FTP
Before the World Wide Web, in order to use FTP, one would have to get permission from the remote computer for access to their files. This would require typing in a user ID and password. Some remote computer operators would open up their computer files to everyone and therefore, a person could FTP to their site and download files as an anonymous FTP user.
The biggest advantage for using FTP is that its single-minded purpose is to transfer files quickly. This is important since many files and programs are very large in size. Many of these large files are "compressed" (squished together to make it smaller but still contain all of the file). The smaller the file being sent, the quicker it will reach its destination.
It is important to know not only what kind of file or program you will be receiving through using FTP but also how the file was compressed. Not only do you need to make sure that the file can be used with your computer (what kind of computer is needed to run the program? What kind of software is needed to utilize the file?), but also whether or not your computer has the necessary software to "uncompress" the file.
There are many different ways to uncompress a file that is received by the FTP method. Usually, the file will have an extention added to the end of the file name (e.g. "zip", ".hqx", ".sea"). You must have the proper uncompression software already loaded onto your computer in order to extract the file or program from its compressed state.
While using FTP to download files, there should be a listing of the size of the file and how long it is estimated to take to download. Always find out how large the file is that you will be downloading and make sure you have enough room on your computer to hold it.
The number of software programs that uncompress files are too numerous to mention, however the more popular ones are "ZIP" or "PKZIP" for Windows-based machines and "UnStuffIt" for the Macintosh platform.
Here a few very popular FTP sites, type in their URL's in the location line. www.jumbo.com • www.shareware.com • www.download.com
You will learn how to use FTP this week and connect to several FTP sites. Plus you will learn about compressed files and Encoded Files. You will find out about Freeware, Shareware and Public Domain Software.
- Exercise 1: Connecting to the U.S. Senate FTP site
use this URL: ftp://ftp.senate.gov/ this will be a live site and busy!
- Exercise 2: You will log into the Federal Gov't FTP site to view some text. use this URL: ftp://ftp.fedworld.gov/pub use this URL: ftp://ftp.mcafee.com/pub/antivirus
- Exercise 3: You will download to your floppy drive use this URL: http://home.netscape.com/comprod/mirror/client_download.html use this URL: http://www.microsoft.com/ie/download/ use this URL: http://www.tucows.com
- Exercise 4: You will explore FTP directories at SunSITE and save a picture. use this URL: ftp://sunsite.unc.edu