MX-18.2 package request: "LAN-Share" (cross-platform tool for simple LAN transfer of files)

[MX-16_fan]

Dear packaging team,

currently the MX-18.2 ecosystem is missing a simple solution for sending and receiving files within a LAN which would be both easy to set up and generally acceptable :

• The Avahi-based Giver project has been abandoned, and the project's website has been deleted (see https://code.google.com/archive/p/giver/). Not in MX-18.2's (Debian's) repos anyway.
• Dukto hasn't received any updates in four years, and disrespects the users' privacy (cf. viewtopic.php?p=419924#p419924 for the latter).
• Transfer On LAN hasn't received any updates in six years, and and the project's website has been deleted (see https://code.google.com/archive/p/transfer-on-lan/). Not in MX-18.2's (Debian's) repos anyway.
• NitroShare hasn't received updates in more than three years, and when testing it, I couldn't install it on an extremely standard Thinkpad running MS Windows 10. Besides, its graphical representation was grotesque. Low version number.

Hence I'd love to see LAN Share in the MX Test Repo. LAN Share seems to be the only solution currently available that could be both functional and generally acceptable. It works on Linux-based systems and on MS-Windows-based systems, and has been recommended by OMGUbuntu!:

... no third-party servers, no cloud services, and no complicated protocol arrangements involved.

Simply install the app on each computer you want to use, use the “Send” menu to select the file(s) or folder(s) you want to send, and select the ‘receiver’ computer from the list.

The only hard requirement is that both computers are on the same local network or Wi-Fi connection.

(...) Part of why I like this app enough to write about it is the simple, straight-forward interface. (...) What I really appreciate is that files can be transferred between machines running different operating systems.


(https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2018/05/tra ... fi-network)

Description:

LAN Share is a cross platform local area network file transfer application, built using Qt GUI framework. It can be used to transfer a whole folder, one or more files, large or small immediatelly without any additional configuration.


Features

* Send one or more files
* Send folder
* Send to multiple receiver at the same time
* Cancel, pause and resume operations while transfering

Usage

* Computer has to be connected to a local area network (wired or wireless)
* Run the application in both sender and receiver
* Send the file/folder by, select Send (files or folder) then -> select receiver in the 'Select Receiver' dialog, finally click 'Send'
* File/folder would automatically received by the receiver

(...)

License

* GPLv3


(https://github.com/abdularis/LAN-Share)

The version number of the most current version is 1.2.1, so this looks like a serious, non-beta version project that could be worth being tested thoroughly.

Source code is here: https://github.com/abdularis/LAN-Share/ ... 2.1.tar.gz. There's a debianization example available here: https://github.com/abdularis/LAN-Share/ ... _amd64.deb. The Windows version installs and starts without issues.



Greetings, and thanks in advance for looking into this, Joe

[oops]

... Have you tried droopy ?

[m_pav]

Sounds like a lot of hullabaloo for simple operation. MX Linux comes with samba, the Apple/Unix service to enable a cross-platform tool to access and work with Windows networks. We also have a front end graphical tool, the "Samba Server Configuration" to assist with the setup of your Linux host, simply type samba into your menu and it will come up and enable you to create the users and the shares on your machine.

The most imperative thing to do first is to set up the users on the local system, failure to do so will cause some confusion. Do that first in the preferences menu, then set up the server settings where you will create your shares and the users will become evident there. Once samba is configured, you only have to use Thunar File manager to browse shares on a windows machine and pull or push whatever you want, no need for additional third-party cruft.

That's all you have to do on MX Linux, however, I personally find it easier to edit a text file, /etc/samba/smb.conf to create the shares. Its default size contains over 230 lines of text, but that's mostly annotations, I trim it down using testparm and it's left with only 37 lines, 30 of which are the actual configuration options.

In both cases, there is extensive documentation both on your system and on the net.

Below is a default /etc/samba/smb.conf file that has been testparm trimmed so you can see the simplicity. Compare it with the same file on your system, you'll soon appreciate how really simple samba is.

