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NcFTP(1) USER COMMANDS NcFTP(1)
NAME
NcFTP - Internet file transfer program
SYNOPSIS
ncftp [_p_r_o_g_r_a_m _o_p_t_i_o_n_s] [[_o_p_e_n _o_p_t_i_o_n_s] _h_o_s_t_n_a_m_e[:_p_a_t_h_n_a_m_e]]
DESCRIPTION
_N_c_F_T_P is a user interface to the Internet standard _F_i_l_e
_T_r_a_n_s_f_e_r _P_r_o_t_o_c_o_l. This program allows a user to transfer
files to and from a remote network site, and offers addi-
tional features that are not found in the standard inter-
face, _f_t_p.
FEATURES
Program options will be explained later in this document.
Let's get down to business and go over the features that
make this program worthwhile.
Here is the list of section headers; I have my $MANPAGER
environment variable set to use ``less -i'' so that I can
skip to the section I want (otherwise, /_r_e_g_e_x commands to
the pager won't match the section headers because of the
formatting codes; the ``-i'' can search through the format-
ting codes)
Establishing the remote connection
Format of the RC file
The Recent-sites file
Redialing a busy remote site
Supplying a sitename from your shell's command line
Using Colon-mode
Using FTP-cat and FTP-more mode
Supplying a port number with the open command
Displaying and changing program variables
Program variables
Listing a remote directory
Viewing a remote directory with your pager
Redisplaying the last directory listing
Fetching files from the remote host
Viewing a remote file with your pager
Creating a message file on the remote host
Looking up site names and addresses
Checking the configuration of the program
Using the command shell
Customizing the prompt
Keeping a log of your file transfers
Program options
A sample RC file
Establishing the remote connection
Just opening a connection to a remote server was incon-
venient enough in the stock _f_t_p program to justify writing
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NcFTP(1) USER COMMANDS NcFTP(1)
this program. Here at _N_C_E_M_R_S_o_f_t, we want to do our business
as quickly and painlessly as possible. We'd rather save
time and wear and tear on our metacarpals than bother typing
entire site names, usernames, and email addresses masquerad-
ing as passwords, and setting binary mode.
We made all connections anonymous by default, and we
automatically send our email address for the password on
those connections. We allowed for site names to be abbrevi-
ated.
For each commonly accessed site, you can put an entry in
your program preferences file (let's call it the ``ncftprc
file'' or ``RC file'' for short). To open the site, from
the command shell all you do is type:
open wuarchive.wustl.edu
or
o wuarchive.wustl.edu
As promised, you can abbreviate that further. Just use any
abbreviation that would match only the site you had in mind.
For the previous example, you could try:
o wuarc
o wustl
o stl
o wu
Any of those abbreviations would open wuarchive.wustl.edu
anonymously, sending your anon-password (usually set to your
email address) as the password. Keep in mind that the pro-
gram tries opening the first site that matches the abbrevia-
tion you supplied. So:
o w
might match a site named bowser.nintendo.jp if that site
appeared before your entry for wuarchive.wustl.edu.
Most of the time we open remote sites anonymously, but there
are times where you need to specifically open a site with an
actual username and password. Let's say my partner, Phil
Dietz, wants to FTP something out of my account. Perhaps he
wants to fetch the latest version of the source code to
_N_c_F_T_P so he can optimize something or add a new feature
behind my back. Since the program opens remote sites
anonymously by default (actually, you can change this
behavior; more on that later), he would have to specify a
flag to the _o_p_e_n command so he can supply my username and
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NcFTP(1) USER COMMANDS NcFTP(1)
password. He would try:
o -u sphygmomanometer.unl.edu
or, more likely:
o -u sph
Then the program would prompt him for a username (login,
whatever) and a password:
Login Name (pdietz): mgleason
Password: ********
If he got it right, he could raid my stuff. If not, he'd
probably drop me an email asking me to quit changing my
password so often.
There are even times where you want to FTP from your own
account, like if you are debugging an FTP client you wrote.
At this prompt:
Login Name (mgleason):
I could just hit return to tell the program that I want
``mgleason'' as my username, then I would enter my password.
