Skip to main content

Your Blog, And Blogger, And FTP Publishing #2

In the server world, there are two dominant platforms- Microsoft (one company, one product) and Linux / Unix (many companies, different products). There are dozens of differences between the two operating systems. One of the most obvious, and yet most easily overlooked, is case sensitivity of file names.

In a Microsoft operating system, a file named "Test.Txt" is treated as the same file as "test.txt". In Unix, you can have those files, and more, in the same folder.
  • test.txt
  • Test.Txt
  • TEST.txt
  • TEST.Txt
are all different files, on a Unix server.

The issue of case preservation (Windows) vs case sensitivity (Unix) is a challenge, when moving files between a server of one world and a server of the other world. And one instance of this issue being relevant is

- -

wait for it

- -

Blogger publishing by FTP.

Blogger FTP publishing involves moving files, from Blogger servers to third party servers. Blogger servers, being of one world, have to move files to other servers. The web server universe contains servers of both worlds, so the Blogger FTP process has to allow for the need to move files to either a Microsoft, or a Linux / Unix, server.

To move files properly, to properly add or replace like named files, and to allow for case preservation or case sensitivity, as appropriate, the Blogger FTP process has to have 2 sets of rules.
  • Linux / Unix: Observe case in file names.
  • Microsoft: Preserve case in file names.


Read the HP white paper, Case Sensitivity versus Case Preservation in CIFS Server, for an in depth explanation of the challenge involved here.

>> Top

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What's The URL Of My Blog?

We see the plea for help, periodically I need the URL of my blog, so I can give it to my friends. Help! Who's buried in Grant's Tomb, after all? No Chuck, be polite. OK, OK. The title of this blog is "The Real Blogger Status", and the title of this post is "What's The URL Of My Blog?".

Add A Custom Redirect, If You Change A Post URL

When you rename a blog, the most that you can do, to keep the old URL useful, is to setup a stub post , with a clickable link to the new URL. Yo! The blog is now at xxxxxxx.blogspot.com!! Blogger forbids gateway blogs, and similar blog to blog redirections . When you rename a post, you can setup a custom redirect - and automatically redirect your readers to the post, under its new URL. You should take advantage of this option, if you change a post URL.

Adding A Link To Your Blog Post

Occasionally, you see a very odd, cryptic complaint I just added a link in my blog, but the link vanished! No, it wasn't your imagination.