Baslinux mailing list

[Lee Forrest <lforrestster AT gmail.com>]

On Sun, Jan 14, 2007 at 03:29:35PM +0000, Lee Forrest wrote:
> On Sun, Jan 14, 2007 at 05:10:30AM +0000, sindi keesan wrote:
> [delete]
> > If you load a few sound modules and plug in cheap headphones you too can 
> > get sound out of your computer.
> 
> That's fine. But let's get back on topic: We are discussing Tiny
> Linux. Which led to the observation that a truly tiny linux would
> require a 'tiny internet' to operate in. The internet as it is
> _requires_ all sorts of hardware and software that makes a truly
> tiny linux impossible.
> 
> I've been doing some thinking, and come to the conclusion that
> only 4 different kinds of servers (and clients) are necessary to
> make a functioning internet:
> 
> Mail - doing the job that smtp and pop/imap do now 
> File - doing the job that ftp and http do now
> Directory - doing the job that dns and search engines do now
> Forum - doing the job that nntp and mailing lists do now,
>          discussion groups and bulletins, public and private.
> 
> In all cases you are just looking at a directory tree on a
> computer somewhere that is accessed in different ways.
> 
> Mail: You can send files to a directory belonging to someone else
> for them to retrieve later. And retrieve new files from your own
> directory on that same mail server, or another one.
> 
> File: You can retrieve files from a directory belonging to
> someone else that they have made available to the public. Could
> be sound files. Any kind of files.
> 
> Directory: A database/wiki containing directories to the other
> three servers. Your client would process a search string and 
> retrieve the relevant files, which would contain addresses
> (numeric IP, port, directory path) and descriptions of what
> was available. Or submit new listings.

That's misleading: The server, like all the other servers, would
contain only a directory tree(s) from which files would be retrieved
or uploaded. There wouldn't be any kind of program like a database
or wiki running there.

The object is to make running the server(s) as simple as possible, in
terms of human and machine resources. 

> Forum: Send and/or retrieve files in specific directories assigned to
> a topic, that everyone could access.
> 
> All of the above four clients and servers could be written in bash
> and use netcat for the tcp connections and calling other utilities.

Lee

-- 
BasicLinux: Small is Beautiful
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