mars-nwe/TODO.md

TODO

This file collects follow-up work that is known but intentionally not part of the current patches. It is meant for project-level items that are too broad or too low-priority to keep as inline source TODO comments.

Server / NCP compatibility

Console privilege model

Current status:

• NCP 23/200 Check Console Privileges is implemented as a protocol-compatible status check.
• For now, console privileges are mapped to the existing supervisor-equivalence state computed for the connection.
• Callers with supervisor equivalence get success; other callers get 0xc6 (No Console Rights).

Follow-up:

• Add a real console-operator privilege model instead of treating console rights as identical to supervisor equivalence.
• Decide where the console privilege map should live:
  • a bindery property,
  • a server configuration option,
  • or a small explicit internal list similar to queue operator handling.
• Check how NetWare 3.x tools such as PCONSOLE, SYSCON, and console utilities expect console operators to be represented.
• Keep NCP 23/200 as a completion-code-only endpoint; only the privilege source should change.

Queue spool path case handling

Current status:

• Queue job paths can still be rebuilt from DOS/bindery path spelling such as SYS:SYSTEM/EPSON.QDR.
• On a case-sensitive Unix filesystem this can differ from the existing directory, for example system/epson.qdr.

Follow-up:

• Resolve queue job file paths case-insensitively in the queue connection/path resolver, or use the queue object's already-resolved Unix spool directory instead of rebuilding it from the DOS path.
• Avoid creating duplicate directories that differ only by case.

NCP 17/4C test coverage

Current status:

• NCP 17/4C List Relations of an Object is implemented server-side.
• Existing DOS and Linux tools do not reliably trigger it for all useful set properties such as GROUP_MEMBERS and GROUPS_I'M_IN.

Follow-up:

• Add a small direct test utility to mars-dosutils / NWTESTS that sends NCP 17/4C directly.
• Suggested test cases:
  • TESTGRP1 type 0x0002, property GROUP_MEMBERS
  • TESTGRP2 type 0x0002, property GROUP_MEMBERS
  • MARIO type 0x0001, property GROUPS_I'M_IN
  • NOPASSUSER type 0x0001, property GROUPS_I'M_IN
  • GUEST type 0x0001, property GROUPS_I'M_IN

NCP endpoint SDK documentation / stub audit

Current status:

• Several legacy NCP endpoints in src/nwconn.c are implemented only as disabled stubs, explicit 0xfb unsupported replies, or success/no-op dummies.
• The known candidates now have inline SDK-context comments so future work can start from the documented wire semantics instead of from guesswork.

Follow-up:

• Implement or deliberately reject remaining endpoint gaps after client evidence or direct protocol tests.
• Keep SDK details close to the corresponding endpoint in nwconn.c, and keep broader prioritization/status here in TODO.md.

NCP endpoint audit tracking

Current status:

• src/nwconn.c contains a mix of implemented, forwarded, partial, dummy, and intentionally unsupported NCP endpoints.
• Endpoint comments should be aligned with the Novell SDK Web documentation, SDK headers, the Rust nwserver implementation, lwared, and the existing mars_nwe admin/Pascal code where those sources cover the same call.

Follow-up:

• Keep inline TODO: comments only where endpoint behavior is incomplete, approximate, intentionally dummy/no-op, or still needs SDK layout verification.
• Mirror every real incomplete endpoint in this file so follow-up work remains visible outside the source code.
• Do not treat every return(-1) in nwconn.c as incomplete: many of those paths intentionally forward bindery/global-server work to nwbind.

NCP synchronization endpoint audit

Current status:

