zlib integration (Was: new RFB viewer for unix)

[Ingecom - SERRE Jean-Christophe]

Adam Tauno Williams <adam "at" morrison-ind.com> wrote:
> 
> >> Looks great.  Any chance you could add zlib compression to your todo
> >> list?  We've found that very handy over WAN's.
> > ZLib compression isn't part of the official VNC RFB protocol yet, which is
> > likely why his viewer doesn't support it, but it is easily added by using
> > either SSH (directions on the VNC website, look in the FAQ) or by using
> > Zebedee:
> 
> I understand that.  But using Zebedee or something like it adds complexity (yet
> another layer) and more software that most be on the "remote" machine over which
> we/I may not have direct control.  Installing VNC is quite simple.  The user can
> understand what it is for, what Zebedee does is more "confusing".  This is not
> to 'dis Zebedee, it works great, and I have used it.
>
> > Requires no code changes to VNC, no downloading of unofficial patches or
> > execs, and it's very simple to set up (much simpler than SSH).  It even
> > provides encryption too.  And it's open source.
> 
> We have tested zlib enabled VNC to un-enabled VNC servers/clients and it
> provides no interoperability issues.  My suggestion is that it would be nice to
> have it in this stellar RFB client.

I completely second this. I once had to troubleshoot in emergency a
server from a location with a slow line, and all it took me was to
download the 240KB vncviewer+zlib standalone Win32 binary before
operating -- the full VNC magic at work.

It would have been much more time and trouble if I had had to also
download, install (on someone else's computer!) and setup SSH or ZeBeDee
beforehand -- I don't even want to think about downloading the 10MB
PCAnywhere distrib.

Also, as it seems to me, zlib is an almost separate layer added to VNC,
so it could probably be officially integrated into the ATT source
wrapped into ifdef statements, so that it would remain possible to
compile zlib-enabled or no-zlib binaries at will w/o any recoding (for
people really insisting on keeping the client as thin as possible).

-- 
JCS - Jean-Christophe SERRE - INGECOM France - +33 (0)1.48.34.12.34

Le Titanic a finalement iti couli par le seul truc insubmersible
viritable sur notre planhte, un gros glagon. Le Titanic pouvait pas
faire face ` de l'eau trop froide. (Alain Turgeon)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, send a message with the line: unsubscribe vnc-list
to majordomo "at" uk.research.att.com
See also: http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc/intouch.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------