FTP Program | Visual Basic Sample Code

Introduction to FTP Programming

The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard network protocol used for transferring files between a client and server over the Internet. FTP programs are essential tools for website management, allowing webmasters to upload and download files quickly.

Visual Basic 6 makes it easy to create FTP clients using the Microsoft Internet Transfer Control. With VB.NET, you can leverage the powerful FtpWebRequest and FtpWebResponse classes for more robust FTP operations.

This page demonstrates how to create FTP programs in both VB6 and VB.NET, with code examples and an interactive demo to simulate FTP operations.

How FTP Works in Visual Basic

Visual Basic uses the Internet Transfer Control (Inet) to handle FTP operations. The key properties and methods include:

Key Properties

Inet.URL - Specifies the FTP hostname
Inet.UserName - Accepts the username
Inet.Password - Accepts the user's password
Inet.Protocol - Set to FTP protocol

Key Methods

Execute - Sends FTP commands to the server
GetChunk - Retrieves data from the server
OpenURL - Opens an FTP connection

VB6 FTP Connection Example

Private Sub ConnectToFTP()
    ' Set FTP connection properties
    Inet1.URL = txtHost.Text
    Inet1.UserName = txtUser.Text
    Inet1.Password = txtPassword.Text
    Inet1.Protocol = icFTP
    
    ' Connect to FTP server and list files
    Inet1.Execute , "DIR"
    
    ' Wait for response
    Do While Inet1.StillExecuting
        DoEvents
    Loop
    
    ' Get directory listing
    Dim response As String
    response = Inet1.GetChunk(1024, icString)
    
    ' Process response
    ProcessDirectory response
End Sub

Interactive FTP Demo

Try out our simulated FTP client below. Enter connection details to see how an FTP program works:

FTP Host: Username: Password:

Connect to an FTP server to view directory contents

Connected successfully to FTP server

VB.NET FTP Implementation

In VB.NET, you can use the System.Net.FtpWebRequest class for more advanced FTP operations. Here's an example:

Imports System.Net
Imports System.IO

Public Class FTPExample
    Public Sub ListFiles(host As String, user As String, password As String)
        ' Create FTP request
        Dim request As FtpWebRequest = CType(WebRequest.Create("ftp://" & host), FtpWebRequest)
        request.Credentials = New NetworkCredential(user, password)
        request.Method = WebRequestMethods.Ftp.ListDirectoryDetails
        
        ' Get response
        Using response As FtpWebResponse = CType(request.GetResponse(), FtpWebResponse)
            Using responseStream As Stream = response.GetResponseStream()
                Using reader As New StreamReader(responseStream)
                    Dim directoryListing As String = reader.ReadToEnd()
                    
                    ' Process directory listing
                    ProcessDirectory(directoryListing)
                End Using
            End Using
        End Using
    End Sub
    
    Public Sub DownloadFile(host As String, remoteFile As String, localFile As String, user As String, password As String)
        ' Create FTP request
        Dim request As FtpWebRequest = CType(WebRequest.Create("ftp://" & host & "/" & remoteFile), FtpWebRequest)
        request.Credentials = New NetworkCredential(user, password)
        request.Method = WebRequestMethods.Ftp.DownloadFile
        
        ' Get response and save file
        Using response As FtpWebResponse = CType(request.GetResponse(), FtpWebResponse)
            Using responseStream As Stream = response.GetResponseStream()
                Using fileStream As New FileStream(localFile, FileMode.Create)
                    responseStream.CopyTo(fileStream)
                End Using
            End Using
        End Using
    End Sub
End Class

Tip: VB.NET provides better error handling and asynchronous operations for FTP transfers compared to VB6.

FTP Program Interfaces

Login Dialog

File Transfer Interface

A complete FTP program includes both a login interface and a file transfer interface with local/remote directory views.

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