• The old NCP synchronization endpoint family in src/nwconn.c is now annotated with Novell SDK endpoint names.
• The existing source already marked this area as not well tested, so the comments intentionally keep that compatibility warning visible.
• NCP 0x03, 0x05, 0x06, 0x07, 0x08, 0x09, 0x0a, 0x0b, 0x0d, 0x0e, 0x1a, and 0x1e have local implementations.
• NCP 0x01 File Set Lock (old) and NCP 0x02 File Release Lock are documented in the SDK but are not implemented in MARS-NWE yet. Inline documentation and commented case/break stubs are present in src/nwconn.c.
• NCP 0x03 Log File (old) is implemented, but still belongs on the audit list because the original source already marked this old log/lock area as not well tested.
• NCP 0x04 Lock File Set (old) and NCP 0x6a Lock File Set share the current implementation. The SDK documents the old 0x04 timeout word as Lo-Hi and the newer 0x6a timeout word as Hi-Lo; MARS-NWE currently reads the shared field with GET_BE16(). This is documented inline but not changed yet.
• NCP 0x05 Release File (old) and NCP 0x07 Clear File (old) have request parsing that matches the documented old header offsets.
• NCP 0x06 Release File Set and NCP 0x08 Clear File Set are implemented, but the SDK request contains a LockFlag byte that the current code does not read. This parser difference is documented inline but not changed yet.
• NCP 0x09 Log Logical Record (old), NCP 0x0a Lock Logical Record Set (old), NCP 0x0b Clear Logical Record, and NCP 0x0c Release Logical Record have inline SDK request-layout documentation now.
• NCP 0x0d Release Logical Record Set and NCP 0x0e Clear Logical Record Set are implemented, but the SDK request contains a LockFlag byte that the current code does not read. This parser difference is documented inline but not changed yet.
• NCP 0x12 Get Volume Info with Number, NCP 0x13 Get Station Number, NCP 0x14 Get File Server Date And Time, and the NCP 0x15 message group handoff now have inline SDK request/reply layout documentation.
• NCP 0x13 Get Station Number is documented by the SDK as a three-byte StationNumber reply; MARS-NWE currently returns only the low one-byte connection number. This parser/reply difference is documented inline but not changed yet.

Follow-up:

• Decide whether NCP 0x01 and NCP 0x02 should be implemented for real old-client compatibility or should return a deliberate 0xfb unsupported completion with normalized endpoint logging.
• Verify NCP 0x03 Log File (old) against the Novell SDK request/reply layout and a real DOS requester or direct test caller.
• Decide whether the shared 0x04/0x6a parser should keep the current big-endian timeout read for both functions or special-case old 0x04 as documented Lo-Hi after direct requester evidence is available.
• Decide whether 0x06 and 0x08 should consume or ignore the documented LockFlag byte after direct requester evidence is available.
• Decide whether 0x0a should keep the current big-endian timeout read or special-case the documented old Lo-Hi byte order after direct requester evidence is available.
• Decide whether 0x0d and 0x0e should consume or ignore the documented LockFlag byte after direct requester evidence is available.
• Verify whether the current one-byte 0x13 reply is required by old clients or whether the SDK three-byte StationNumber reply should be implemented.
• Verify the implemented file/logical-record/physical-record calls against the Novell SDK request/reply layouts and a real DOS requester or direct test caller.
• Continue direct requester or NWTESTS coverage for the file, logical-record, and physical-record synchronization calls that are now wired.
• Verify timeout and error-code behavior for set-oriented locking calls against a real requester, especially where MARS-NWE currently relies on the existing underlying share implementation.

Extended volume information field mapping

Current status:

• NCP 0x16/0x33 Get Extended Volume Information returns the documented NWVolExtendedInfo reply and fills the core fields that can be derived from generic Unix filesystem statistics.
• NetWare-specific fields that MARS-NWE does not currently model are returned as zero for now instead of guessed values.

Follow-up:

• Fill additional NWVolExtendedInfo fields when reliable data is available from the backing filesystem or from MARS-NWE metadata.
• Candidate fields include suballocation, deleted-file/limbo accounting, compression counters, migration counters, EA counters, Directory Services object id, and last-modified timestamp data.
• Treat compression-related fields as real follow-up work rather than permanent zeroes; populate them only when the backing filesystem exposes trustworthy compressed-file or compressed-block accounting.

Object disk restriction fallback coverage

Current status:

• NCP 0x16/0x29 Get Object Disk Usage And Restrictions keeps the existing QUOTA_SUPPORT split.
• With quota support enabled, the endpoint is routed through nwbind so the bindery Object ID can be mapped to a Unix uid before querying the quota backend.
• Without quota support, the endpoint returns the SDK-compatible fallback: unrestricted (0x40000000) and no space in use.

Follow-up:

• Add direct tests for both build modes.
• Verify the quota-enabled path against a real Unix quota setup.
• Verify that the quota-disabled fallback remains compatible with requesters and with the WebSDK rule for invalid object IDs.

Server logging schema

Current status:

• Server logging is useful during protocol work, but output is still noisy and not formatted consistently across NCP, namespace/path mapping, AFP, bindery, file, queue, trustee, and salvage code.
• During salvage endpoint development, verbose logs are preferred over missing diagnostic information, but the messages should become easier to grep and compare across subsystems.

