I wanted to know if there was a way I can get my python script located on a shared web hosting provider to read the contents of a folder on my desktop and list out the contents?
Can this be done using tempfiles?
A:
Unless your desktop computer has a public, accessible IP, neither your app running on a shared web hosting provider, nor any other app and host on the internet, can get information from your desktop computer. Does your desktop computer fall within the tiny minority that does have such a public, accessible IP?
If not, and if you're willing to run the obvious risks involved of course, you can try turning the (probably dynamically assigned) IP address that your ISP gives you into a resolvable domain name, by working with such DNS providers as DynDNS -- it can be done for free.
Once you're past the hurdle of public accessibility, you need to run on your computer some server that can respond to properly authenticated requests by supplying the information you desire. For example, you could run a web server such as Apache (which is powerful indeed but perhaps a bit hard for you to set up), or the like -- and a custom app on top of it to check authentication and provide the specific information you want to make available.
If you have no privacy worry (i.e., you don't mind that any hacker in the world can look at that folder's contents), you can skip the authentication, which is the really delicate and potentially fragile part (given that there's really no way for your app, running on a shared web hosting provider, to hold "secrets" very effectively).
If you can clarify each of these issues, then we can help pinpoint the best approach (what to install and how on both your desktop computer, and that shared web hosting provider).
Alex Martelli
2010-05-28 01:21:30
+1
A:
Server-side web scripts have no access to the client other than through requests. If you can somehow break through the browser's protection settings to get JavaScript, Java, or Flash to read the contents of the client then you stand a fighting chance. But doing so will make many people angry and is generally considered a bad idea.
Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams
2010-05-28 01:23:23
But is it possible that the client can give me access?What if the client transferred the file to a temporary folder my script makes?
Ali
2010-05-28 01:35:49
You can use any file the client sends to your server.
Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams
2010-05-28 01:47:20
The thing is that I just want to display the file name and size. If the client uploads the entire file to my server it will use my bandwidth and storage. If the client POSTs to my server, can I use cgi.fieldstorage() to get some information and not have to store the whole file on my server?
Ali
2010-05-28 01:53:11