Format of the RC file
This release of the program is somewhat compatible with the
stock _f_t_p program's .netrc file. However, I can promise you
that in the near future the program will use a new format,
so don't invest too much time in it.
The RC file can be named ``ncftprc'', ``netrc'', or
``.ncftprc'', but it is usually named ``.netrc'' so it can
be used with the stock _f_t_p program. _N_c_F_T_P looks in the
current working directory for any of those files, and then
in your home directory, and after that it gives up (which is
OK, because RC files aren't mandatory).
The file usually starts with #_s_e_t and #_u_n_s_e_t commands that
do things to the programs variables. The reason for the
``#'' is so the stock _f_t_p program will think they are com-
ments. You might have this appearing as the first few lines
in your RC file (I'll explain later):
#set debug 1
#set pager "less -EMi"
#unset startup-msg
After those, you put in machine entries for each of your
favorite sites. Let's put in an entry for
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NcFTP(1) USER COMMANDS NcFTP(1)
wuarchive.wustl.edu. First you would put:
machine wuarchive.wustl.edu
Then you could put in your username, password, and account
if you like:
user anonymous
password -mgleason@cse.unl.edu
account wuarc.does.not.use.accounts
Following that, you would add the startup macro that is run
each time you connect to wuarchive. You must start it with
this line:
macdef init
Then put in the commands you want to do:
cd /graphics/gif
ls -lt
After that, you end the macro with a blank line (impor-
tant!). The finished machine entry would look like the fol-
lowing. To make the transition to the impending new format
less painful, I recommend you adhere to this format:
machine wuarchive.wustl.edu
user anonymous
password -mgleason@cse.unl.edu
account wuarc.does.not.use.accounts
macdef init
cd /graphics/gif
ls -lt
(_m_a_n_d_a_t_o_r_y _b_l_a_n_k _l_i_n_e _t_o _e_n_d _t_h_e _m_a_c_r_o)
Of course, if all you want to do is open wuarchive
anonymously, you needn't bother with the ``user'', ``pass-
word'', and ``account'' lines. You may want to put them in
if you plan on using the stock _f_t_p program, though. Try
something like this:
machine wuarchive.wustl.edu
macdef init
cd /graphics/gif
ls -lt
(_m_a_n_d_a_t_o_r_y _b_l_a_n_k _l_i_n_e _t_o _e_n_d _t_h_e _m_a_c_r_o)
You can tell the program to not run the startup macro if you
supply -i to the _o_p_e_n command.
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Really, you should only bother adding entries for sites that
you want to run startup macros upon connection. The next
section explains why.
The Recent-sites file
Each time you open a site, the program saves the name of the
site and the last directory you were in to the _r_e_c_e_n_t-_s_i_t_e_s
_f_i_l_e which is named .ncrecent and placed in your home direc-
tory. The program saves a predetermined number of these
sites in the file, and when it reaches the limit, it dis-
cards the oldest entry so it can add a new one.
You can just go ahead and use the name of the site you want
with the _o_p_e_n command if you know it is in the _r_e_c_e_n_t-_f_i_l_e
(and you can abbreviate the name, just like those in the RC
file). But if you cannot remember what the name of the site
you want, all you do is run the _o_p_e_n command with no site
parameter:
open
This will pop up a list of the sites in the _r_e_c_e_n_t-_f_i_l_e, and
sites in your RC file. At the open prompt, just type the
name (or an abbreviation of that name) or the number preced-
ing the site name to open that site. After opening the site
you wanted, the program sets the remote working directory to
the same one you left in the last time you called.
If you don't like the idea of having the sites you called
stored on disk, you can turn this feature off using an _u_n_s_e_t
command, explained later.
Redialing a busy remote site
Some remote sites limit the number of leeches, er, anonymous
connections at a time to reduce the load on the host com-
puter. You can use the _o_p_e_n command's redial feature to
keep attempting connections until you get on, although that
is not a very polite thing to do. The simplest way to do
this would be to just supply the -r option:
open -r wuarc
There are also options you can use to tweak redial. The -d
flag sets the delay between dials, and the -g flag sets a
limit on how many dials should be attempting before giving
up. If you don't supply -g the program will dial a day and
forever (which my Number Theory professor, Dr. Mientka, says
is longer than forever and a day) until it connects success-
fully, or until you get sick of waiting and hit the inter-
rupt key (usually ^C).