Follow-up:

• Normalize new server log lines toward this shape:

  <LVL4> <AREA> <DEC-CODE> <EVENT> key=value ...
  

• Use four-character levels so columns do not jump around:

  • INFO
  • DBUG
  • WARN
  • ERRR

• Put the level first, then the subsystem/function area, for example NCP, SALVAGE, AFP, MAP, BIND, TRUST, AUTH, CONN, FILE, or QUEUE.

• Use decimal/protocol-facing endpoint identifiers near the front when they are what the documentation uses, for example 87/16, 87/17, and 87/18.

• Keep exact wire values as hex key/value fields later in the same line, for example fn=0x57 sub=0x10 ns=0x00 seq=0x00000000 vol=0x0000 base=0x00000004 result=0x89ff.

• Mark missing or unimplemented endpoints with a stable UNKNOWN event, for example:

  INFO NCP 87/18 UNKNOWN fn=0x57 sub=0x12 msg="not implemented"
  INFO NCP 87/255 UNKNOWN fn=0x57 sub=0xff msg="unknown subfunction"
  INFO NCP 136 UNKNOWN fn=0x88 msg="unknown function"
  

• Prefer existing mars_nwe logging functions/macros. Do not introduce a second logging subsystem just to change the message format.

• Convert noisy areas gradually, starting with NCP function/subfunction dispatch and the salvage endpoints.

Printing / Queue backend

Q_UNIX_PRINT backend status

Current status:

• Queue metadata handling and the Q_UNIX_PRINT backend are intentionally separate.
• The backend can already call /usr/bin/lp, lpr, or a custom script.

Follow-up:

• Improve logging around queue job submission to the Unix print command.
• Capture and expose backend exit status where possible.
• Consider direct CUPS integration only if MARS_NWE needs CUPS job IDs, cancellation, or status polling. Do not add a hard CUPS dependency for basic queue compatibility.

Transaction Tracking System (TTS)

Current status:

• NCP 0x22/0x00 TTS Is Available reports the WebSDK-documented unavailable status.
• MARS-NWE does not currently implement TTS rollback semantics, transaction files, transaction status tracking, or the begin/end/abort transaction state machine.
• Other TTS subfunctions remain unsupported instead of pretending to succeed without real transaction tracking.

Follow-up:

• Implement TTS only if a concrete client requires it.
• Treat this as a real transaction subsystem, not as a completion-code shim: the WebSDK TTS calls include begin/end/abort transaction, status, threshold, and control/statistics operations.

AFP / Mac namespace backend

Current status:

• The current AFP compatibility slice is implemented and covered by the smoke tests under tests/afp/. Endpoint inventory, WebSDK audit notes, and AFP implementation history live in that directory instead of this project-level TODO file.
• AFP 0x13 Get Macintosh Info On Deleted File is implemented as a salvage/deleted-entry adapter and covered by the AFP smoke suite. It returns FinderInfo, ProDOSInfo, resource fork size, and deleted filename from the shared Salvage snapshot.
• ProDOSInfo is persisted through the existing nwatalk AFP metadata xattr layer (org.mars-nwe.afp.prodos-info) and is captured/restored in Salvage as prodos_info_hex; no parallel AFP metadata store was added.
• The verified AFP smoke suite covers live FinderInfo/ProDOSInfo xattrs, AFP 35/19 deleted-file metadata, and the readonly Modify-rights negative path.
• Keep future AFP deleted-file work on the shared salvage backend; do not expose .recycle or .salvage through normal AFP/NCP path opens.
• Keep AFP metadata restore/lookup paths tied to the existing mars_nwe AFP and nwatalk mechanisms, not a new side database.
• Keep the detailed AFP inventory and audit notes in tests/afp/.

Follow-up:

• Continue the final AFP WebSDK audit only where inventory files still mark an endpoint as needing layout verification. AFP 0x13 and ProDOSInfo storage are no longer open TODO items.

Deferred / optional protocol work

• Basic Packet Burst file transfer support is implemented and verified with a diagnostics-enabled DOS client test.
• Packet Burst support is built by default, but runtime use remains controlled by nwserv.conf.
• Packet Burst/NDS fragmentation support remains out of scope unless a concrete client requires it.