What is FTP?

While talking to a colleague at work, FTP came up in the conversation and I didn’t know anything about it, so I decided to research it. Here is what I found!

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, it's a way to transfer files between computers. You use FTP to access a remote computer on a network to get or receive files. Originally, FTP existed as one of the original programs for accessing information on the Internet, before HTTP became the way to access web browsers!

Being a web developer, we can use FTP to make changes to a website. One way to use FTP is by using a web browser to communicate with the FTP server. A web browser is convenient when a user needs access to large directories. However, it is said to be less reliable and slower than using a dedicated FTP program. An FTP client is the most common way for web developers to use FTP. An FTP client provides a lot more freedom and usability compared to other methods. As a web developer, you will probably need to use FTP with an FTP client to access a website that you are managing. Furthermore, FTP makes it easier to create and remove directories as well as read a large number of files on the server.

I hope you enjoyed my brief intro to FTP, thanks for stopping by!