Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!agate!eos!eugene
From: eugene@eos.UUCP (Eugene Miya)
Newsgroups: news.newusers.questions
Subject: Re: ftp
Keywords: source ftp mail usenet
Message-ID: <4902@eos.UUCP>
Date: 29 Aug 89 06:49:23 GMT
References: <820@adelphi.UUCP>
Reply-To: eugene@eos.UUCP (Eugene Miya)
Distribution: usa
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Calif.
Lines: 17

FTP stands for "File Transfer Protocol." It dates back to the earliest
days of the ARPAnet (NCP days) about 1969.  I first used it in 1973.
Ftp is also a program which resides on Unix and non-Unix systems.
It involves a simple language (which have changed very slightly.
It hides (or is supposed to)
character set differences, some file (data set) naming conventions, provides
a tiny bit of security while giving some freedom (anonymous FTP), some help,
without knowing too many details of the remote host, and a few other things.

Another gross generalization from

--eugene miya, NASA Ames Research Center, eugene@aurora.arc.nasa.gov
  resident cynic at the Rock of Ages Home for Retired Hackers:
  "You trust the `reply' command with all those different mailers out there?"
  "If my mail does not reach you, please accept my apology."
  {ncar,decwrl,hplabs,uunet}!ames!eugene
  				Live free or die.