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authorKatolaZ <katolaz@freaknet.org>2018-07-19 15:34:17 +0100
committerKatolaZ <katolaz@freaknet.org>2018-07-19 15:34:17 +0100
commit464cedb474557f28b467164ae08bcb04a2d41ab3 (patch)
treec5e581c73d28ca702308e95e61efc23b394a248d /README.md
parent1c2336891610d7ff1077e4621e35285750d90e19 (diff)
added support for different netcat versions
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@@ -9,13 +9,41 @@ You start the server using:
$ ./gosher [<PORT> [<GOPHERDIR>]
If PORT is not specified, it will bind on port 70. If GOPHERDIR is not
-provided, it defaults to "./".
+provided, it defaults to "./". Before starting `gosher` you might need
+to modify the values of the variables `NETCAT` and `STYLE` in `gosher`
+(see "Which netca?" below).
If the selector is a directory, `gosher` will look for a file named
`gophermap` to render the submenu. If a `gophermap` does not exist,
`gosher` looks for the index.gph gopherfile in the folder and, if it
exists, renders it as a gophermap.
+## Which netcat?
+
+There are currently several different implementations of `netcat`, and
+each of them works in a slightly different way and/or offers a different
+set of options. For the sake of using `gosher`, the main issue is
+whether your `netcat` implementation does exit or not when its standard
+input gets closed. Notably, the original `netcat` implementation by
+hobbit@avian.org does **not** exit, while other common implementations
+(OpenBSD `netcat`, `ncat` from the nmap project, and GNU `netcat`). The
+current version of `gosher` can work with different implementations of
+`netcat`, provided that the variable `NETCAT` points to the `netcat`
+version you want to use, and that the variable `STYLE` in `gosher` is set
+correctly. Please check below what is the recommended combination for
+your version of `netcat`:
+
+ +----------------+--------+
+ | netcat version | STYLE |
+ +----------------+--------+
+ | traditional | 'fork' |
+ +----------------+--------+
+ | OpenBSD | 'pipe' |
+ +----------------+--------+
+ | ncat | 'pipe' |
+ +----------------+--------+
+
+
## Why `gosher`?
Just for fun. There are only a few TCP/IP application protocols left