Roadmap96: MAP17B - FTP Addresses
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MAP17B: FTP ADDRESSES
"Men don't stop to ask for directions on the
Information Superhighway either!"
-- anon
Back in MAP12 I told you that you could retrieve Yanoff's List by either
- Sending an e-mail letter to [email protected], or
- Using your Usenet newsreader to look at the Usenet newsgroup alt.internet.services
Well, you can also get Yanoff's list through FTP (imagine that -- using FTP to get a list of sites that you can FTP to!). The anonymous FTP site for Yanoff's List is
and the file that you want to download is
/pub/inet.services.txt
Notice that the file is in the "pub" directory. "pub" directories are public directories and you are going to find most of the files that you are looking for in almost any FTP site in the "pub" directory or the "pub" directory's many subdirectories. Also notice that, in the above address, the file's name has TWO periods in it ... some of you may have to use the
get inet.services.txt inetsvcs.txt
command to be able to get the file. This is just the
get <filename> <name I want it saved as>
command that we talked about back in MAP14. :)
The FTP entries on Yanoff's List are pretty easy to figure out. For example,
-Agriculture Lists ftp ftp.ncc.go.jp (get file
/pub/mirror/sura.net/agricultural.list)
tells you that you are going to use FTP to access "ftp.ncc.go.jp" (don't let that second "ftp" throw you; it is just part of this particular FTP site's address), and the file that we want to get is
/pub/mirror/sura.net/agricultural.list
There is one trick that you need to remember, however: everything after the last "/" is the file name. DO NOT USE THE FILE NAME IN YOUR "CD" OR "CHDIR" COMMANDS! For example, if the file's address is
/pub/mirror/sura.net/agricultural.list
your "cd" command should be
cd /pub/mirror/sura.net/
and your "get" command should then be
get agricultural.list
Some other hints:
- The README file is your friend. Get it every time you see it!
- LOOK AROUND! Just because you have been told where a particular file is, that does not mean that that file is the only file that you can get. Use the "DIR" command often. :)
- Just because the path address may be "/pub/mirror/sura.net/", that does NOT mean that you have to go straight to that directory. You are more than welcome to take the "scenic route" to the file (example: type "cd pub", then type "dir" to look around the "pub" directory. When you are done in the "pub" directory, type "cd mirror", then type "dir" to look around the "mirror" directory ...)
- If the "dir" command does not work, try using "ls".
- Sites appear and disappear every second, and files are shifted around just as frequently. If you get into a site and cannot find the file that you are looking for, look in the README file for a directory of files. If that fails, get out of the site and try an Archie search for the file (using the file's name as the search term).
- Remember, with most FTP clients *CASE COUNTS*. Typing "get AGRICULTURAL.LIST" will not work if the file is named "agricultural.list"
- If you are using FTPmail, you can use the "dir" command just as easily as everyone else. Just type "dir" on the line following your "chdir" command.
If you have not already downloaded a copy of Yanoff's List, I strongly recommend that you download one now. If you do have a copy, browse through the list, find some neat FTP sites, and play ...
... and watch out for squirrels. :)
Start Lesson Eighteen | Go to the Roadmap96 Syllabus | Go to the Roadmap96 Homepage
Originally written by Patrick Douglas Crispen
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