Re: FTP program connect to VMS client under linux

briggs_at_encompasserve.org
Date: 12/09/04 

Date: 9 Dec 2004 08:18:10 -0600

In article <41B76046.D5E0485D@teksavvy.com>, JF Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot@teksavvy.com> writes:
> set type image -> binary transfers
> set type ascii -> text transfers

Neither of those will work on any standard ftp client.

ftp> set type i
?Invalid command
ftp> set type a
?Invalid command
ftp> set type image
?Invalid command
ftp> set type ascii
?Invalid command
ftp> binary
200 Type I ok.
ftp> ascii
200 Type A ok.
ftp> type image
200 Type I ok.
ftp> type ascii
200 Type A ok.

ftp> help
Commands may be abbreviated. Commands are:

! cr macdef proxy send
$ delete mdelete sendport status
account debug mdir put struct
append dir mget pwd sunique
>>>ascii<<< disconnect mkdir quit tenex
bell form mls quote trace
>>>binary<<< get mode recv >>>type<<<
bye glob mput remotehelp user
case hash nmap rename verbose
cd help ntrans reset ?
cdup lcd open rmdir
close ls prompt runique

The ones that I use are "binary" and "ascii". Easy to remember, easy
to use.

Note that these are _client_ commands. They are not the same as
_server_ commands.

User keys in "binary". Client sends "TYPE I" to the server.
User keys in "ascii". Client sends "TYPE A" to the server.

User keys in "ls". Client negotiates port numbers, active/passive
mode and transfer format, establishes (or accepts) connection, sends
"NLST" to server, accepts directory listing over data connection
and closes data connection.

If you want to send a server command, use the client "quote" command.
This bypasses the smarts of the client and allows the user to send
uninterpreted commands directly to the server. This usally falls
somewhere between quite dangerous and incredibly useful depending
on exactly what you're trying to do and how comfortable you are with
the behavior of client and server.

ftp> quote pasv
227 Entering passive mode; use PORT (149,32,32,27,18,12)

  which is pointless since the client doesn't know that passive mode
  is being enabled. And now we have a dangling TCP port allocated
  that nobody is using

ftp> ascii
200 Type A OK
ftp> quote type I
200 Type I OK

  Now the server is doing binary transfers. And the client is doing
  ASCII transfers. And it's barely possible that this will help us
  with some arcane conversion issue.

ftp> quote site spawn show users /full
200- OpenVMS User Processes at 9-DEC-2004 09:01:54.64
200- Total number of users = 32, number of processes = 41
200-
200- Username Process Name PID Terminal
...
200 VAXS04 VAXS04 0002F605 OPA0:

  which is darned handy

        John Briggs

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