Download files from ftp to client machine?

[Shanti C]

Hello all,

I am working on a project where i save client machine path into my database.
And if end user clicks download files button, then the files from ftp server have to be download in client machine directly. My application resides in web server.
Please give me some suggestions to complete this task.

Thanks in Advance.

[~s.o.s~]

Is it required that the user uses your web application for downloading files? If yes, then in that case, your web application would have to act as a "man in the middle" and stream data from the FTP server to the client.

For each client request:
* Retrieve the FTP URL and credentials and use an existing pure Java FTP library to connect to the FTP server
* Stream the retrieved FTP file to the client

Also, given the restriction that for a given HTTP request you can only allow the client to "get" a single file, to download all the files, either you'd have to create/show separate links for those files to the client or "pack" them together in an archive and serve it to the client.

[Shanti C]

S.O.S thanks for your reply.

Then how would i download and save all these files in client machine hardware memory.
Means we don't have access to client machine hard ware from a web application.
then how would it possible???

[~s.o.s~]

Ask the client to install an FTP client like FileZilla. Then downloading files is just a matter of dragging from the right pane (FTP server) to the left pane (client directory). If that's not possible (asking customer to install FTP client), then the approach mentioned in my previous post in the way to go (at least doesn't make any assumptions on part of the customer).

[Shanti C]

Thanks again S.O.S...

But we don't like to give ftp login details to the client. Thats why we planned for web application.

Please give me any other options are there...

[~s.o.s~]

Then follow the instructions specified in my first post of this thread. You'll probably want to use a FTP client library (like Apache's) in your web application to list all the files and give the option to the customer to download it. All the heavy lifting (listing FTP server files, downloading them) would be done by the library and your application would just act as a mediator.

[Shanti C]

This is what we are implementing now..
But the problem is how to place all these files in client machine drives(C:/test/ or D:/test/) from ftp through web server...
Browser doesn't allow to do this...

Thanks for your prompt replies..

[Shanti C]

or give me some ideas how to integrate ftp features in web browser????

[~s.o.s~]

But the problem is how to place all these files in client machine drives(C:/test/ or D:/test/) from ftp through web server...

The way you normally download files using the HTTP protocol and browser? You provide the customer a "link" to your FTP server file, the client clicks on it, you stream the data from the FTP server to the client via the web server etc.

or give me some ideas how to integrate ftp features in web browser????

I don't think there would be any way a client would be able to directly access the FTP server without providing the client authentication details.

[Shanti C]

I don't think there would be any way a client would be able to directly access the FTP server without providing the client authentication details.

I will provide ftp details internally in coding , getting from database based on login details...
But i need source files for these to customize the feature according to my application..

thanks...

[~s.o.s~]

I'm not really sure what the question here is; have you decided on making a web app and need help with that or are you still trying to come up with a solution? (i.e. it can either be a web app or a standalone app)

Also, what do you mean by "I need source files to customize the feature"?

[Shanti C]

we are developing a web app, in that i need to upload and download files from client machine to ftp.
For these i found some scripts for ftp open source supports for a browser. But these are in .jar format(no source files). I can not fully customize these scripts.