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This example dials wuarchive every ten minutes, giving up
after twenty attempts. Note that the redial delay is speci-
fied in seconds:
open -r -d 600 -g 20 wuarc
Please be considerate when you use redialing, so you won't
tax the network. Site administrators can and do get angry
when they get flooded with connections.
Supplying a sitename from your shell's command line
When you run the program:
ncftp
by itself does nothing and waits for you to type commands to
the program's own shell. Just like the stock _f_t_p program,
you can supply a site name on the command line:
ncftp wuarchive.wustl.edu
You can also use abbreviations as usual:
ncftp wuarc
This is equivalent to running the program, then issuing an
_o_p_e_n command to open wuarchive.
Using Colon-mode
The _o_p_e_n command is not a one-trick pony. Another option is
what I call _c_o_l_o_n-_m_o_d_e. This feature is used (most of the
time) from your shell's command line.
In ancient times, way back during the Disco era, you could
use a program called _t_f_t_p to fetch a file using the Internet
standard _T_r_i_v_i_a_l _F_i_l_e _T_r_a_n_s_f_e_r _P_r_o_t_o_c_o_l. You could use that
program to do something like this from within its shell:
get wuarchive.wustl.edu:/graphics/gif/README
and that would call wuarchive and fetch the README file.
You can use this program to do the same thing from your
shell's command line:
csh> ncftp wuarchive.wustl.edu:/graphics/gif/README
csh> head README
This tells your shell, in this case the ``c-shell'' to run
_N_c_F_T_P, which would open wuarchive, fetch
/graphics/gif/README and write the file ./README in the
current working directory, and then exits. This is nice if
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you don't want to browse around the remote site, and you
know exactly want you want. It would also come in handy in
shell scripts, where you don't want to enter the command
shell, and might not want the program to spew output.
You can use _c_o_l_o_n-_m_o_d_e to set the starting remote working
directory also:
csh> ncftp wuarchive.wustl.edu:/graphics/gif
This would run the program, open wuarchive, and _c_d to the
gif directory, then run the program's command shell so you
can browse.
_C_o_l_o_n-_m_o_d_e is also available from within the program's com-
mand shell. At a prompt you can do stuff like this:
ncftp> open wuarchive.wustl.edu:/graphics/gif/README
ncftp> o wuarc:/graphics/gif
Using FTP-cat and FTP-more mode
There are times where you might not want the program to
write a _c_o_l_o_n-_m_o_d_e file in the current working directory, or
perhaps you want to pipe the output of a remote file into
something else. _C_o_l_o_n-_m_o_d_e has options to do this. It was
inspired by the guy who wrote the _f_t_p_c_a_t perl script. The
-c option tells the program to write on the standard output
stream. The -m option pipes the file into your pager (like
_m_o_r_e) Of course this won't work if the thing you give
_c_o_l_o_n-_m_o_d_e is a directory! This example just dumps a remote
file to stdout:
csh> ncftp -c wuarc:/graphics/gif/README
...
csh>
This example redirects a remote file into a different loca-
tion:
csh> ncftp -c wu:/README > ~pdietz/thesis.tex
This one shows how to use a pipeline:
csh> ncftp -c wuarc:/README | tail | wc -l
10
csh>
This shows how to page a remote file:
csh> ncftp -m wuarc:/graphics/gif/README
...
csh>
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Supplying a port number with the open command
This option just didn't fit anywhere else, so to finish out
the open command, -p lets you supply a port number if you
have to _f_t_p to a site using an nonstandard port number.
Personally, I have yet to use feature, but its there for
compatibility with the stock _f_t_p program.
Displaying and changing program variables
Now I'll explain the commands unique to _N_c_F_T_P. The others
should perform the same as they would in the stock _f_t_p pro-
gram; consult the man page for it if you want those
explained, or use the _h_e_l_p command for a brief blurb.
The _s_h_o_w command is used to display program variables and
their values.
show all
or
show
would display all the variables with their values.
show _v_a_r_1 _v_a_r_2 ... _v_a_r_N
would display each specified variable and its value.
