@AmiKit
EDIT: After some thought I realised that syncing PC & Amiga via web space would require FolderSync2 running on Windows (and with a virtual FTP drive ala FTP Mount), so no that would not work. If it was between two Amigas (via web space), then it might work.

But if you set-up an FTP server on your Windows PC, like me, then you can easily sync between Windows & Amiga. An FTP server is really quite easy to create. While I use the FTP server locally, I could (in principle) make it accessible over the internet, and it would still work exactly the same way.

Last edited by ChrisH on 28-Mar-2009 at 10:57 AM.

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@Plaz
Yes, the whole point is that FolderSync2 handles sub-folders. I actually synchronise a whole partition between OS4 & Windows .

It also handles (to a certain degree) renaming & moving of files, which would otherwise require deletion & very slow re-copying of files.

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@Hans
As I've tried to explain before, a "one-way sync" is actually just an (incremental) backup, which is a very simple & easy to do thing. But yes, it does have a "backup" mode.

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@nbache
FolderSync (1 and 2) only do a single scan of the directory tree, before deciding & performing the operations. If links may require multiple traversals, then this definitely will never happen, because it conflicts with the fundamental design/algorithm.

edit: The best I can do is allow linked files/folders to be treated like real files/folders.

Last edited by ChrisH on 28-Mar-2009 at 10:59 AM.

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@Tomppeli
The "intelligence" of FolderSync2 & SyncToy is that you can do *anything*, on both computers, without thinking about the synchronisation algorithm, because "it just works" (and warns you when it won't due to a conflict!).


Here are examples that typically cause wrong & potentially disastrous behaviour with "stupid synchronisation":

* You delete a file. (Typically this would get re-created!)

* You replace a file with one that has an older date, say from a backup. (Typically this file will be overwritten by the previous one.)

* You update the same file on both computers. (Typically the one with the newest time stamp overwrites the other one.)

* You update a file on one computer & delete it on the other. (EDIT: The updated file could be deleted, or the deleted file could be replaced, depending on algorithm.)

* You update a file on the "wrong" computer. (With a really stupid one-way "sync", this file would get overwritten by the older version.)


FolderSync also has the advantage that it detects file renames & moves (where possible), and does that instead of a slow delete + copy.

Last edited by ChrisH on 29-Mar-2009 at 12:01 PM.
Last edited by ChrisH on 28-Mar-2009 at 08:49 AM.
Last edited by ChrisH on 28-Mar-2009 at 08:48 AM.
Last edited by ChrisH on 28-Mar-2009 at 08:45 AM.

_________________
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It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue...

@ChrisH

Quote:

EDIT: After some thought I realised that syncing PC & Amiga via web space would require FolderSync2 running on Windows (and with a virtual FTP drive ala FTP Mount), so no that would not work. If it was between two Amigas (via web space), then it might work.

yeah, you're right actually. That is something I did not realize...

Quote:

But if you set-up an FTP server on your Windows PC, like me, then you can easily sync between Windows & Amiga. An FTP server is really quite easy to create. While I use the FTP server locally, I could (in principle) make it accessible over the internet, and it would still work exactly the same way.

Yes, after some thought the one-way sync is the only one I need, actually! It's because the most of the time I browse the net with firefox. And when I download something for OS4 it would be great if it would have appeared in OS4 too - as soon as I switch the A1 on.

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Modern Retro Experience

I only need 1-way sync in my application.

Basically, 1 drive is the "real drive".

The other drive is just a "backup drive"

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Total Chaos AGA

@ChrisH

Your small program look very useful specially when you donwload pics files from Internet... cars, girls, landscapes, etc., and in theory with your program you can know the files that there are in one or other machine, I'l wait it for testing.

@Templario
There seems enough potential interest to at least make it worth polishing & writing some docs. But just to avoid anyone having high expectations, it is still a small program!

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I had hopes to make a release this weekend, but unfortunately my Sam440's Seagate HD has decided to lock-up (as described here). Good news is that it seems Seagate should be able to fix it, but it could take a couple of weeks...

I do have the latest version of FolderSync2's code synced with my Windows PC, but I am missing most of the docs I spent ages writing, and I would rather not have to write it again.

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@ChrisH

Nice tool. I'll get a copy even if I don't use it a lot.

FYI, the features that would interest me are:
- rsync-like copy (only changes are transfered)
- work over TCP. Wonderful for syncing different machines
- next to zero installation (rsync is a mess to install )

Last edited by elwood on 24-Apr-2009 at 10:43 PM.

_________________
Philippe 'Elwood' Ferrucci
Sam460 1.10 Ghz
AmigaOS 4 betatester
Amiga Translator Organisation

@ChrisH

I have two uA1c Amigas. One is my primary computer and the other is a backup that I also take to our local club meetings. I would find this program very useful to ensure that my second Amiga is up to date.

@elwood Quote:

- work over TCP. Wonderful for syncing different machines

It works well over FTP, using FTP Mount. It's possible I might look at a more direct TCP/IP method, but this isn't a pressing need...

