Re: [Mingw-users] MSYS via Cygwin SSHD?

[Bob R. <bob...@co...>]

On Thu, Apr 05, 2007 at 10:35:50PM +1000, John Pye wrote:
> Bob Rossi wrote:
> > On Thu, Apr 05, 2007 at 08:44:50PM +1000, John Pye wrote:
> >   
> >> Bob Rossi wrote:
> >>     
> >>>> My understanding is that there is no FOSS way of running SSHD on Windows
> >>>> except by using Cygwin. Is that still true?
> >>>>     
> >>>>         
> >>> I have the same understanding.
> >>>
> >>> Here is how I solved the problem. I run cygwin sshd on the normal sshd
> >>> port. Then I run this server, http://www.kpym.com/en/Overview.htm,
> >>> on port 23 (pick any port). With that solution, I can then start msys's
> >>> bash without cygwin involved. It's not perfect in any way, but it works.
> >>>   
> >>>       
> >> Very nice! I hadn't seen that SSH server before. But there are some
> >> problems with it?
> >>
> >> Actually the kpym thing *is* open source (up to version 1.14 at least).
> >> http://sourceforge.net/projects/kpym/
> >>     
> >
> > Hi John,
> >
> > The problem is, there is no community supporting it really. It has a
> > forum, but the author leaves many questions unanswered. Here is a
> > simple problem that I had, and as I go back and look now, he actually
> > responded,
> >   http://www.kpym.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=26&sid=10d0d6e65af6d70353c1064f3893974c
> >
> > So, the server gives you a 6 second warning. Telling you if you want to
> > go directly to login then you have to buy it. This is annoying. Then it
> > takes you to a dos window. Now, there is a script that you can configure
> > to have it automatically take you to a bash window. 
> >   
> 
> Well if it's not good enough to run Vim then that's a bit poor really.
> Shame. Perhaps if we put a case to its developer that the code could be
> incorporated with MinGW (or GnuWin32 better?) and become the stuff of
> legend?

Well, it's just my experience. I think if you run the server, and use
putty, it might work with vim. It would probably take a reasonable
effort to get it to work the way we want. However, it already mostly
works, if only somone had the time...

> Out of curiosity, which bit of code is it in Linux that does the job of
> dealing with all the terminal stuff (where the cursor is, how many lines
> there are, etc)? 

There's a lot involved with all of this. For starters, windows does not
support a pty. That's one reason why sshd ports nicely to cygwin 
(which emulates a pty) and not to windows.

The cursor stuff can be done manually within an application by calling
low level function calls (vim), or it can be done using ncurses (mutt).

> I had presumed that the reason that there was not SSHD
> with MinGW/MSYS was to do with SSHD not being able to be built due to
> millions of POSIX dependencies. But perhaps the bigger challenges are
> around all this terminal emulation stuff on the server side, given what
> has also been said recently about rxvt and 'Console 2'.

The posix dependencies might be an issue also, I've never tried it. But
the lack of a pty I believe is a very significant problem.

Bob Rossi