File Transfer

The file transfer protocol (FTP) allows a user on any computer
to get files from another computer, or to send files to another
computer. Security is handled by requiring the user to specify a user
name and password for the other computer, or logging into a system that
allows for Anonymous logins. Provisions are made for
handling file transfer between machines with different character set,
end of line conventions, etc. This is not quite the same thing as more
recent "network file system" or "NetBIOS" protocols, which will be
described below. Rather, FTP is a utility that you run any time you
want to access a file on another system. You use it to copy the file
to your own system. You then work with the local copy. (See RFC 959
for specifications for FTP.)