Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!psuvax1!rutgers!att!cbnewsh!wcs
From: wcs@cbnewsh.ATT.COM (Bill Stewart 201-949-0705 ho95c.att.com!wcs)
Newsgroups: news.newusers.questions
Subject: Re: Ftp documentation
Message-ID: <6139@cbnewsh.ATT.COM>
Date: 29 Nov 89 00:06:04 GMT
References: <5990@lindy.Stanford.EDU>
Reply-To: wcs@cbnewsh.ATT.COM (Bill Stewart 201-949-0705 ho95c.att.com!wcs)
Organization: Conspiracy?  What conspiracy?
Lines: 60

]   Can anyone recommend some good beginner's, tutorial-like
]documentation on using ftp?  Thanks,

Depends on what you want to know.  If your machine is connected
properly to the Internet, and all you're trying to do is browse
around and get files, it's simple.  If you need more than that, read
all the manual pages you can find and hack around.

0) RTFM, and read the ftp-archive-sites lists that get posted.
1) make a directory for retrieving files and cd there.
2) type "ftp"
	Ftp will carry on a line-at-a-time conversation
	with machines across the Internet, using a protocol that's
	fairly minimalist, with features that are implemented
	differently on different machines.  So some things will look
	different in different places.
3) type "help" and read the list of available commands.  They're not
	always real detailed or obvious, but most do what you expect.
4) type "debug" "trace" and "bell", on three separate lines, to turn
	on all these options for maximum verbosity.
5) type "open some.machine.domain" - "open uunet.uu.net" is good.
6) wait for a login prompt, and type "anonymous"
7) Password: your-login@yourmachine   typically anything will work,
	and this is a courtesy so the people who provide anonymous
	servers can find who's using them.  If it fails, try "guest".
8) browse around with "cd" and "dir".  "dir" is typically more
	verbose than "ls", which is good because you want to know
	how big files are before downloading them; on Unix it's
	usually like "ls -l".  Not all systems have the simple
	directory structures you're used to, so "cd ../../bin/foo"
	may work ok on UNIX but fail on VMS or DEC-10s.  "cd .."
	usually works, though.
9) To retrieve files, you have to set the transmission mode
	correctly for the type of file you're getting.  Usually this
	is "ascii" for ascii files, and "binary" for binaries, but
	you may have to do strange things depending on your system
	and the distant system.  For SIMTEL20.WSMR.ARPA, you tend to
	need to set "tenex" to retrieve binaries, because it's a
	DEC-20 machine with 36-bit words and just thinks
	differently.  Read any local instructions you can find.

	Type "get filename" or "get remote-name local-name" to
	retrieve a file.  You may need the latter form if your
	system doesn't like the name the remote-system uses (for
	example, if your system uses 14-character filenames and they
	use longer ones).  Look at the verboseness coming back to
	decide if the right amount of data seems to have been
	transmitted.  Expect this phase to be slow and clunky;
	you'll get a prompt back from ftp when it's all done.
10) Expect your connection to drop occasionally, especially if
	something goes wrong or the other system is overloaded.
	(SIMTEL usually has too many people trying to do ftp.)
	If nothing seems to be happening, wait a while, or try
	"stat" if you have a prompt.  Be patient.

				Bill
-- 
# Bill Stewart, AT&T Bell Labs 4M312 Holmdel NJ 201-949-0705 api.att.com!wcs

#		We did it for the formlessness ...