file transfer protocol

FTP

 in full file transfer protocol

Internet protocol that allows a computer to send files to or receive files from another computer. Like many Internet resources, FTP works by means of a client-server architecture; the user runs client software to connect to a server on the Internet. On the FTP server, a program called a daemon allows the user to download and upload files. Before the World Wide Web was introduced, FTP was one of the most popular methods of exchanging information over the Internet and many Web sites still use it to disseminate their larger files.

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file transfer protocol

A communications protocol used to transmit files without loss of data. A file transfer protocol can handle all types of files including binary files and ASCII text files. See Kermit, Zmodem and FTP.

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file transfer protocol [′fīl ¦tranz·fər ‚prōd·ə·kȯl]

(computer science)

A set of standards that allows the user of any computer on the Internet to receive files from another computer, or to transmit files to another computer, after the user has specified a name and password for the other computer. Abbreviated FTP.

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File Transfer Protocol - (FTP) A client-server protocol which allows a user on one computer to transfer files to and from another computer over a TCP/IP network. Also the client program the user executes to transfer files. It is defined in STD 9, RFC 959. See also anonymous FTP, FSP, TFTP. Unix manual page: ftp(1).