LYNX-DEV lost packets

[Philip Webb]

970701 David Woolley wrote:
> However, I've noticed that, in circumstances where packet loss is probable,
> Lynx will often hang after sending the HTTP request.
> Note this is not a case of ignoring return or right arrow,
> but of failing to complete the interaction with the remote site.
> This is Lynx 2-7, with bug fixes to March 4th on Linux kernel 2.0.30,
> with ppp 2.2.0f and 2.3.0.  (When I say hang, I don't mean
> it stalls completely, only that it fails to make any progress
> until aborted by control-G (or presumably, z).)

i have always found that commonly Lynx will send out a request
to connect/send a file & then nothing further will happen,
sometimes part-way thro' a transmission.
i have assumed that the request got stuck on the Great Road out there
at some traffic jam or, as it can happen at apparently slack times,
at some node which is out of service for maintenance or suchlike.

 z , followed by repeating  Enter  or  -> , often gets an instant response:
eg after waiting with  512  out of  10 000 bytes  for a while,
all  10 K  will be obtained straight away by this means.

> There seems to be some quite tricky and rather system dependent code
> in HTTCP.c which could well be faulty on some operating systems.
> This problem is associated with packet loss and/or long round trip delays,
> so avoiding overloaded links is the only action you can take directly.
> (I wasn't sure whether the problem was server side on client side, and in
> any case, I hope to find time to attack the packet loss problem.)

however, if it is a weakness in Lynx itself,
perhaps there should be some discussion on lynx-dev
& a bit of code manipulation to get Lynx to repeat requests for itself.

BTW is there any method of tracking where packets are in fact being routed?
it would be nice is Lynx could do that, if it can be added easily.

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