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The FTP Content Provider

Preface

The FTP Content Provider implements a Content Provider for the Universal Content Broker (UCB). It provides access to the contents (folders and documents) made available by FTP servers.

FTP Contents

The FTP Content Provider provides two different types of contents: Folders and Documents.

An FTP Folder is a content which represents a directory on an FTP server. An FTP Folder never has a content stream, but it can have both FTP Folders and FTP Documents as children.
An FTP Document is a content which represents a single file on an FTP server. An FTP Document always has a content stream and never has children.

Creation of New FTP Contents

FTP Folders implement the interface XContentCreator. FTP Folders and FTP Documents support the command 'insert.' That way, all FTP Folders can create new FTP Folders and FTP Documents. To create a new child of an FTP Folder:

Let the folder create a new content by calling its createNewContent-method. The content type to use for new folders is application/vnd.sun.staroffice.ftp-folder. To create a new document, use the type string application/vnd.sun.staroffice.ftp-file.
Set a title at the new folder or document. (Let the new child execute a setPropertyValues-command that sets at least the property 'Title' to a non-empty value).
Let the new child (not the parent!) execute the command 'insert.' This will commit the creation process. For documents, you need to supply an XInputStream (whose contents will be transfered to the FTP server) with the command's parameters.

URL Scheme for FTP Contents

Each FTP content has an identifier corresponding to the following scheme (see also RFCs 1738, 2234, 2396, and 2732):

ftp-URL = "ftp://" login *("/" segment)

user = *(escaped / unreserved / "$" / "&" / "+" / "," / ";" / "=")

password = *(escaped / unreserved / "$" / "&" / "+" / "," / ";"

/ "=")

hostport = host [":" port]

host = incomplete-hostname / hostname / IPv4address

incomplete-hostname = *(domainlabel ".") domainlabel

hostname = *(domainlabel ".") toplabel ["."]

domainlabel = alphanum [*(alphanum / "-") alphanum]

toplabel = ALPHA [*(alphanum / "-") alphanum]

IPv4address = 1*3DIGIT "." 1*3DIGIT "." 1*3DIGIT "." 1*3DIGIT

port = *DIGIT

segment = *pchar

pchar = escaped / unreserved / "$" / "&" / "+" / "," / ":" / "="

/ "@"

escaped = "%" HEXDIG HEXDIG

unreserved = alphanum / mark

alphanum = ALPHA / DIGIT

mark = "!" / "'" / "(" / ")" / "*" / "-" / "." / "_" / "~"

FTP Folders and FTP Documents have a login part followed by one or more (nonempty) segments that might be followed by a slash.

Examples:

ftp://username@ftp.host/ The root-directory of user 'username' on the FTP server 'ftp.host.'

ftp://ftp.host/pub/doc1.txt A document on an anonymous FTP account.

ftp://username:password@ftp.host/secret-documents/ A folder within the account of user 'username,' with the password specified directly in the URL (works, but is not recommended).

Appendix

The following table gives an overview of the different FTP contents.

UCB Type

(returned by XContent::getContentType )

Properties

Commands

Interfaces

Folder

application/vnd.sun.staroffice.ftp-folder

[readonly] ContentType

[readonly] IsDocument

[readonly] IsFolder

Title

[readonly] DateCreated

getCommandInfo

getPropertySetInfo

getPropertyValues

setPropertyValues

insert

delete

open

lang::XTypeProvider

lang::XServiceInfo

lang::XComponent

ucb::XContent

ucb::XCommandProcessor

beans::XPropertiesChangeNotifier

beans::XPropertyContainer

beans::XPropertySetInfoChangeNotifier

ucb::XCommandInfoChangeNotifier

ucb::XContentCreator

container::XChild

Document

application/vnd.sun.staroffice.ftp-file