-How to use the file retrieval methods
This section only describes FTP and telnet in any detail; for other
methods, FTP sites are given, so you can get information on them yourself.
How to use FTP
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) allows transfer of files between two computers
which are on the Internet. To access the FTP areas listed here, at your
system prompt type "ftp" followed by the name of the desired system. For
example, to access ncardata.ucar.edu you'd type
ftp ncardata.ucar.edu
Use "anonymous" as your login and your email address as the password (if
requested).
[Note: quotes ("like this") are used to set off names of directories and
files, or commands you'd type, and are not part of these names.]
Not all FTP systems accept the same commands, but here's a list of the
most useful:
ls: list files in the current directory.
cd: change directory, e.g. "cd wx" changes to the wx directory.
binary: sets binary mode
ascii: sets ascii mode (the default). Use for retrieving text.
get: retrieves a file, e.g. "get readme" gets a file called readme.
bye: exits FTP.
If you can't seem to connect to the site, check to see if it is a telnet
site. If it is, follow the instructions in the following section instead.
If you can't FTP from your site, use one of the following ftp-by-mail servers:
ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com
ftpmail@src.doc.ic.ac.uk
ftpmail@cs.uow.edu.au
ftpmail@ftp.uni-stuttgart.de
Send an e-mail message to the closest address, with the lines:
reply your_address@some.where <- with your email address
connect ncardata.ucar.edu <- for example
cd datasets/ds111.2/software
get access_sun.f
quit
For complete instructions, send a one-line message reading "help" to the
server. Please don't ask me for help!
How to use telnet
Type "telnet" followed by the name or IP number of the desired system. These
publicly accessible systems generally allow you to log in but put you in
a restricted shell, from which only a certain menu of commands is available.
The description for the site will include the login to use.
If you can't seem to connect to the site, re-check its description in the
document; if it's an FTP site, follow the instructions in the previous
section instead.
Gopher information
Available by ftp at .
Wais information
Available by ftp at
.
WWW information
Available by ftp at .
WWW is so easy to use that you might as well just hop in and try it, so
ask your sysadmin if you have a WWW browser such as NCSA Mosaic or Netscape.
This article is copyright (c) 1995 by Ilana Stern. It may be freely
distributed for non-commercial purposes only, provided that this copyright
notice and the instructions on retrieving a current copy are not removed.
If the date in the headers of the document you're reading
is more than a month old, you should retrieve a current copy.
Current copies of this FAQ series can be obtained by anonymous FTP at
or
in hypertext form via WWW at .
There are 7 documents in this FAQ series:
Meteorology FAQ Part 1/7: Intro
Meteorology FAQ Part 2/7: Sources of weather data <===
Meteorology FAQ Part 3/7: Sources of research data
Meteorology FAQ Part 4/7: Sources of CD-ROMs
Meteorology FAQ Part 5/7: Internet resources
Meteorology FAQ Part 6/7: Print and other resources
Meteorology FAQ Part 7/7: List of US State Climatologists
Corrections, additions, and comments should be sent to Ilana Stern at
ilana@ncar.ucar.edu. Please include in your message where you read
this FAQ series. Note that if I know about it, it's in these documents.