ascii or binary mode for ftp?

[richie]

Hello,

I've been experiencing a strange behavior with my php files sitting on a unix server. From time to time, they lose all line spacings, and become lumped together. That breaks the scripts, and I usually have to spend hours sometimes realigning the codes again.

I've been uploading the files in ascii format. Is this the right way to ftp to a unix server? I've only worked on Windows machines before, and never had this strange problem.

Should I be uploading my php files in binary mode instead?

TIA,

Richie.

[jerdo]

They should be uploaded in ASCII, binary will remove all the line breaks and break the scripts.

[richie]

Now I'm thoroughly confused. I just got an answer back from tech support for my isp, and he's saying the exact opposite of what you just said. His answer follows below:

---

Hello, Richard.

The problem is actually occuring because scripts are being uploaded in
ASCII mode. If you upload in BINARY mode, the problem will go away.

This is because Unix and Windows use different characters to signify the
end-of-line in text files, so the upload method is very important to
prevent "confusion" on the server's part.

[Sxooter]

Your tech support is correct. binary does NOT change the file being transferred. After all, if a binary transfer changed any bits in a binary executable, it wouldn't execute anymore.

Ascii strips the last bit and sets it to 0 whether it was or not to begin with.

The problems with your files could also be that they are being opened by an editor from one OS and saved there, and then the other OS gets confused.

This is because Windows use CR/LF pairs while Unix just uses LF.

[jerdo]

We have the same problem at work. If someone uploads a script in binary the script is unusable. If the file is a compiled file upload it in binary, if it is a text file (ie a php/per/etc script) upload it in ascii. If you were uploading to a windows server it wouldn't matter because windows doesn't care about binary and ascii (which sucks). And Sxooter, the file is changed. Upload a script in binary then ssh to the server and vi the file, you will either have some nice block characters at the end of each line or the entire script will be on one line.

[Sxooter]

No, jerdo,the problem in binary is that the file isn't changed, and that messes with editors in Unix / Windows.

What you might want to do is to look at the cr command, which turns on / off carriage return stripping. My guess is that if you turn it off, you'll have an ASCII transfer with the same problem as your binary transfers, i.e. the files are goofy, because the CRs haven't been stripped off.

'man ftp' on a linux / unix box for more info.

[jerdo]

No need to man ftp, I have already listed the tried and true resolution of setting script/text files to upload in ascii. This works, I know it works because since doing that, no files are missing new line characters and none have the binary line feed character in them. With the new lines removed scripts still work fine they are just much harder to read.

[Sxooter]

you've got a solution, but your explanation is still backwards. On the Windows platform, lines end with \r\n, but on unix they end in only \n.

cr set to on (the default) in ftp in ascii mode strips the \r from it and leaves the \n on the way into the Unix server, while retrieving them adds it back in.

But you are right, as long as it works, it works. :-)