RE: [h-e-w] Ange-ftp stalls intermitently

[Phil Betts]

On Monday, September 19, 2005 7:09 PM, Stephen Leake wrote:
> address@hidden writes:
> > I am using Emacs on Windows-XP with ange-ftp to edit files on a remote
> > Unix system (SunOS).
> 
> Sometimes this makes sense, but it is almost always better to run
> Emacs on the remote system, and display locally in an X client.

My experience suggests otherwise.

In favour of the X way:
* You can run commands such as compile, grep et al.

* version control and auto-revert (amongst others) will only work this
  way.

Against...
* Using X requires continuous, reliable network bandwidth.  If you
  connect over an isdn line, or a low-bandwidth/congested link, any X
  app is a nightmare.

* It requires both emacs and X libraries be installed on all remote
  boxes.  This is certainly not my experience.

* To actually *enjoy* using the remote emacs assumes that the remote
  box has a "recent-enough" version of emacs to support the features
  you use.

* You have to have login access on the remote box.

* You have to have the authority to set up .emacs, .abbrev_defs and
  customisations just the way you want them.

* It requires that the remote site has all of the elisp packages that
  you use.

* If you need to edit files on more than one box, you would need a
  separate emacs session for each, relying on the clipboard for
  copying data from one to the other.  (In the real world, with ever
  more cautious firewalling, you cannot guarantee that any two remote
  boxes can communicate directly.)

* Running emacs remotely means you are using the remote box's
  resources.  One thing emacs could never be accused of is being
  lightweight!  You might not be too popular if a box with limited
  memory starts thrashing just because you wanted to edit a file.  If
  twenty users all run emacs on a central server, it crawls.  If
  they run emacs locally, there is no problem.

In contrast, using ange-ftp (or tramp) requires one download to read
the file, you work locally in an emacs environment tailored exactly to
your preferences, independent of the network, and then upload the
finished file.

FWIW, I work both ways.  I'm a developer, and for most of my work, I
use emacs running remotely on the development box using X.  This gives
me access to compile & friends.  For everything else, particularly
connecting to customer sites, most of which have neither emacs nor X
and where all our staff use the same login account, I use NTemacs.

If I could transparently run remote commands, I'd never use
a remote emacs.

> 
> Cygwin has a reasonable X client.

I think you mean server ;-) 

Actually, these days it's much more than reasonable, better than any
of several commercial, some very expensive, offerings I have tried.

Phil

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