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Net::FTP(3p)	Perl Programmers Reference Guide     Net::FTP(3p)

NAME
     Net::FTP - FTP Client class

SYNOPSIS
	 use Net::FTP;

	 $ftp = Net::FTP->new("some.host.name", Debug => 0)
	   or die "Cannot connect to some.host.name: $@";

	 $ftp->login("anonymous",'-anonymous@')
	   or die "Cannot login ", $ftp->message;

	 $ftp->cwd("/pub")
	   or die "Cannot change working directory ", $ftp->message;

	 $ftp->get("that.file")
	   or die "get failed ", $ftp->message;

	 $ftp->quit;

DESCRIPTION
     "Net::FTP" is a class implementing a simple FTP client in
     Perl as described in RFC959.  It provides wrappers for a
     subset of the RFC959 commands.

OVERVIEW
     FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol.  It is a way of
     transferring files between networked machines.  The protocol
     defines a client (whose commands are provided by this
     module) and a server (not implemented in this module).  Com-
     munication is always initiated by the client, and the server
     responds with a message and a status code (and sometimes
     with data).

     The FTP protocol allows files to be sent to or fetched from
     the server.  Each transfer involves a local file (on the
     client) and a remote file (on the server).	 In this module,
     the same file name will be used for both local and remote if
     only one is specified.  This means that transferring remote
     file "/path/to/file" will try to put that file in
     "/path/to/file" locally, unless you specify a local file
     name.

     The protocol also defines several standard translations
     which the file can undergo during transfer.  These are
     ASCII, EBCDIC, binary, and byte.  ASCII is the default type,
     and indicates that the sender of files will translate the
     ends of lines to a standard representation which the
     receiver will then translate back into their local represen-
     tation.  EBCDIC indicates the file being transferred is in
     EBCDIC format.  Binary (also known as image) format sends
     the data as a contiguous bit stream.  Byte format transfers

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     the data as bytes, the values of which remain the same
     regardless of differences in byte size between the two
     machines (in theory - in practice you should only use this
     if you really know what you're doing).

CONSTRUCTOR
     new ([ HOST ] [, OPTIONS ])
	 This is the constructor for a new Net::FTP object.
	 "HOST" is the name of the remote host to which an FTP
	 connection is required.

	 "HOST" is optional. If "HOST" is not given then it may
	 instead be passed as the "Host" option described below.

	 "OPTIONS" are passed in a hash like fashion, using key
	 and value pairs. Possible options are:

	 Host - FTP host to connect to. It may be a single
	 scalar, as defined for the "PeerAddr" option in
	 IO::Socket::INET, or a reference to an array with hosts
	 to try in turn. The "host" method will return the value
	 which was used to connect to the host.

	 Firewall - The name of a machine which acts as an FTP
	 firewall. This can be overridden by an environment vari-
	 able "FTP_FIREWALL". If specified, and the given host
	 cannot be directly connected to, then the connection is
	 made to the firewall machine and the string @hostname is
	 appended to the login identifier. This kind of setup is
	 also refered to as an ftp proxy.

	 FirewallType - The type of firewall running on the
	 machine indicated by Firewall. This can be overridden by
	 an environment variable "FTP_FIREWALL_TYPE". For a list
	 of permissible types, see the description of
	 ftp_firewall_type in Net::Config.

	 BlockSize - This is the block size that Net::FTP will
	 use when doing transfers. (defaults to 10240)

	 Port - The port number to connect to on the remote
	 machine for the FTP connection

	 Timeout - Set a timeout value (defaults to 120)

	 Debug - debug level (see the debug method in Net::Cmd)

	 Passive - If set to a non-zero value then all data
	 transfers will be done using passive mode. This is not
	 usually required except for some dumb servers, and some
	 firewall configurations. This can also be set by the
	 environment variable "FTP_PASSIVE".

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	 Hash - If given a reference to a file handle (e.g.,
	 "\*STDERR"), print hash marks (#) on that filehandle
	 every 1024 bytes.  This simply invokes the "hash()"
	 method for you, so that hash marks are displayed for all
	 transfers.  You can, of course, call "hash()" explicitly
	 whenever you'd like.

