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15.2. Back Ends for GVFS
There is a number of back ends in
GVFS, which provide access to a specific type of resource. The following is a list of available GVFS back ends and their specifications:
Table 15.1. Available Back Ends
| Back end | Description |
|---|---|
| afc | Similar to MTP (Media Transfer Protocol), exposes files on your Apple iDevice (connected through USB). |
| afp | Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) client to access file services of Mac operation system X and original Mac operation system. |
| archive | Handles various archiving files (ZIP, TAR) in read-only way. |
| burn | A virtual back end used by burning applications as a temporary storage for new CD/DVD/BD medium contents. |
| cdda | Exposes Audio CD through separate Waveform Audio File Format (WAV) files. |
| computer | Virtual back end consolidating active mounts and physical volumes. Acts similarly to a signpost. Previously used by Nautilus for its Computer view. |
| dav, davs | WebDAV client, including secure variant. Authentication is possible only during mount, does not support later re-authentication on per-folder basis. |
| dns-sd | DNS Service Discovery – Avahi client, used during network browsing, forms persistent URIs to discovered services. |
| ftp | A fully featured FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client, without FTPS support for the time being. Supports passive transfers by default. |
| gphoto2 | A Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP) client to access your camera attached by USB or FireWire. |
| http | Handles all HTTP requests; useful for easy downloading files from web in client applications. |
| locatest | Simple testing back end proxying file:/// URI.; with error injection support. |
| mtp | Media Transfer Protocol back end for accessing media player and smart phones memory. |
| network | For browsing the network, showing nearby Avahi and Samba servers. |
| obexftp | A Bluetooth client. |
| recent | A back end used in GtkFileChooser to list recent files used by GNOME applications. |
| sftp | A fully-featured SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) client. |
| smb | Access Samba and Windows shares. |
| trash | A trash back end which allows to restore deleted files. |
Note
Some back ends are packaged separately and not installed by default. For installing additional back ends, use the
yum package manager.
To use services of a back end, an URI string must be formed. This string is a basic identifier used in
GVFS, which carries all necessary information needed for unique identification, such as type of service (back end ID), absolute path and user name if needed. You can see this information in the Nautilus address bar and GTK+ open or save file dialogs.
The example below is a very basic form of the URI string and points to a root directory (/) of the FTP (File Transfer Protocol) server running at ftp.myserver.net domain:
Example 15.1. URI String Pointing to the Root Directory
ftp://ftp.myserver.net/
The following example points to a text file in a specified path using authentication:
Example 15.2. URI String Pointing to a Text File
ssh://joe@ftp.myserver.net/home/joe/todo.txt