Quote:

- rsync-like copy (only changes are transfered)

FolderSync only transfers the changed *files* (and avoids that for trivial changes like renaming or changing the protection bits).

However, if you were asking for (having read about RSync) the ability to only send the *parts* of a file that have changed, I don't think that is likely to happen, because it would require an active programs on both machines, somehow co-operating. Might happen if I ever wrote a more direct TCP/IP method.

Plus I would be worried (rightly or not) about changed data blocks sometimes happening to have the same hash!

Quote:

- next to zero installation (rsync is a mess to install )

Copy FolderSync2 to your Sys:C folder (or somewhere else in your path), and you are basically done!

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@ChrisH

Quote:

Quote: @nbache Yes, there is a "backup mode", which allows you to force one folder to become the master. But I only added it because I needed it during development, and do not expect it to be needed, unless there are some synchronisation bugs. But if you will ONLY be using the "backup mode", then you might as well just use a normal (incremental) backup program. It will probably be more efficient & easier to use.

After I read your FAQ, my first thought was about "Can I only modify one folder?".
I don't think this feature is so much useless as you suggest. Using one machine as master and having mirror on the second computer (or just second disk) which is always "ready to use" (no need for real [incremental] backup program) is good idea and i definitely beg for it.

Even better would be have some scheduling included, so there would be some commodity running in the background and when the set time come, it check if both computers are ready (running) and execute the sync program to do the job.

This is another story but just few days ago harddisk in my working computer died quite unexpectedly and my classic backup was quite old, not much fun, you can imagine and since that day I am using just above inscribed one way sync backup method every two days and sleep much better now...

Last edited by ExiE on 25-Apr-2009 at 11:09 AM.
Last edited by ExiE on 25-Apr-2009 at 11:08 AM.

@ChrisH

Quote:

However, if you were asking for (having read about RSync) the ability to only send the *parts* of a file that have changed, I don't think that is likely to happen, because it would require an active programs on both machines, somehow co-operating. Might happen if I ever wrote a more direct TCP/IP method.

Exactly. This is very important when you need to transfer a lot or through a slow connection.
Such program would be useful for companies. I could even make my company buy one from you.

_________________
Philippe 'Elwood' Ferrucci
Sam460 1.10 Ghz
AmigaOS 4 betatester
Amiga Translator Organisation

OK, 3 weeks later than I planned, but the first beta of FolderSync2 is now available for download from here:
cshandley.co.uk/foldersync2/FolderSync2_090517_beta.lha
cshandley.co.uk/foldersync2/FolderSync2_090517_beta.zip
(old links removed)

It comes with executables for OS3, OS4 & AROS. Both archives are identical, but AROS users may find the ZIP one easier to unarchive. Please note that the included (and very useful) "helper programs" will not work on AROS, due to limitations in it's AmigaDOS scripting support.

I am especially interested to know if it works on an A1-SE machine, so please let me know if you have problems or not.

Last edited by ChrisH on 23-May-2009 at 09:16 AM.

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@ChrisH

What's the difference between EasyBackup2 and EasyFolderSync2? (yes, I read the documentation)

_________________
Philippe 'Elwood' Ferrucci
Sam460 1.10 Ghz
AmigaOS 4 betatester
Amiga Translator Organisation

@elwood
EasyBackup2 performs a (one-way) backup, while EasyFolderSync2 performs a (two-way) synchronisation.

As the manual says (perhaps too briefly) synchronisation is BI-DIRECTIONAL, such that changes on both folders (computers) get updated at the same time. This is the main purpose of FolderSync2 - however there is also a backup mode, which some people may find useful.

Last edited by ChrisH on 17-May-2009 at 07:51 PM.

_________________
Author of the PortablE programming language.
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New beta version released, which fixes bugs that prevented new synchronisations/backups with FTP Mount from working:
cshandley.co.uk/foldersync2/FolderSync2_090523_beta.lha
cshandley.co.uk/foldersync2/FolderSync2_090523_beta.zip
(old links removed)

It comes with executables for OS3, OS4 & AROS. Both archives are identical, but AROS users may find the ZIP one easier to unarchive. Please note that the included (and very useful) "helper programs" will not work on AROS, due to limitations in it's AmigaDOS scripting support.

Last edited by ChrisH on 29-May-2009 at 11:12 PM.
Last edited by ChrisH on 23-May-2009 at 10:28 AM.

_________________
Author of the PortablE programming language.
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue...

New beta version released, which now comes with a Windows version:
cshandley.co.uk/foldersync2/FolderSync2_090529_beta.lha
cshandley.co.uk/foldersync2/FolderSync2_090529_beta.zip
(old links removed)

The Windows version is very handy, because you can run FolderSCAN2 on the Windows side in SCAN mode, before syncing on the Amiga side via FTP Mount, and then finally run FolderSCAN2 on the Windows side again (in UPDATE mode).

Last edited by ChrisH on 04-Jun-2009 at 08:30 PM.
Last edited by ChrisH on 29-May-2009 at 11:16 PM.

_________________
Author of the PortablE programming language.
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue...