FTP - File Transfer Protocol

FTP is the widely-used protocol to move files between machines and across the Internet. The class Ftp provides a stackable comms module which offers FTP support.

FTP is defined in the standards document RFC 959

Ftp Stack Requirements

This can be the bottom module on the stack..

Ftp Creation

The create function can be used to create an Ftp module eg.

    (create Ftp)

Once created, this module is tailored using its properties and methods.

However, an Ftp module is often created in the process of creating a comms stack by using the function buildCommsStack.

Ftp Properties

An Ftp module supports the following properties:

property name	property type	description
`host`	String	`TCP/IP` host name of the server to connect to
`port`	Integer	`TCP/IP` port of the server to connect to -- Default value: `21`
`user`	String	name of user with which to logon to the FTP server
`password`	String	password of user with which to logon to the FTP server
`timeout`	Integer	command timeout (milliseconds) allowed for the FTP server to respond to commands
`localDir`	String	local directory used for files involved in the transfer -- on creation, this defaults to the current working directory
`log`	Log	a log for the POP3 connection
`errorClass`	Integer	class of Ftp-specific errors
`useDialup`	Object	if non-`NIL` then dialup networking is used and the local IP address is determined from the current dialup connection

Ftp Methods

The Ftp module supports the following methods. These are closely coupled to those identified in the RFC 959 standard.

Most of the FTP commands return a String value -- this is the data returne by the underlying FTP command.

method name	description
`connect`	connect this module
`logon`	logon to the service using the configured user name and password
`type`	set the type of data transfer -- e.g. `binary`, `image`, `ascii`, `ebcdic`
`cd`	change to a different directory on the remote host
`up`	move up one level in the directory structure on the remote host
`pwd`	return the current working directory on the remote host
`lcd`	move to a different working directory on the local machine
`del`	delete a file on the remote host
`rmdir`	remove a directory on the remote host
`mkdir`	create a new directory on the remote host
`rename`	rename a file on the remote host
`put`	transfer a file from the local to the remote host
`putData`	transfer the data and store as a file on the remote host
`get`	get a file from the remote host and store locally
`getData`	get the data from a file on the remote host
`mput`	transfer all local files matching the supplied pattern to the remote host
`mget`	fetch all remote files matching the supplied pattern
`mdel`	delete all remote files matching the supplied pattern
`ls`	produce a directory listing on the remote host
`filenames`	list the names of all remote files matching the supplied pattern
`localFilenames`	list the names of all local files matching the supplied pattern
`system`	ask the remote host what sort of system it is
`site`	send down any site-specific parameters to the remote host
`stat`	request a status -- e.g. of the supplied file/directory
`noop`	perform a null operation on the remote host
`abort`	abort any current transfer
`quit`	quit from the service
`disconnect`	disconnect this module

`logon`

Logon to the service using the configured user name and password.

Arguments: none

Return type: String returned by the server

`type`

Set the type of data transfer -- legal values are:

binary
image
text
ebcdic

Arguments:

transferType String

Return type: String returned by the server

`cd`

Change to a different directory on the remote host.

Arguments:

dir String

Return type: String returned by the server

`up`

Move up one level in the directory structure on the remote host.

Arguments: none

Return type: String returned by the server

`pwd`

Return the current working directory on the remote host.

Arguments: none

Return type: String returned by the server

`lcd`

Move to a different working directory on the local machine.

NOTE: This only changes the directory used by the FTP module locally -- it does not affect the process's working directory which is changed by the changeDir command.

Arguments:

dir String

Return type: String returned by the server

`del`

Delete a file on the remote host.

Arguments:

filename String

Return type: String returned by the server

`rmdir`

Remove a directory on the remote host.

Arguments:

dir String

Return type: String returned by the server

`mkdir`

Create a new directory on the remote host.

Arguments:

dir String

Return type: String returned by the server

`rename`

Rename a file on the remote host.

Arguments:

oldName	`String`
newName	`String`

Return type: String returned by the server

`put`

Transfer a file from the local to the remote host.

Arguments:

filename String

Return type: String returned by the server

`putData`

Transfer the data and store as a file on the remote host.

Arguments:

filename	`String`
data	`Binary`

Return type: String returned by the server

`get`

Get a file from the remote host and store locally.

Arguments:

filename String

Return type: String returned by the server

`getData`

Get the data from a file on the remote host.

Arguments:

filename String

Return type: Binary the data from the remote file.

`mput`

Transfer all local files matching the supplied pattern to the remote host.

Arguments:

pattern String

Return type: List of Strings returned by the server

`mget`

Fetch all remote files matching the supplied pattern.

Arguments:

pattern String

Return type: List of Strings returned by the server

`mdel`

Delete all remote files matching the supplied pattern.

Arguments:

pattern String

Return type: List of Strings returned by the server

`ls`

Produce a directory listing on the remote host.

Arguments:

(optional) pattern String

Return type: String returned by the server

`filenames`

List the names of all remote files matching the supplied pattern.

Arguments:

(optional) pattern String

Return type: List of Strings returned by the server

`system`

Ask the remote host what sort of system it is.

Arguments: none

Return type: String returned by the server

`site`

Send down any site-specific parameters to the remote host.

Arguments:

params String

Return type: String returned by the server

`stat`

Request a status -- e.g. of the supplied file/directory.

Arguments:

transferType String

Return type: String returned by the server

`noop`

Perform a null operation on the remote host.

Arguments: none

Return type: String returned by the server

`abort`

Abort any current transfer.

Arguments:

transferType String

Return type: String returned by the server

`quit`

Quit from the service.

Arguments: none

Return type: String returned by the server

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