Why there is FTP for download/upload, whereas HTTP can do that well?

Question

for website building, what type of protocol of the two is used for uploading files(HTML, image etc) to the web server?
thanks

Answer 1

FTP is the standard for file uploads. HTTP can obviously do it as well.



Unlike FTP, where entire files are transferred from one device to another and copied into memory, HTTP only transfers the contents of a web page into a browser for viewing. FTP is a two-way system as files are transferred back and forth between server and workstation.



HTTP was designed to be fast, but not solid. Who cares if you lose a few packets here and there anyway?



FTP does a lot more packet verification. That means it's somewhat slower for a given size file, but the file is more likely to get through in one piece because, for a binary application file, for example, one lost packet is as good as losing the whole thing.



FTP can be secured using SFTP or SSH.

Answer 2

It's the same reason there are cars, trucks, bicycles, and airplanes even though there are many jobs that can be done by more than one of these.



FTP was around long before HTTP. It is simply a file transfer protocol. It does some things easier and better than HTTP. For example, getting a machine-readable list of the files in a directory is not simple with HTTP. Transferring a file between two remote hosts is simple with FTP and not supported with HTTP.



Uploading files is generally easier with FTP than HTTP. Getting the same view of files you would have if logged into a machine is also easier with FTP than HTTP.

Answer 3

FTP is much more efficient, and FTP has been around since the early days of the Internet way before HTTP was even thought of. Since FTP has been the standard for so long, there are many Web designers that have setup "FTP scripts", or command line tools to upload any changes to their pages.



When you have a web site with 300,000 pages, and you need to upload 300 of them, it's much more efficient to let a script do it then to browse through Internet Explorer and uploading them one at a time!



Dan

MCSE/NT, MCSE/2000, Comptia Network+, Comptia A+, CCA

CCIE Written (No, Not a CCIE Yet)



Home Networking Blog:

http://homenetworkhelp-bigdaninhsnc.blogspot.com/



CCIE Study Blog:

http://dansccie.blogspot.com/

Answer 4

FTP is used mainly for administration, whereas HTTP is mainly for server to client downloads.

Answer 5

yes i agree