The _s_e_t command changes the value of a program variable.
Its syntax is:
set _v_a_r_n_a_m_e _v_a_l_u_e
For Boolean or Integer variables,
set _v_a_r_n_a_m_e
would set the value of the variable _v_a_r_n_a_m_e to 1 (true).
The _u_n_s_e_t command can be used to set the variable to its
default value, or for Boolean and Integer variables, set the
value of the variable to 0 (false). For String variables,
you can use this to set the value to an empty string.
You can use any of those three commands in both the command
shell, or in the RC file with a ``#'' prepended.
Program variables
Each variable can be one of the following types:
Boolean:
Can be ``on'' or ``off'' (you can also use ``1'' or
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``0'').
Integer:
Can be any positive or negative number, or 0.
String:
Is a string of characters. If the string needs to have
a space in it, make sure you surround the whole string
with double quotes in a _s_e_t command.
Variables follow. Some variables are explained later in the
relevant sections.
_a_n_o_n-_o_p_e_n (Boolean)
Tells whether the default login mode is anonymous if
on, or if off, will prompt for a username/password.
You can always override this by using either -a or -u
with the _o_p_e_n command.
_a_n_o_n-_p_a_s_s_w_o_r_d (String)
Sends this as the password when you login anonymously.
By default this is your email address.
_a_n_s_i-_e_s_c_a_p_e_s (Boolean)
If on, the program can use boldface, underline, and
inverse text.
_a_u_t_o-_b_i_n_a_r_y (Boolean)
If on, sets the transfer type to binary mode immedi-
ately after connection.
_d_e_b_u_g (Integer)
Sets the debugging level.
_g_a_t_e_w_a_y-_l_o_g_i_n (String)
Tells which username to use when logging in to your
firewall gateway host.
_g_a_t_e_w_a_y-_h_o_s_t (String)
The site which is acting as your firewall gateway, or
empty if you aren't using one.
_l_o_c_a_l-_d_i_r (String)
The current local working directory. I like to set
this from my RC file, so all my files go into my down-
load directory.
_l_o_g_f_i_l_e (String)
The name of your personal transfer log, or empty if you
aren't using a transfer log.
_l_o_g_s_i_z_e (Integer)
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The maximum ceiling of your log file, before the pro-
gram removes old entries.
_m_p_r_o_m_p_t (Boolean)
If on, prompts for each remote file expanded from a
wildcard globbing expression.
_n_e_t_r_c (String, Read-only)
Tells you the name of the RC file in use.
_p_a_g_e_r (String)
The pathname and flags of the program used to display
output one screenful at a time. The default is the
value of your $PAGER environment variable.
_p_r_o_m_p_t (String)
The prompt specification that expands into the prompt.
_p_r_o_g_r_e_s_s-_r_e_p_o_r_t_s (Integer)
Which progress meter to use, or 0 if you don't want
progress reports during file transfers.
_r_e_c_e_n_t-_l_i_s_t (Boolean)
If on, uses and updates the _r_e_c_e_n_t-_f_i_l_e.
_r_e_m_o_t_e-_i_s-_u_n_i_x (Boolean)
Set automatically by the program upon connection, you
may need to use this in a startup macro if the program
guessed that a remote site was UNIX when it really is
not.
_s_t_a_r_t_u_p-_m_s_g (Boolean)
If on, prints the opening message and tip.
_t_i_p_s (Boolean)
If on, prints a tip on how to use the program better
each time you run the program.
_t_y_p_e (String)
The name of the file transfer mode in use, such as
``binary'' or ``ascii''.
_v_e_r_b_o_s_e (String/Integer)
Controls the amount of output spewed by the program.
You can supply either the first character of the name
of the verbosity level, or its number:
_Quiet (-1)
Won't print any output at all, even if an error
occurs.
_Errors Only (0)
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No output, except when errors occur.
_Terse (1)
Prints errors, and useful output from the remote
host.
_Verbose (2)
Prints everything, even junk output from the
remote end.
Listing a remote directory
The _l_s and _d_i_r commands perform in a similar manner to those
of the stock _f_t_p program.
