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FTP
File Transfer Protocol; a method
of sending files through the Internet.
More Detailed Definition:
Abbreviation of File Transfer
Protocol, the protocol used on the Internet for sending files. FTP
is a protocol used to transfer files over a TCP/IP network
(Internet, UNIX, etc.). For example, after developing the HTML
pages for a Web site on a local machine, they are typically
uploaded to the Web server using FTP.
FTP includes functions to log onto the network, list directories
and copy files. It can also convert between the ASCII and EBCDIC
character codes. FTP operations can be performed by typing
commands at a command prompt or via an FTP utility running under a
graphical interface such as Windows. FTP transfers can also be
initiated from within a Web browser by entering the URL preceded
with ftp://.
Unlike e-mail programs in which graphics and program files have to
be "attached," FTP is designed to handle binary files directly and
does not add the overhead of encoding and decoding the data.
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