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NAME
ftp - A File Transfer Protocol client.
DESCRIPTION
This module implements a client for file transfer according to a subset of the File
Transfer Protocol (FTP), see RFC 959.
As from Inets 4.4.1, the FTP client always tries to use passive FTP mode and only resort
to active FTP mode if this fails. This default behavior can be changed by start option
mode.
An FTP client can be started in two ways. One is using the Inets service framework, the
other is to start it directly as a standalone process using function open.
For a simple example of an FTP session, see Inets User's Guide.
In addition to the ordinary functions for receiving and sending files (see recv/2, recv/3,
send/2, and send/3) there are functions for receiving remote files as binaries (see
recv_bin/2) and for sending binaries to be stored as remote files (see send_bin/3).
A set of functions is provvided for sending and receiving contiguous parts of a file to be
stored in a remote file. For send, see send_chunk_start/2, send_chunk/2, and
send_chunk_end/1. For receive, see recv_chunk_start/2 and recv_chunk/).
The return values of the following functions depend much on the implementation of the FTP
server at the remote host. In particular, the results from ls and nlist varies. Often real
errors are not reported as errors by ls, even if, for example, a file or directory does
not exist. nlist is usually more strict, but some implementations have the peculiar
behaviour of responding with an error if the request is a listing of the contents of a
directory that exists but is empty.
FTP CLIENT SERVICE START/STOP
The FTP client can be started and stopped dynamically in runtime by calling the Inets
application API inets:start(ftpc, ServiceConfig), or inets:start(ftpc, ServiceConfig,
How), and inets:stop(ftpc, Pid). For details, see inets(3erl).
The available configuration options are as follows:
{host, Host}:
Host = string() | ip_address()
{port, Port}:
Port = integer() > 0
Default is 21.
{mode, Mode}:
Mode = active | passive
Default is passive.
{verbose, Verbose}:
Verbose = boolean()
Determines if the FTP communication is to be verbose or not.
Default is false.
{debug, Debug}:
Debug = trace | debug | disable
Debugging using the dbg toolkit.
Default is disable.
{ipfamily, IpFamily}:
IpFamily = inet | inet6 | inet6fb4
With inet6fb4 the client behaves as before, that is, tries to use IPv6, and only if
that does not work it uses IPv4).
Default is inet (IPv4).
{timeout, Timeout}:
Timeout = non_neg_integer()
Connection time-out.
Default is 60000 (milliseconds).
{dtimeout, DTimeout}:
DTimeout = non_neg_integer() | infinity
Data connect time-out. The time the client waits for the server to connect to the data
socket.
Default is infinity.
{progress, Progress}:
Progress = ignore | {CBModule, CBFunction, InitProgress}
CBModule = atom(), CBFunction = atom()
InitProgress = term()
Default is ignore.
Option progress is intended to be used by applications that want to create some type of
progress report, such as a progress bar in a GUI. Default for the progress option is
ignore, that is, the option is not used. When the progress option is specified, the
following happens when ftp:send/[3,4] or ftp:recv/[3,4] are called:
* Before a file is transferred, the following call is made to indicate the start of the
file transfer and how large the file is. The return value of the callback function is
to be a new value for the UserProgressTerm that will be used as input the next time
the callback function is called.
CBModule:CBFunction(InitProgress, File, {file_size, FileSize})
* Every time a chunk of bytes is transferred the following call is made:
CBModule:CBFunction(UserProgressTerm, File, {transfer_size, TransferSize})
* At the end of the file the following call is made to indicate the end of the transfer:
CBModule:CBFunction(UserProgressTerm, File, {transfer_size, 0})
The callback function is to be defined as follows:
CBModule:CBFunction(UserProgressTerm, File, Size) -> UserProgressTerm
CBModule = CBFunction = atom()
UserProgressTerm = term()
File = string()
Size = {transfer_size, integer()} | {file_size, integer()} | {file_size, unknown}
For remote files, ftp cannot determine the file size in a platform independent way. In
this case the size becomes unknown and it is left to the application to determine the
size.
Note:
The callback is made by a middleman process, hence the file transfer is not affected by
the code in the progress callback function. If the callback crashes, this is detected by
the FTP connection process, which then prints an info-report and goes on as if the
progress option was set to ignore.
The file transfer type is set to the default of the FTP server when the session is opened.
This is usually ASCCI mode.
The current local working directory (compare lpwd/1) is set to the value reported by
file:get_cwd/1, the wanted local directory.
The return value Pid is used as a reference to the newly created FTP client in all other
functions, and they are to be called by the process that created the connection. The FTP
client process monitors the process that created it and terminates if that process
terminates.
