RFC/Setting Permissions via Rev or Metacard

[Sivakatirswami]

Aloha all from beautiful Kauai (where it is raining hard today, helping us
keep our reputation for the most rainfall in the world)...

Here's the simple question:
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Is there a way to read permissions and set permissions of a remote text file
over a LAN to files served from volumes on a MACOSX server, from within
Metacard or Revolution.

The goal, is obviously, to implement some kind of RFC, revision file
control.
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THE CONTEXT/PROJECT:

To create an interface where people who are listening to audio or watching a
video file can also collaboratively contribute to cataloging, transcribing,
adding key words to some kind of "record" that is "tied" (by file name) to
the media being screened/studied.

I already have the interface  for the user to listen to files with facile
directory/navigation tools, and controls for moving back and forth easily as
well as timers etc. to transcribe into a field below the controls...all of
which is complete...actually it started in Supercard and we have been using
it for about 5  years for all kinds of things.. and I just ported it to
Metacard/Revolution recently (would this be useful to anyone else?). Now we
would like to expand this for multi-user collaboration as follows:

a) have the user open an audio-video file (usually a lecture, or discourse
of some kind, an interview sent from one of our magazine correspondents in
another country, raw video footage etc.) then at the same time

b)  the interface transparently loads a "record" from the remote server
(actually a MAC OSX server on our LAN, but, in the future a SPARC SOLARIS in
Honolulu which will allow for international collaboration on such projects)

 This "record" is presently conceived of very simply as a simple text file
with delimiters  ("|") for fields, one file  per audio. When the user opens
the audio the text file is loaded into  the fields giving the appearance of
a dbase record.

c) as they listen to the file they can make notes, pause the audio,
transcribe, add keywords, enter a new topic, the interface can record the
time on the "tape" where references are made to a newly entered topic, then
later, others can access this topic instantly by clicking on the topic and
it will take them to that point in the sound file.

d) The only problem is two people listening to the same file at the same
time --then ones needs to be able to set a lock on the text file that
represents that the "record is in use,"  And dim the edit buttons, but allow
for read only. And, ideally, poll the file so that when it was unlocked the
buttons would go undimmed... doable with a send in 1 second with msg .

So, back to the original question...how can you read and set permissions? I
could do this with a raw FTP socket and use standard RFC FTP controls, but,
was hoping for a simpler method if one existed... especially for local files
on a Mac OSX network, with some clients running MAC OS9.2.2... Applescript?
But that won' be portable to team players in India or Malaysia were PC rule.

Ideas? Am also open to other strategies... ideally one could have a
"multi-user stack/server" on the server... but at this point  I don't think
MC allows for that....

Hinduism Today

Sivakatirswami
Editor's Assistant/Production Manager
katir at hindu.org 
www.HinduismToday.com, www.HimalayanAcademy.com,
www.Gurudeva.org, www.hindu.org

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