	 LocalAddr - Local address to use for all socket connec-
	 tions, this argument will be passed to IO::Socket::INET

	 If the constructor fails undef will be returned and an
	 error message will be in $@

METHODS
     Unless otherwise stated all methods return either a true or
     false value, with true meaning that the operation was a suc-
     cess. When a method states that it returns a value, failure
     will be returned as undef or an empty list.

     login ([LOGIN [,PASSWORD [, ACCOUNT] ] ])
	 Log into the remote FTP server with the given login
	 information. If no arguments are given then the
	 "Net::FTP" uses the "Net::Netrc" package to lookup the
	 login information for the connected host. If no informa-
	 tion is found then a login of anonymous is used. If no
	 password is given and the login is anonymous then
	 anonymous@ will be used for password.

	 If the connection is via a firewall then the "authorize"
	 method will be called with no arguments.

     authorize ( [AUTH [, RESP]])
	 This is a protocol used by some firewall ftp proxies. It
	 is used to authorise the user to send data out.  If both
	 arguments are not specified then "authorize" uses
	 "Net::Netrc" to do a lookup.

     site (ARGS)
	 Send a SITE command to the remote server and wait for a
	 response.

	 Returns most significant digit of the response code.

     ascii
	 Transfer file in ASCII. CRLF translation will be done if
	 required

     binary
	 Transfer file in binary mode. No transformation will be
	 done.

	 Hint: If both server and client machines use the same

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	 line ending for text files, then it will be faster to
	 transfer all files in binary mode.

     rename ( OLDNAME, NEWNAME )
	 Rename a file on the remote FTP server from "OLDNAME" to
	 "NEWNAME". This is done by sending the RNFR and RNTO
	 commands.

     delete ( FILENAME )
	 Send a request to the server to delete "FILENAME".

     cwd ( [ DIR ] )
	 Attempt to change directory to the directory given in
	 $dir.	If $dir is "..", the FTP "CDUP" command is used
	 to attempt to move up one directory. If no directory is
	 given then an attempt is made to change the directory to
	 the root directory.

     cdup ()
	 Change directory to the parent of the current directory.

     pwd ()
	 Returns the full pathname of the current directory.

     restart ( WHERE )
	 Set the byte offset at which to begin the next data
	 transfer. Net::FTP simply records this value and uses it
	 when during the next data transfer. For this reason this
	 method will not return an error, but setting it may
	 cause a subsequent data transfer to fail.

     rmdir ( DIR [, RECURSE ])
	 Remove the directory with the name "DIR". If "RECURSE"
	 is true then "rmdir" will attempt to delete everything
	 inside the directory.

     mkdir ( DIR [, RECURSE ])
	 Create a new directory with the name "DIR". If "RECURSE"
	 is true then "mkdir" will attempt to create all the
	 directories in the given path.

	 Returns the full pathname to the new directory.

     alloc ( SIZE [, RECORD_SIZE] )
	 The alloc command allows you to give the ftp server a
	 hint about the size of the file about to be transfered
	 using the ALLO ftp command. Some storage systems use
	 this to make intelligent decisions about how to store
	 the file. The "SIZE" argument represents the size of the
	 file in bytes. The "RECORD_SIZE" argument indicates a
	 mazimum record or page size for files sent with a record
	 or page structure.

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	 The size of the file will be determined, and sent to the
	 server automatically for normal files so that this
	 method need only be called if you are transfering data
	 from a socket, named pipe, or other stream not associ-
	 ated with a normal file.

     ls ( [ DIR ] )
	 Get a directory listing of "DIR", or the current direc-
	 tory.

	 In an array context, returns a list of lines returned
	 from the server. In a scalar context, returns a refer-
	 ence to a list.

     dir ( [ DIR ] )
	 Get a directory listing of "DIR", or the current direc-
	 tory in long format.

	 In an array context, returns a list of lines returned
	 from the server. In a scalar context, returns a refer-
	 ence to a list.

     get ( REMOTE_FILE [, LOCAL_FILE [, WHERE]] )
	 Get "REMOTE_FILE" from the server and store locally.
	 "LOCAL_FILE" may be a filename or a filehandle. If not
	 specified, the file will be stored in the current direc-
	 tory with the same leafname as the remote file.

	 If "WHERE" is given then the first "WHERE" bytes of the
	 file will not be transfered, and the remaining bytes
	 will be appended to the local file if it already exists.