DATA TYPES
The following type definitions are used by more than one function in the FTP client API:
pid() = identifier of an FTP connection
string() = list of ASCII characters
shortage_reason() = etnospc | epnospc
restriction_reason() = epath | efnamena | elogin | enotbinary - all restrictions are not
always relevant to all functions
common_reason() = econn | eclosed | term() - some explanation of what went wrong
EXPORTS
account(Pid, Account) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
Account = string()
Reason = eacct | common_reason()
Sets the account for an operation, if needed.
append(Pid, LocalFile) ->
append(Pid, LocalFile, RemoteFile) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
LocalFile = RemoteFile = string()
Reason = epath | elogin | etnospc | epnospc | efnamena | common_reason
Transfers the file LocalFile to the remote server. If RemoteFile is specified, the
name of the remote file that the file is appended to is set to RemoteFile,
otherwise to LocalFile. If the file does not exists, it is created.
append_bin(Pid, Bin, RemoteFile) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
Bin = binary()()
RemoteFile = string()
Reason = restriction_reason()| shortage_reason() | common_reason()
Transfers the binary Bin to the remote server and appends it to the file
RemoteFile. If the file does not exist, it is created.
append_chunk(Pid, Bin) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
Bin = binary()
Reason = echunk | restriction_reason() | common_reason()
Transfers the chunk Bin to the remote server, which appends it to the file
specified in the call to append_chunk_start/2.
For some errors, for example, file system full, it is necessary to call
append_chunk_end to get the proper reason.
append_chunk_start(Pid, File) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
File = string()
Reason = restriction_reason() | common_reason()
Starts the transfer of chunks for appending to the file File at the remote server.
If the file does not exist, it is created.
append_chunk_end(Pid) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
Reason = echunk | restriction_reason() | shortage_reason()
Stops transfer of chunks for appending to the remote server. The file at the remote
server, specified in the call to append_chunk_start/2, is closed by the server.
cd(Pid, Dir) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
Dir = string()
Reason = restriction_reason() | common_reason()
Changes the working directory at the remote server to Dir.
close(Pid) -> ok
Types:
Pid = pid()
Ends an FTP session, created using function open.
delete(Pid, File) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
File = string()
Reason = restriction_reason() | common_reason()
Deletes the file File at the remote server.
formaterror(Tag) -> string()
Types:
Tag = {error, atom()} | atom()
Given an error return value {error, AtomReason}, this function returns a readable
string describing the error.
lcd(Pid, Dir) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
Dir = string()
Reason = restriction_reason()
Changes the working directory to Dir for the local client.
lpwd(Pid) -> {ok, Dir}
Types:
Pid = pid()
Returns the current working directory at the local client.
ls(Pid) ->
ls(Pid, Pathname) -> {ok, Listing} | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
Pathname = string()
Listing = string()
Reason = restriction_reason() | common_reason()
Returns a list of files in long format.
Pathname can be a directory, a group of files, or a file. The Pathname string can
contain wildcards.
ls/1 implies the current remote directory of the user.
The format of Listing depends on the operating system. On UNIX, it is typically
produced from the output of the ls -l shell command.
mkdir(Pid, Dir) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
Dir = string()
Reason = restriction_reason() | common_reason()
Creates the directory Dir at the remote server.
nlist(Pid) ->
nlist(Pid, Pathname) -> {ok, Listing} | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
Pathname = string()
Listing = string()
Reason = restriction_reason() | common_reason()
Returns a list of files in short format.
Pathname can be a directory, a group of files, or a file. The Pathname string can
contain wildcards.
nlist/1 implies the current remote directory of the user.
The format of Listing is a stream of filenames where each filename is separated by
<CRLF> or <NL>. Contrary to function ls, the purpose of nlist is to enable a
program to process filename information automatically.
open(Host) -> {ok, Pid} | {error, Reason}
open(Host, Opts) -> {ok, Pid} | {error, Reason}
Types:
Host = string() | ip_address()
Opts = options()
options() = [option()]
option() = start_option() | open_option()
start_option() = {verbose, verbose()} | {debug, debug()}
verbose() = boolean() (default is false)
debug() = disable | debug | trace (default is disable)
open_option() = {ipfamily, ipfamily()} | {port, port()} | {mode, mode()} | {tls,
tls_options()} | {timeout, timeout()} | {dtimeout, dtimeout()} | {progress,
progress()}
ipfamily() = inet | inet6 | inet6fb4 (default is inet)
port() = integer() > 0 (default is 21)
mode() = active | passive (default is passive)
tls_options() = [ssl:ssloption()]
timeout() = integer() > 0 (default is 60000 milliseconds)
dtimeout() = integer() > 0 | infinity (default is infinity)
pogress() = ignore | {module(), function(), initial_data()} (default is ignore)
module() = atom()
function() = atom()
initial_data() = term()
Reason = ehost | term()
Starts a standalone FTP client process (without the Inets service framework) and
opens a session with the FTP server at Host.
If option {tls, tls_options()} is present, the FTP session is transported over tls
(ftps, see RFC 4217). The list tls_options() can be empty. The function
ssl:connect/3 is used for securing both the control connection and the data
sessions.
