Bug#2479: ange-ftp is incredibly inefficient

[Raul Miller <rdm@tad.micro.umn.edu>]

Package: emacs
Version: 19.30-1

When invoking ange-ftp to retrieve a file from a large remote
directory, ange-ftp will attempt a directory listing on the directory
before retrieving the file.

I think this is to work around the behavior of wu-ftpd (which will tar
up a directory for you if you try and get it).  However, for this
case, examining the requested file name for a trailing / or ls "-adl
fullpath" should be sufficient to make the distinction.

If ls "-lad filename" fails with an error, there's several strategies
available -- attempting cd comes to mind.

Example:

emacs /ftp@ds2.internic.net:/rfc/rfc822.txt

--
Raul