gnome-vfs-obexftp 0.4

It hasn't been long since the last gnome-vfs-obexftp release, but I thought it'd be good to get these fixes out before undertaking more invasive development. The new version is available from:

http://download.gnome.org/sources/gnome-vfs-obexftp/0.4/

The highlights of this release are:

  • If the phone does not provide free space values in the OBEX capability object, do not report this as zero free space. This fixes Nautilus file copy behaviour on a number of Sony Ericsson phones.
  • Fix date parsing when the phone returns UTC timestamps in the folder listings.
  • Add some tests for the capability object and folder listing XML parsers. Currently has sample data for Nokia 6230, Motorola KRZR K1, and Sony K800i, Z530i and Z710i phones.

These fixes should improve the user experience for owners of some Sony Ericsson phones by letting them copy files to the phone, rather than Nautilus just telling them that there is no free space. Unfortunately, if there isn't enough free space you'll get an error part way through the copy. This is the best that can be done with the information provided by the phone.

Test Suite

As noted in the third point, I've started to build up a collection of capability and folder listing XML documents produced by various phone models. This serves a dual purpose:

  1. Ensure that the capability object and folder listing XML parsers don't regress between releases. It is impractical for me to test gnome-vfs-obexftp against all these phone models since I don't have the hardware or time.
  2. Give an idea of what information the different phone models provide, which should be useful when planning new features.

If you have an OBEX FTP capable phone that is not already in the test suite, it'd be useful if you could collect the data and file a bug. The information can be collected using the command line "obexftp" program (part of the "obexftp" package on Ubuntu). The following commands will give the capability object and root folder listing:

obexftp --bluetooth $BDADDR --capability
obexftp --bluetooth $BDADDR --list

It'd also be useful to get a listing for one or two other directories. If there is a memory card, it'd be useful to get that folder. For example:

obexftp --bluetooth $BDADDR --list "Memory card/"

It'd be most useful if the transcript of the various commands were included as an attachment. Feel free to censor personal information if you want (e.g. the phone serial number in the capability object, some non-default file names).

In particular, I wouldn't mind getting information on phones with brands other than than Nokia or Sony to see what info they provide.

Comments:

Lasse Bigum -

I have a Motorola RAZR V3 that I will try to remember to get the data from when I get the time.

Mikko Ohtamaa -

Obexftp does not work with my Nokia E70 phone very well. Version 0.2 was able to open the phone in Nautilus, but looks like version 0.4 doesn't do anything when I click my phone icon in obex://.

1. How do I enable debug output for obexftp?

2. How do I enable debug output for Bluetooth connection?

I think I can trace down the issue if you can provide me some hints how to start.

James Henstridge -

Mikko: please file a bug, and I'll walk you through a few things you could do to help identify the problem.

Joel -

Hello,

I have a nokia 6111, and I'm running ubuntu gutsy, and I can't work out how to make the two pair. Any advice?

Thanks.