Because scp can't do directory listings, and programs that are set up to use FTP to do an entire interactive session can't use that single session to get the files they need.
If you're working with a system that's currently using FTP, you often can't just drop in scp. Time is money, and rewriting your application to use ssh/scp to do what you were previously using FTP for doesn't make much sense.
The reality is that SFTP is poorly done. The command incompatibility doesn't make sense in many ways, there are many features that could be easily implemented that would make it much more capable, and its terrible handling of output makes scripted use a real pain. I'm not saying it's useless, I'm saying that it's surprising that it's so mediocre considering how great the rest of the OpenSSH project is.
Perhaps Theo has something against SFTP? It would make sense, as he's such a huge douche that I could see him getting in the way.
Jeffrey.
On Fri, May 9, 2008 at 11:10 PM, Hal Duston [email protected] wrote:
Why not just use SCP? That's what I encouraged the Sprint groups I worked with to use. SFTP is designed for interactive use, and SCP is designed for scripted use. Otherwise they both run over the SSH protocol, and indeed are part of the OpenSSH package.