Beginner's Guide to FTP(File Transfer Protocol)

We have already talked about http://www.(hypertext transfer protocol). This was the protocol for looking at HTML documents or web pages. Now we will talk about ftp://(file transfer protocol). This is the protocol for transferring files across the Internet. Before we get into FTP there are a few things that you should understand about files on the Internet. There are many file types that are commonly used on the Internet. A file type is recognized by the extension or letters that follow the period in the filename. Some of these are listed below.

filename.jpg -picture file
filename.gif -picture file
filename.avi -video file
filename.mpg -video file
filename.htm or filename.html - html file(web page)
filename.exe -executable or program file
filename.zip -compressed or zip file

The two of greatest interest to FTP will be the .exe or the .zip file. Files on the Internet are often compressed so that they are smaller and may be downloaded quicker. Then they must be decompressed when they reach your machine. .exe files are usually self extracting zip files that will decompress automatically when you run the program. .zip files on the other hand require some type of software like Winzip or PKunzip to be decompressed. If you plan on downloading files from the Internet one of these programs is a must. You can find links to these types of programs under the Software section of our Hotlinks page.

Many times an ftp call is handled from a link on a page. You click on the link an it invokes a URL like this
ftp://ftp.server.com/program.zip
This means to start ftp with the server(ftp.server.com) and retrieve the file program.zip. Your browser will usually ask you what you want to do with the file and you should select Save As. Pick a folder to save the file into and then click O.K. This is known as anonymous ftp, because anyone can make the call to the ftp server. If you typed in ftp://ftp.server.com as your URL without a filename you would see the folders on that server just like you see the folders on your own PC. You could then go into the folders you have access to and pick the file to download.

You should be very careful when downloading files. If you are downloading a program you should place this file in a seperate directory. It is always a good idea to run a virus checker on it. If it is a zip file you will need to unzip it and then look for a file called setup.exe. Run this file in order to install the new program. Everything should be kept seperate so that you may delete the program later if you like. You can find additional information on zip files and downloading from the Frequently Asked Questions under Technical Support on our home page.

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