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Build An Opensource Dropbox Clone

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Re: Build An Opensource Dropbox Clone

#31

Post by brlewis »

dododo wrote: post #4

lsyncd does the brunt of the work. it uses inotify, which is a facility of the linux kernel, to tell which files should be copied. but i think there is a problem. inotify is not guaranteed to see every file system access. in fact, it often misses them when the file system is busy because there is an upper bound upon the number of inotify events that can be queued, set in /proc/sys/fs/inotify/max_queued_events. i.e.,…

I would guess Dropbox has this same problem on Linux, though I can't say with certainty. What I can say with certainty is that they're thinking about the problem.

As is often the case, you learn a lot about a company through its jobs page. Their latest challenge for applicants looks very much like this problem.

Re: Build An Opensource Dropbox Clone

#32

Post by stevelosh »

telemachos wrote: post #28

This is an off-topic short rant. Vote as you like (obvious enough), but skip reading this if you want on-topic discussion. Shoot me if this is how the web is heading. (Recent browsing suggests maybe it is...) We get not only the insufferable "bottom bar" (is there a standard name for those yet?), but also a "top bar", a hover "Click Here to Share" box and a pop-up "Learn More, Instantly" box (not to mention the gener…

I activated Safari Reader as soon as I saw those walls of 12px text, so I had no idea what you were talking about until I went back and let the page finish loading.

"Foul" is not a strong enough word for that. Maybe "vile" is better?

Re: Build An Opensource Dropbox Clone

#33

Post by wrs »

xxpor wrote: post #5

I don't understand why dropbox doesn't open source their client. Their business isn't built off of their technology, which, while nice, isn't exactly novel. They make their money from selling storage. Open sourcing their client doesn't change the fundamental fact people need the space to store stuff.

I've been involved in a few consumer-oriented file synchronization projects, and I can assure you that the client technology is not at all simple or easy. Consider that all existing applications have no idea that you're changing the semantics of the filesystem, but you have to make them act in a way that makes sense to the end user (not a filesystem expert). Not to mention all the little issues of conflicts, deletion, renaming, crazy stuff that apps do for "atomic save", and on and on.

It's a combination of having to understand app-filesystem interactions as well as user expectations, both of which are largely undocumented and unspoken -- but if you mess with either in the slightest way, somebody will freak out.

Re: Build An Opensource Dropbox Clone

#34

Post by samstokes »

telemachos wrote: post #28

This is an off-topic short rant. Vote as you like (obvious enough), but skip reading this if you want on-topic discussion. Shoot me if this is how the web is heading. (Recent browsing suggests maybe it is...) We get not only the insufferable "bottom bar" (is there a standard name for those yet?), but also a "top bar", a hover "Click Here to Share" box and a pop-up "Learn More, Instantly" box (not to mention the gener…

Those bars are even more irritating on a mobile device. The fixed height and position means they obscure half of the actual content and you can't scroll away from them. Do not want.

Re: Build An Opensource Dropbox Clone

#35

Post by larelli »

aidanf wrote: post #26
tommynazareth wrote: post #3

I don't plan on ditching Dropbox, but I'm definitely interested in having a similar sort of automatic backup with diffs that I can host myself. This looks like it might be an option. Does anyone else handle this in a different way?

I've used Unison ( http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~bcpierce/unison/ ) to get a dropbox type setup running across several machines.

I've thought about that as well. Could you give some details on the topology used? Did you run unison in automatic mode via cron?

Re: Build An Opensource Dropbox Clone

#36

Post by Groxx »

telemachos wrote: post #28

This is an off-topic short rant. Vote as you like (obvious enough), but skip reading this if you want on-topic discussion. Shoot me if this is how the web is heading. (Recent browsing suggests maybe it is...) We get not only the insufferable "bottom bar" (is there a standard name for those yet?), but also a "top bar", a hover "Click Here to Share" box and a pop-up "Learn More, Instantly" box (not to mention the gener…

I think I'll call them "Mercuries", now that I've thought about it (get it? floating footers!).

Re: Build An Opensource Dropbox Clone

#37

Post by w1ntermute »

telemachos wrote: post #28

This is an off-topic short rant. Vote as you like (obvious enough), but skip reading this if you want on-topic discussion. Shoot me if this is how the web is heading. (Recent browsing suggests maybe it is...) We get not only the insufferable "bottom bar" (is there a standard name for those yet?), but also a "top bar", a hover "Click Here to Share" box and a pop-up "Learn More, Instantly" box (not to mention the gener…

Add the following to your hosts file:

  # Web toolbars/widgets
  127.0.0.1       wibiya.com
  127.0.0.1       cdn.wibiya.com
  127.0.0.1       apture.com
  127.0.0.1       www.apture.com
  127.0.0.1       cim.meebo.com
In this case, the top toolbar is from Apture and the bottom from Wibiya.

Re: Build An Opensource Dropbox Clone

#38

Post by [deleted] »

stevelosh wrote: post #32
telemachos wrote: post #28

This is an off-topic short rant. Vote as you like (obvious enough), but skip reading this if you want on-topic discussion. Shoot me if this is how the web is heading. (Recent browsing suggests maybe it is...) We get not only the insufferable "bottom bar" (is there a standard name for those yet?), but also a "top bar", a hover "Click Here to Share" box and a pop-up "Learn More, Instantly" box (not to mention the gener…

I activated Safari Reader as soon as I saw those walls of 12px text, so I had no idea what you were talking about until I went back and let the page finish loading. "Foul" is not a strong enough word for that. Maybe "vile" is better?

[deleted]

Re: Build An Opensource Dropbox Clone

#39

Post by huhtenberg »

wrs wrote: post #33
xxpor wrote: post #5

I don't understand why dropbox doesn't open source their client. Their business isn't built off of their technology, which, while nice, isn't exactly novel. They make their money from selling storage. Open sourcing their client doesn't change the fundamental fact people need the space to store stuff.

I've been involved in a few consumer-oriented file synchronization projects, and I can assure you that the client technology is not at all simple or easy. Consider that all existing applications have no idea that you're changing the semantics of the filesystem, but you have to make them act in a way that makes sense to the end user (not a filesystem expert). Not to mention all the little issues of conflicts, deletion…

> crazy stuff that apps do for "atomic save"

Care for an example?

Re: Build An Opensource Dropbox Clone

#40

Post by telemachos »

w1ntermute wrote: post #37
telemachos wrote: post #28

This is an off-topic short rant. Vote as you like (obvious enough), but skip reading this if you want on-topic discussion. Shoot me if this is how the web is heading. (Recent browsing suggests maybe it is...) We get not only the insufferable "bottom bar" (is there a standard name for those yet?), but also a "top bar", a hover "Click Here to Share" box and a pop-up "Learn More, Instantly" box (not to mention the gener…

Add the following to your hosts file: # Web toolbars/widgets 127.0.0.1 wibiya.com 127.0.0.1 cdn.wibiya.com 127.0.0.1 apture.com 127.0.0.1 www.apture.com 127.0.0.1 cim.meebo.com In this case, the top toolbar is from Apture and the bottom from Wibiya.

Thanks for taking the time to track these down. (I love a rant with a happy ending.)
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