	 Returns "LOCAL_FILE", or the generated local file name
	 if "LOCAL_FILE" is not given. If an error was encoun-
	 tered undef is returned.

     put ( LOCAL_FILE [, REMOTE_FILE ] )
	 Put a file on the remote server. "LOCAL_FILE" may be a
	 name or a filehandle. If "LOCAL_FILE" is a filehandle
	 then "REMOTE_FILE" must be specified. If "REMOTE_FILE"
	 is not specified then the file will be stored in the
	 current directory with the same leafname as
	 "LOCAL_FILE".

	 Returns "REMOTE_FILE", or the generated remote filename
	 if "REMOTE_FILE" is not given.

	 NOTE: If for some reason the transfer does not complete
	 and an error is returned then the contents that had been
	 transfered will not be remove automatically.

     put_unique ( LOCAL_FILE [, REMOTE_FILE ] )

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	 Same as put but uses the "STOU" command.

	 Returns the name of the file on the server.

     append ( LOCAL_FILE [, REMOTE_FILE ] )
	 Same as put but appends to the file on the remote
	 server.

	 Returns "REMOTE_FILE", or the generated remote filename
	 if "REMOTE_FILE" is not given.

     unique_name ()
	 Returns the name of the last file stored on the server
	 using the "STOU" command.

     mdtm ( FILE )
	 Returns the modification time of the given file

     size ( FILE )
	 Returns the size in bytes for the given file as stored
	 on the remote server.

	 NOTE: The size reported is the size of the stored file
	 on the remote server. If the file is subsequently
	 transfered from the server in ASCII mode and the remote
	 server and local machine have different ideas about "End
	 Of Line" then the size of file on the local machine
	 after transfer may be different.

     supported ( CMD )
	 Returns TRUE if the remote server supports the given
	 command.

     hash ( [FILEHANDLE_GLOB_REF],[ BYTES_PER_HASH_MARK] )
	 Called without parameters, or with the first argument
	 false, hash marks are suppressed.  If the first argument
	 is true but not a reference to a file handle glob, then
	 \*STDERR is used.  The second argument is the number of
	 bytes per hash mark printed, and defaults to 1024.  In
	 all cases the return value is a reference to an array of
	 two:  the filehandle glob reference and the bytes per
	 hash mark.

     The following methods can return different results depending
     on how they are called. If the user explicitly calls either
     of the "pasv" or "port" methods then these methods will
     return a true or false value. If the user does not call
     either of these methods then the result will be a reference
     to a "Net::FTP::dataconn" based object.

     nlst ( [ DIR ] )
	 Send an "NLST" command to the server, with an optional

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	 parameter.

     list ( [ DIR ] )
	 Same as "nlst" but using the "LIST" command

     retr ( FILE )
	 Begin the retrieval of a file called "FILE" from the
	 remote server.

     stor ( FILE )
	 Tell the server that you wish to store a file. "FILE" is
	 the name of the new file that should be created.

     stou ( FILE )
	 Same as "stor" but using the "STOU" command. The name of
	 the unique file which was created on the server will be
	 available via the "unique_name" method after the data
	 connection has been closed.

     appe ( FILE )
	 Tell the server that we want to append some data to the
	 end of a file called "FILE". If this file does not exist
	 then create it.

     If for some reason you want to have complete control over
     the data connection, this includes generating it and calling
     the "response" method when required, then the user can use
     these methods to do so.

     However calling these methods only affects the use of the
     methods above that can return a data connection. They have
     no effect on methods "get", "put", "put_unique" and those
     that do not require data connections.

     port ( [ PORT ] )
	 Send a "PORT" command to the server. If "PORT" is speci-
	 fied then it is sent to the server. If not, then a
	 listen socket is created and the correct information
	 sent to the server.

     pasv ()
	 Tell the server to go into passive mode. Returns the
	 text that represents the port on which the server is
	 listening, this text is in a suitable form to sent to
	 another ftp server using the "port" method.

