and have different credits maintained for each different login (based upon the IP of the connection). Can I do that ?
A: Yes and no. Yes, you can set up an anonymous account and even install a password on it, so that lots of people can log in on the same account. However, credit is valid only for the current session, so if a user logs out, credit is lost.

Q: I wrote a nice addon and I want to publish it... but how ?
A: Please package the addon with a short description and email it to the address below. We will contact you to let you know whether it has been accepted into the addon section. It might be possible for you to upload the file to us, but do please contact us by mail or IRC beforehand.

Q: Why don't you include this or that or fix that stupid bug earlier ?
A: Suggestions are allowed, and we have a internal "wish-list". But please don't bug us to program a particular feature for you. We are currently a team of 4 people (two programmers, two supporters), mostly students and we are not paid for this work. And our ToDo-list is quite full all the time.
If you can't wait for the next stable version you can always download betas of ftp4all (ftp://ftp.ftp4all.de/pub/ftp4all/beta).

Q: I want to keep an up-to-date mirror of your FTP4ALL page. May I ?
A: If you would like to, please do so, but the discussion section should remain on our main site (www.ftp4all.de). Once your mirror is up, please email us, so we can add it to our page.

Q: How do I contact the FTP4ALL development team ?
A: You can reach us via email, ftp4all@ftp4all.de
You can reach us via our webbbs, which is often the most effective way to get help, often within a hour or less, http://www.ftp4all.de/cgi-bin/f4a.cgi
You can reach us via irc, efnet..: #ftp4all (contact one of the ops)

Before contacting us for help, please read the all the important parts of the webpage.
If you email us, you may get more than one answer, from different developers.