The TCP/IP Guide  9  TCP/IP Application Layer Protocols, Services and Applications (OSI Layers 5, 6 and 7)       9  TCP/IP Key Applications and Application Protocols            9  TCP/IP File and Message Transfer Applications and Protocols (FTP, TFTP, Electronic Mail, USENET, HTTP/WWW, Gopher)                 9  TCP/IP General File Transfer Protocols (FTP and TFTP)                      9  File Transfer Protocol (FTP)                           9  FTP Commands and Replies

FTP Replies, Reply Code Format and Important Reply Codes 1 2 3 FTP Sample User and Internal Command Dialog

Command-Line and Graphical FTP Interfaces

Traditionally, FTP clients have used a command-line interface. In this familiar arrangement, an FTP client is invoked and the user is automatically asked for a user name and password to establish an FTP session. Then, the user is presented with a command prompt, at which they can type various FTP commands to perform different functions. Text responses from the server are displayed to the user to indicate the results of various commands. Normally, the internal protocol commands (such as PASV and STOR) sent by the client are suppressed to avoid “screen clutter” but can be enabled in a debug mode.

Command-line utilities are efficient but some folks don't care for them. They are rather “old school” in the context of modern graphical operating systems and applications. Thus, there are also now many FTP clients that are graphical in nature. They allow actions to be performed arguably even more quickly, by clicking on buttons instead of typing commands. Some allow files to be transferred by “dragging and dropping” from a local file system display to one on a remote server. These make FTP even easier to use.

FTP Replies, Reply Code Format and Important Reply Codes 1 2 3 FTP Sample User and Internal Command Dialog