The _l_s command sends the FTP command ``NLST'' for you. This
command has been set so that it defaults to always listing
files in columns (this is the -C option given to the UNIX _l_s
command) and appending metacharacters to each item name
(this is the -F option), so you can see which items are
directories, files, links, etcetera. If you don't want your
items columnized, you can try using the -1 option with _l_s to
print one item per line.
The _d_i_r command sends the FTP command ``LIST'' for you,
which instead of printing just item names, it prints item
sizes, owners, dates, and permissions as well. This command
is equivalent to ``ls -l'' on most remote systems.
The usage for both commands is the same. Here is the one
for _l_s:
ls [-_f_l_a_g_s] [_d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y _a_n_d _f_i_l_e _n_a_m_e_s] [_r_e_d_i_r_e_c_t_i_o_n]
Note that in this program, you can supply both flags and
items to list in the same command. The stock version of _f_t_p
doesn't let you do this:
ls -lrt /info-mac/help
Another thing that the program does which the others should
have done is let you supply more than one item:
ls -lrt /info-mac/help /pub /info-mac/README
You can also redirect the output into a file, or pipe it
into something. This example shows how to list the contents
of the current remote directory, and save the output into a
file in the current local directory:
ls -t >ls.out
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Note that for this to work, there must be no whitespace
between the ``>'' and the filename, unlike your shell com-
mand line which allows for extra whitespace. This will be
(actually, is) fixed in a future version of the program.
These examples show how to use a pipe:
ls -t |tail
dir -t "|less -CM"
ls -t "|tail | wc"
Like the redirection example, there must be no whitespace
between the first pipe character and the rest of the stuff.
The trick is that it has to appear as one argument to the
commands. The second and third examples illustrate the use
of double quotes to squeeze extra parameters in. The second
example can be done without all that typing. See the
descriptions of the _p_d_i_r and _p_l_s commands below.
Viewing a remote directory with your pager
Didn't you hate it when you listed a remote directory, only
to have most of the stuff scrolled off your terminal before
you could read it? The _p_l_s and _p_d_i_r commands take care of
this for you. As you might have guessed, they perform
exactly like their regular counterparts, only you view them
with your pager. The pager to use is controlled by the
_p_a_g_e_r program variable.
Redisplaying the last directory listing
The program saves the listing into a local buffer, so if you
need to see it again (probably forgot about _p_d_i_r) you can
use the _r_e_d_i_r and _p_r_e_d_i_r commands for this.
Fetching files from the remote host
The _g_e_t and _m_g_e_t retrieve remote files for you. The usage
for _g_e_t is:
get remote-file [local-file or redirection]
To fetch /pub/README and write it as a file named
./junk/readme, try:
get /pub/README ./junk/readme
To fetch /pub/README and write it as ./README, just do:
get /pub/README
This lets you fetch a file using its whole pathname, and
write a copy of it in the current directory, without having
to bother with typing a local filename. In the unlikely
event that you have write permission to a directory called
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/pub on your local machine, it would write ``README'' in
that directory.
Most of the time the file you want will be in the current
remote directory, so you can just do these:
get README
get README ./junk/readme
You can also use a redirection for _g_e_t, just like you can
with the _l_s, _d_i_r, and _r_e_d_i_r commands. As described earlier,
you have to conform to the format below for this release of
the program:
get README >/dev/null
get README |head
get README "|head -8"
get README "|less -EMi"
The last example is facilitated by the _p_a_g_e command
described later.
The _g_e_t command can also use a wildcard expression in an
attempt to match exactly one remote file. I call it ``Poor
Man's File Completion.'' If you've done a remote listing,
and you decide you want to download a file by the name of
``obnoxiouslylongpackagename.tar.Z'', you can use ``PMFC''
to save some keystrokes. Choose an expression that will
only match that one file, then use it with _g_e_t:
get obn*.Z a.tar.Z
If your pattern was unique, _g_e_t will fetch that file only.
If the pattern matched more than one file, the program will
bitch and moan.