Code: Select all

# Global parameters
[global]
	log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m
	max log size = 1000
	syslog = 0
	panic action = /usr/share/samba/panic-action %d
	usershare allow guests = Yes
	map to guest = Bad User
	obey pam restrictions = Yes
	pam password change = Yes
	passwd chat = *Enter\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *Retype\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *password\supdated\ssuccessfully* .
	passwd program = /usr/bin/passwd %u
	server role = standalone server
	unix password sync = Yes
	dns proxy = No
;	idmap config * : backend = tdb


[homes]
	comment = Home Directories
	browseable = No
	create mask = 0700
	directory mask = 0700
	valid users = %S


[printers]
	comment = All Printers
	path = /var/spool/samba
	browseable = No
	printable = Yes
	create mask = 0700


[print$]
	comment = Printer Drivers
	path = /var/lib/samba/printers

[MX-16_fan]

@oops:

... Have you tried droopy ?

No:

- Inactive project.
- No GUI.
- "Mini Web server" = potential security issue.


Greetings, Joe

[Stevo]

Here's a couple MX 17 packages, if you can test to see if they work. Ignore the dbgsym packages and just install the "lanshare" deb for your architecture.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_ld8o ... AUREe6DYwJ

BTW, a finished deb isn't too much help in actually building a proper deb from source. It's kind of like trying to determine what an animal looked like when all you have is a sausage made from its meat.

[Jerry3904]

That's a pretty *tasteless* analogy...

[asqwerth]

But it was clear and understandable, conveying its meaning well .

[MX-16_fan]

@Stevo:

Here's a couple MX 17 packages, if you can test to see if they work. Ignore the dbgsym packages and just install the "lanshare" deb for your architecture.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_ld8o ... AUREe6DYwJ

Thanks so much, Stevo!

Installs without issues, and works like a charm, at lightning-fast speed.

Tested using MX-18.1 in connection with MS Windows 10.


Short comments:

1. At first, the MS Windows 10 system I used for cross-platform testing couldn't receive any files. I had a closer look at this and noticed that this was due to a faulty entry in the Windows system's onboard firewall's exception rules list. I saw that there were two entries, both named "lanshare". One of them permitted access when connected to what Windows calls "private" networks. The other one (second line) permitted access when connected to "public" networks. This apparently irritated LAN-Share and/or the system. My fix was to delete the second entry and to have both checkboxes ("private" and "public") checked at the remaining entry. I guess the LAN-Share people would have to improve the installer with regard to Windows 10.
2. Lintian remarked that the manpage is missing. Don't know if there is any that would ship with the the source code. Did you see any manpage?
3. In either direction, the file generation and modification times and dates are changed to download times and dates. In a professional workflow this is like to generate confusion. Would this have to be improved in LAN-Share itself? (A not-so-comfortable workaround would be to put files into archives before sending them.)

All in all, IMHO LAN-Share is ready to go the MX Test Repo, and might turn out to be an extremely valuable tool.

BTW, a finished deb isn't too much help in actually building a proper deb from source. (...)

Sorry. I had remembered your posting here: viewtopic.php?p=411100#p411100, and had wrongfully assumed that you would generally like to see a ready-made *.deb package before packaging anything yourself.

In which cases are *.deb packages of any use for you repo men, and in which cases are they not?




Greetings, and a nice weekend to all of you, Joe

[Stevo]

Some developers including a manpage with their original source, and some don't, in which case the Debian packager is supposed to write one and include it. But I really am not familiar with how to use that program, so I didn't. I looked at the Arch AUR version, and it also doesn't have a man page for me to copy.

As for a finished deb, sometimes I can take it apart and take stuff from it, like if whoever packaged it added a man page, or use their description so I don't have to type it myself, or look at the package's dependencies to give me an idea of the build-dependencies that I need to build it.

[MX-16_fan]

@Stevo:

(...) In either direction, the file generation and modification times and dates are changed to download times and dates. In a professional workflow this is like to generate confusion. Would this have to be improved in LAN-Share itself? (...)

Greetings, and thanks in advance for your answer, Joe