     The following methods can be used to transfer files between
     two remote servers, providing that these two servers can
     connect directly to each other.

     pasv_xfer ( SRC_FILE, DEST_SERVER [, DEST_FILE ] )
	 This method will do a file transfer between two remote

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	 ftp servers. If "DEST_FILE" is omitted then the leaf
	 name of "SRC_FILE" will be used.

     pasv_xfer_unique ( SRC_FILE, DEST_SERVER [, DEST_FILE ] )
	 Like "pasv_xfer" but the file is stored on the remote
	 server using the STOU command.

     pasv_wait ( NON_PASV_SERVER )
	 This method can be used to wait for a transfer to com-
	 plete between a passive server and a non-passive server.
	 The method should be called on the passive server with
	 the "Net::FTP" object for the non-passive server passed
	 as an argument.

     abort ()
	 Abort the current data transfer.

     quit ()
	 Send the QUIT command to the remote FTP server and close
	 the socket connection.

     Methods for the adventurous

     "Net::FTP" inherits from "Net::Cmd" so methods defined in
     "Net::Cmd" may be used to send commands to the remote FTP
     server.

     quot (CMD [,ARGS])
	 Send a command, that Net::FTP does not directly support,
	 to the remote server and wait for a response.

	 Returns most significant digit of the response code.

	 WARNING This call should only be used on commands that
	 do not require data connections. Misuse of this method
	 can hang the connection.

THE dataconn CLASS
     Some of the methods defined in "Net::FTP" return an object
     which will be derived from this class.The dataconn class
     itself is derived from the "IO::Socket::INET" class, so any
     normal IO operations can be performed. However the following
     methods are defined in the dataconn class and IO should be
     performed using these.

     read ( BUFFER, SIZE [, TIMEOUT ] )
	 Read "SIZE" bytes of data from the server and place it
	 into "BUFFER", also performing any <CRLF> translation
	 necessary. "TIMEOUT" is optional, if not given, the
	 timeout value from the command connection will be used.

	 Returns the number of bytes read before any <CRLF>

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	 translation.

     write ( BUFFER, SIZE [, TIMEOUT ] )
	 Write "SIZE" bytes of data from "BUFFER" to the server,
	 also performing any <CRLF> translation necessary.
	 "TIMEOUT" is optional, if not given, the timeout value
	 from the command connection will be used.

	 Returns the number of bytes written before any <CRLF>
	 translation.

     bytes_read ()
	 Returns the number of bytes read so far.

     abort ()
	 Abort the current data transfer.

     close ()
	 Close the data connection and get a response from the
	 FTP server. Returns true if the connection was closed
	 successfully and the first digit of the response from
	 the server was a '2'.

UNIMPLEMENTED
     The following RFC959 commands have not been implemented:

     SMNT
	 Mount a different file system structure without changing
	 login or accounting information.

     HELP
	 Ask the server for "helpful information" (that's what
	 the RFC says) on the commands it accepts.

     MODE
	 Specifies transfer mode (stream, block or compressed)
	 for file to be transferred.

     SYST
	 Request remote server system identification.

     STAT
	 Request remote server status.

     STRU
	 Specifies file structure for file to be transferred.

     REIN
	 Reinitialize the connection, flushing all I/O and
	 account information.

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REPORTING BUGS
     When reporting bugs/problems please include as much informa-
     tion as possible. It may be difficult for me to reproduce
     the problem as almost every setup is different.

     A small script which yields the problem will probably be of
     help. It would also be useful if this script was run with
     the extra options "Debug =" 1> passed to the constructor,
     and the output sent with the bug report. If you cannot
     include a small script then please include a Debug trace
     from a run of your program which does yield the problem.

AUTHOR
     Graham Barr <gbarr@pobox.com>

SEE ALSO
     Net::Netrc Net::Cmd

     ftp(1), ftpd(8), RFC 959
     http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/htbin/rfc/rfc959.html

USE EXAMPLES
     For an example of the use of Net::FTP see

     http://www.csh.rit.edu/~adam/Progs/
	 "autoftp" is a program that can retrieve, send, or list
	 files via the FTP protocol in a non-interactive manner.

CREDITS
     Henry Gabryjelski <henryg@WPI.EDU> - for the suggestion of
     creating directories recursively.

     Nathan Torkington <gnat@frii.com> - for some input on the
     documentation.

     Roderick Schertler <roderick@gate.net> - for various inputs

COPYRIGHT
     Copyright (c) 1995-2004 Graham Barr. All rights reserved.
     This program is free software; you can redistribute it
     and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.

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