HTML and CSS Reference
In-Depth Information
Web pages are only one type of resource that you can link to. Before continuing work
on the CAMshots Web site, you'll explore how to access some of these other resources.
Linking to FTP Servers
Another method of storing and sharing fi les on the Internet is through FTP servers.
FTP
servers
are fi le servers that act like virtual fi le cabinets in which users can store and
retrieve data fi les, much as they store fi les on and retrieve fi les from their own comput-
ers. FTP servers transfer information using a communication protocol called
File Transfer
Protocol
(
FTP
). The URL to access an FTP server follows the general format
ftp://
server
/
path
/
where
server
is the name of the FTP server and
path
is the folder path on the server
that contains the fi les you want to access. When you access an FTP site, you can navi-
gate through its folder tree as you would navigate the folders on your own hard disk.
Figure 2-41 shows an example of an FTP site viewed as a directory listing within the
Internet Explorer browser, and viewed as a collection of folders that can be navigated as
if they were on the user's local machine.
Figure 2-41
Accessing an FTP site over the Web
FTP servers require each user to enter a password and a username to gain access to
the server's fi les. The standard username is
anonymous
and requires no password. Your
browser supplies this information automatically, so in most situations you don't have to
worry about passwords and usernames. However, some FTP servers do not allow anony-
mous access. In these cases, either your browser prompts you for the username and
password, or you can supply a username and password within the URL using the format
where
username
and
password
are a username and password that the FTP server recog-
nizes. It is generally
not
a good idea, however, to include usernames and passwords in
URLs, as it can allow others to view your sensitive login information. It's better to let the