The _m_g_e_t command is used to fetch many files at a time. The
difference between _g_e_t and _m_g_e_t is that _g_e_t lets you write
only one file, but you can put it in a different directory,
while _m_g_e_t fetches many files, always writing them in the
current local directory. This example fetches several
remote files at once:
mget a.file.Z b.file.Z c.tar d.tar.Z
The _m_g_e_t command, and its ugly sisters, _m_p_u_t and _m_d_e_l_e_t_e let
you use wildcard expressions. I could have done the previ-
ous example as:
mget *.Z c.tar
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instead. The ``m'' commands will verify each file, if you
have the program variable _m_p_r_o_m_p_t set.
Viewing a remote file with your pager
If you would like to read a file on the remote host without
saving a copy of it on your machine, you can use the _p_a_g_e
(or _m_o_r_e if you wish) command:
page README
page obn*README
page README.Z
The second example show that you can use ``PMFC'' like you
can for _g_e_t. The third example will work also, because if
the program knows how to decompress the file, it will do so
before feeding it to your pager. As stated earlier, you can
change the program to use to page by setting the program
variable _p_a_g_e_r.
Creating a message file on the remote host
Use the _c_r_e_a_t_e an empty file on the remote site. Sometimes
it is necessary to leave a note if you can't get in touch
with the remote site's administrator. For example if a file
is corrupted, you could try:
create Foo.tar_is_corrupt
in hopes that the original uploader will replace it.
Looking up site names and addresses
You can use the program's builtin mini-_n_s_l_o_o_k_u_p facility.
If you wanted to know the site's IP number, but only knew
the name you could do:
lookup cse.unl.edu
This would spit out IP number for that site, in this case
``129.93.1.12''. If you needed to know what a site's name
was, but only knew the IP number, try:
lookup 129.93.1.12
This would spit out the name for that site, in this case
``cse.unl.edu''.
Checking the configuration of the program
Use the _v_e_r_s_i_o_n command to print version and compilation
information about the program. This will also tell you
which optional features are compiled into the program, such
as logging to the system log and which command line editor
(if any) has been installed.
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The author's email address is listed, and if you need to
report something, send the output of this command along with
your message.
Using the command shell
Just like the stock _f_t_p program, you type commands to it
until you get bored and hit either ^D or type the _q_u_i_t com-
mand.
The program supports links to popular command line editing
libraries. If the person who compiled it went to the
effort, you will be able to edit the command line with arrow
keys and other editing commands, and also scroll up and down
in the command line history, usually with the up and down
arrows. You can check the _v_e_r_s_i_o_n command to see if either
``GETLINE'' or ``READLINE'' are installed.
Customizing the prompt
You can set the shell's prompt string to whatever you like.
You can use several metacharacters that expand into some-
thing each prompt. The ``%'' flags are passed to
_s_t_r_f_t_i_m_e(3), so you can put the date or time in the prompt
formatted as you like it:
set prompt "%I:%M ncftp>"
That would the current time in the prompt.
The ``@'' flags are expanded by the program itself. Here's
the list of them.
If you have an ANSI-compatible terminal, or you have the
program variable _a_n_s_i-_e_s_c_a_p_e_s set, you can use @B, @I, and
@U to turn on boldface, inverse, and underline text respec-
tively (otherwise they won't insert anything). You can also
use @R to turn on inverse (reverse) text. @P sets the text
back to plain text.
@D Inserts the full path of the current remote directory.
The @J flag is similar except it inserts only the directory
name.
@H Inserts the name of the remote host. @C inserts the host
and current directory path in _c_o_l_o_n-_m_o_d_e format, such as
``cse.unl.edu:/pub/mgleason'', or ``(not connected)''. The
@c flag is similar, only it will insert
``cse.unl.edu:/pub/mgleason'' and a newline if connected,
otherwise it prints nothing. The default prompt uses this
flag to print a two line prompt when connected and a one
line prompt when not connected.
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@E or @! inserts the event number (how many commands you've
typed).
@M inserts ``(Mail) '' if mail has arrived since running the
program.
@N inserts a newline character.
Keeping a log of your file transfers
You can have the program keep a personal log file. I find
it is useful so I can see where I got a certain file, or
what the name of that site was I called two weeks ago.
To use a log, add:
#set logfile ~/.ftplog
(or whatever you want to name the log) to your RC file. I
don't want my log growing too large and using up all my disk
space, so I also have:
#set logsize 10240
in my RC file. If you set the limit on the maximum log
size, the program will keep the log file at or below that
size, discarding old entries.