A session opened in this way is closed using function close.
pwd(Pid) -> {ok, Dir} | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
Reason = restriction_reason() | common_reason()
Returns the current working directory at the remote server.
recv(Pid, RemoteFile) ->
recv(Pid, RemoteFile, LocalFile) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
RemoteFile = LocalFile = string()
Reason = restriction_reason() | common_reason() | file_write_error_reason()
file_write_error_reason() = see file:write/2
Transfers the file RemoteFile from the remote server to the file system of the
local client. If LocalFile is specified, the local file will be LocalFile,
otherwise RemoteFile.
If the file write fails (for example, enospc), the command is aborted and {error,
file_write_error_reason()} is returned. However, the file is not removed.
recv_bin(Pid, RemoteFile) -> {ok, Bin} | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
Bin = binary()
RemoteFile = string()
Reason = restriction_reason() | common_reason()
Transfers the file RemoteFile from the remote server and receives it as a binary.
recv_chunk_start(Pid, RemoteFile) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
RemoteFile = string()
Reason = restriction_reason() | common_reason()
Starts transfer of the file RemoteFile from the remote server.
recv_chunk(Pid) -> ok | {ok, Bin} | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
Bin = binary()
Reason = restriction_reason() | common_reason()
Receives a chunk of the remote file (RemoteFile of recv_chunk_start). The return
values have the following meaning:
* ok = the transfer is complete.
* {ok, Bin} = just another chunk of the file.
* {error, Reason} = transfer failed.
rename(Pid, Old, New) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
CurrFile = NewFile = string()
Reason = restriction_reason() | common_reason()
Renames Old to New at the remote server.
rmdir(Pid, Dir) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
Dir = string()
Reason = restriction_reason() | common_reason()
Removes directory Dir at the remote server.
send(Pid, LocalFile) ->
send(Pid, LocalFile, RemoteFile) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
LocalFile = RemoteFile = string()
Reason = restriction_reason() | common_reason() | shortage_reason()
Transfers the file LocalFile to the remote server. If RemoteFile is specified, the
name of the remote file is set to RemoteFile, otherwise to LocalFile.
send_bin(Pid, Bin, RemoteFile) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
Bin = binary()()
RemoteFile = string()
Reason = restriction_reason() | common_reason() | shortage_reason()
Transfers the binary Bin into the file RemoteFile at the remote server.
send_chunk(Pid, Bin) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
Bin = binary()
Reason = echunk | restriction_reason() | common_reason()
Transfers the chunk Bin to the remote server, which writes it into the file
specified in the call to send_chunk_start/2.
For some errors, for example, file system full, it is necessary to to call
send_chunk_end to get the proper reason.
send_chunk_start(Pid, File) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
File = string()
Reason = restriction_reason() | common_reason()
Starts transfer of chunks into the file File at the remote server.
send_chunk_end(Pid) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
Reason = restriction_reason() | common_reason() | shortage_reason()
Stops transfer of chunks to the remote server. The file at the remote server,
specified in the call to send_chunk_start/2 is closed by the server.
type(Pid, Type) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
Type = ascii | binary
Reason = etype | restriction_reason() | common_reason()
Sets the file transfer type to ascii or binary. When an FTP session is opened, the
default transfer type of the server is used, most often ascii, which is default
according to RFC 959.
user(Pid, User, Password) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
User = Password = string()
Reason = euser | common_reason()
Performs login of User with Password.
user(Pid, User, Password, Account) -> ok | {error, Reason}
Types:
Pid = pid()
User = Password = string()
Reason = euser | common_reason()
Performs login of User with Password to the account specified by Account.
quote(Pid, Command) -> [FTPLine]
Types:
Pid = pid()
Command = string()
FTPLine = string(
Note:
The telnet end of line characters, from the FTP protocol definition, CRLF, for
example, "\\r\\n" has been removed.
Sends an arbitrary FTP command and returns verbatim a list of the lines sent back
by the FTP server. This function is intended to give application accesses to FTP
commands that are server-specific or that cannot be provided by this FTP client.
Note:
FTP commands requiring a data connection cannot be successfully issued with this
function.
ERRORS
The possible error reasons and the corresponding diagnostic strings returned by
formaterror/1 are as follows:
echunk:
Synchronization error during chunk sending according to one of the following:
* A call is made to send_chunk/2 or send_chunk_end/1 before a call to
send_chunk_start/2.
* A call has been made to another transfer function during chunk sending, that is,
before a call to send_chunk_end/1.
eclosed:
The session is closed.
econn:
Connection to the remote server is prematurely closed.
ehost:
Host is not found, FTP server is not found, or connection is rejected by FTP server.
elogin:
User is not logged in.
enotbinary:
Term is not a binary.
epath:
No such file or directory, or directory already exists, or permission denied.
etype:
No such type.
euser:
Invalid username or password.
etnospc:
Insufficient storage space in system [452].
epnospc:
Exceeded storage allocation (for current directory or dataset) [552].
efnamena:
Filename not allowed [553].
SEE ALSO
file(3erl) filename(3erl) and J. Postel and J. Reynolds: File Transfer Protocol (RFC 959).