Re: multi-file upload
steve.kilbane@ind.alstom.com
Mon, 28 Jun 1999 08:56:22 +0100
On 26/06/99 15:18:45 Jean Henchey wrote:
> Is it possible to Browse a directory, then have the client-side app
> upload, recursively, everything under that directory?
Yes, it's possible. No, it's not standard, because it's entirely dependent on
the client-side app.
The HTTP protocol allows you to have FILE input fields. Each can contain a
single file, so either your client app has to bundle the local directory in some
way, or you have to produce an input field for every file you want to send.
The standard client app, a browser, usually ignores any default value you send
for FILE fields, because of security issues, which means that the user has to
manually select the file for each field. This is a pain for just one field,
never mind many.
There are Java applets and ActiveX controls that do all this stuff for you, if
you're using a browser. It's not too difficult to write something that does it
if you're using Perl as your client end (HTTP::Request::Common). It can be
fiddly to do it well. If you're dealing with unknown clients across the web,
then bets are effective off (and the security implications of unpacking an
archive file from an untrusted source start to get hairy, too).
steve