Note that this is different from having SYSLOG appear in the
_v_e_r_s_i_o_n command's output. When this is on, your actions are
recorded to the system log, so your system administrator can
make sure you aren't doing anything ``bad.''
Program options
Remember that you can treat the command line like an _o_p_e_n
command, so all lowercase options are passed to the _o_p_e_n
command, and the uppercase options are handled by the main
program. The uppercase options are described below; refer
to the _o_p_e_n command for descriptions of its options.
-D _x sets the debugging level to _x.
-H runs the _v_e_r_s_i_o_n command and exits, so you can save the
output of it to use when you need to mail me something.
-I toggles the mprompt variable; this is provided for com-
patibility with ``ftp -i''.
-N disables reading of the RC file; this is provided for
compatibility with ``ftp -n''.
-V _x sets verbosity to level _x (-1, 0, 1, 2) or (quiet,
errs, terse, verbose). See the description of the
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_v_e_r_b_o_s_e program variable for more information.
Here are some example command lines. Again, see the
description of the _o_p_e_n command (especially _c_o_l_o_n-_m_o_d_e and
_F_T_P-_c_a_t _m_o_d_e) and all its functions for more information.
This just enters the _N_c_F_T_P command shell:
csh> ncftp
This fetches CONTENTS and then quits:
csh> ncftp cse.unl.edu:/pub/mgleason/CONTENTS
Some others examples, with open options and main program
options mixed in:
csh> ncftp -V quiet -u ftp.unl.edu
csh> ncftp -c cse.unl.edu:/pub/mgleason/CONTENTS
csh> ncftp -D 2 -r -d 120 -g 10 -N ftp.unl.edu
A sample RC file
Here is a sample RC file:
#set logfile ~/.ftplog
#set progress-reports 2
#set local-dir /usr/tmp/zz
#set prompt "@B@E @UNcFTP@P @B@M@D@P ->"
machine sumex-aim.stanford.edu
macdef init
cd /info-mac
get ./help/recent-files.txt "|grep -v '.abs' > sumex
!less sumex
pwd
# This site is in here just so I can use ``apple''
# as an abbreviation.
machine ftp.apple.com
# NcFTP will only ask for your password:
machine cse.unl.edu
login mgleason
# You can supply a login and a password:
machine fake.machine.unl.edu
login mgleason
password mypass
macdef init
cd ./foo/bar
# If an antiquated non-UNIX machine doesn't use
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# the "SYST" command, you may need to unset
# remote-is-unix, if the remote host complains
# about ``ls -CF''.
machine some.vms.unl.edu
macdef init
unset remote-is-unix
AUTHORS
_N_c_F_T_P was written by Mike Gleason, _N_C_E_M_R_S_o_f_t
(mgleason@cse.unl.edu), and based on code by the authors of
the _f_t_p from the BSD 4.3 distribution. _N_c_F_T_P is copyrighted
1992, 1993 by NCEMRSoft and 1985, 1989 by the Regents of
California.
Ideas and some code contributed by Phil Dietz, _N_C_E_M_R_S_o_f_t
(pdietz@cse.unl.edu). Testing and debugging done by Phil
and Kok Hon Yin (hkok@cse.unl.edu).
Extensive man page formatting work by DaviD W. Sanderson
(dws@ssec.wisc.edu).
BUGS
Correct execution of many commands depends upon proper
behavior by the remote server.
The remote server may drop the connection if you take a long
time to page remote files.
Termcap padding is not correctly displayed.
There are no such sites named _b_o_w_s_e_r._n_i_n_t_e_n_d_o._j_p or
_s_p_h_y_g_m_o_m_a_n_o_m_e_t_e_r._u_n_l._e_d_u.
SEE ALSO
_s_t_r_f_t_i_m_e(3), _f_t_p_d(8), _f_t_p(1), _n_s_l_o_o_k_u_p(1), _c_o_m_p_r_e_s_s(1),
_g_z_i_p(1), _z_c_a_t(1), _f_s_p(1), _a_r_c_h_i_e(1), _t_f_t_p(1).
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