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From: toppin@melpar.UUCP (Doug Toppin)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Running 'ftp' from a program using 'popen'? (long)
Keywords: ftp popen
Message-ID: <205@melpar.UUCP>
Date: 9 Oct 90 21:37:23 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: E-Systems, Melpar Division, Falls Church, VA
Lines: 35

I am running SCO Xenix 2.2.3 on the 286 with the NRC implementation
of TCP/IP (Fusion).
I need to transfer some files to another machine in which I
cannot port ANY software.
I am going to have to transfer the files by having my software
run 'ftp' and send the commands to it.
I am using 'popen()' to run 'ftp' and am then writing the appropriate
command to the file pointer returned by 'popen()'.
I am able to get the files to be sent with no problem but I have
not been able to read any responses from 'ftp'.
If I 'popen' with "rw" 'ftp' doesn't work at all.
I have to do the following (with appropriate error checking in my stuff):
    FILE *fptr;
    fptr = popen("ftp -n hostname", "w"); /* run ftp (noninteractive option) */
    fprintf(fptr, "user login passwd\n"); /* login to remote machine */
    fprintf(fptr, "put sourcefile\n");    /* tell ftp to put the file */
    pclose(fptr);                         /* done with ftp */
If I do this the transfer works fine but I cannot get any feedback to
my program from 'ftp'.
If I redirect 'ftp's output to either a file or a named pipe then
only thing I get in either are 3 newlines.
If I don't redirect it at all then the correct output appears
on my screen.
There is no user on this system so I must, under program control,
detect a good or bad send.
If you have any suggestions or a working example please post
it or drop me a line.
My system does not have 'rcopy' or any other neat command.
'ftp' is the only thing I have to work with.
Please do not suggest using anything other than 'ftp' because
we cannot put any software on the destination machine.

thanks
Doug Toppin
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