Re: NT-emacs & Cygwin ssh/scp

[Kai.Grossjohann@CS.Uni-Dortmund.DE (K. )]

David Starks-Browning <da...@st...> writes:

> I thought there was a problem with tramp + GNU Emacs + Cygwin ssh on
> Windows if you had to type anything in order to connect, like a
> passphrase or password.  So you had to run ssh-agent + ssh-add first.
> At least, it may have been a problem in the past.  I'll check that
> tonight.  (I can only work on this stuff at home.)

There is a general problem: _if_ you use an out-of-band method _and_
the out-of-band transfer program (scp, rsync, ...) wants a
passphrase/password, _then_ it fails.

Of course, using ssh-agent to prevent the passphrase prompt for scp
also prevents it for ssh.

First, there was rssh.el.  Then it was renamed to rcp.el.  Now it's
called Tramp.  When it was still called rssh.el, there was a time when
it couldn't deal with password prompts at all.  But at that time, only
one connection method was possible at all.  I don't know whether the
restriction was lifted before or after the renaming to rcp.el, but it
was certainly a LONG time before it became Tramp.

> As for paths, it is more common *not* to have Cygwin directories in
> your default Windows PATH.  Certainly the standard Cygwin installer
> does not touch your default Windows PATH.  Also I don't think it's
> common to invoke runemacs from a Cygwin bash shell.

Ah!  Thanks for the clarification.  But why is it important to invoke
runemacs from a Cygwin bash?  It's clear that this is required for the
ssh agent to work.  But I think the ssh agent is not necessary, merely
convenient.

I'm sorry to be such a pain.  But I would like to provide clear and
correct instructions, and I have to rely on people telling me, because
I don't use Windows myself.

I want to say things like: to get it working, X is sufficient.  For
more convenience, also consider Y and Z.

>> So what would remain is a hint that under Windows, scp is tricky to
>> set up and people might prefer to use an inline method.
>
> I would be explicit and advise smx.  I believe it's the only
> pre-written method that is going to work "out of the box" with
> Cygwin ssh.

That might be right.  Okay, so that's what I'll put in the docs.

kai
-- 
Silence is foo!