How about:

• create a tmp directory
• Fork a child to start FTP session, then scan that directory for files and upload any it finds and then unlink them - scan/sleep/scan/sleep/scan/upload etc..
• create the files elsewhere and move to the tmp dir when created (using flock to stop the FTP process from grabbing partial files too early).
• when last file is created, parent sets a marker somewhere that the FTP child can read to know that "no more files are coming", and then quits
• child continues to ftp and unlink files it finds in the tmp dir. When done, it unlinks the tmp directory, closes FTP sesison and quits.

What d'ya think?

cLive ;-)