File names for client-transfer subcommands

The FTP client provides a default file name if the target file name for the PUT, APPEND, and GET subcommands is omitted. Because you can specify source file names for the MPUT and MGET subcommands, the FTP server also generates target file names for MPUT and MGET. See the following Data Transfer Subcommands table for the syntax of these subcommands. The table column labeled Target is the parameter for which a default name is provided.

PUT and APPEND subcommands

For the PUT and APPEND subcommands, the rules for forming default names are divided into two categories:

• iSeries™ server case
  • If the target file system is a library file system or a document library system, the default name complies with the naming rules for these systems, including their name format.
  • If the target file system is neither a library file system nor a document file system it is one of two names:
    • The default name is the name after the last slash in the source file name
    • The same as the source file name if there is no slash.
• Non-iSeries server case
  • If the source file is a library file system file, then the default name consists of the file name.member name. If there is no member name, the file name is the default name.
  • If the source file is a document library services file, the default name is the file name and the extension.
  • If the source file is neither a library file system nor a document library services file, the name after the last slash in the source name is the default name. If there is no slash, the default name is the same as the source name.

If the server is an iSeries server, then the server generates the default name in these subcommands using the same rules as applied for the PUT subcommand.

GET and MGET subcommand

If the server is not an iSeries server, it bases the default name for the GET and MGET subcommands on the part of the source name that follows the last slash. If there is no slash, the entire source name is the default name. Here are the rules for forming default names:

• If the client file system is the library file system (iSeries database), these rules apply:
  • If the remote file name contains a period (.), the characters preceding the period are truncated to 10 characters to form the local file name. The characters after the period are truncated to 10 characters to form the member name.
  • If the remote file name does not contain a period, both file and member names are set to the remote file name truncated to 10 characters to form the local file name.
  • If the name format is 1, the server adds the appropriate extensions to the file and member parts of the name.
• If the client file system is document library services, these rules apply:
  • If the remote name contains a period, the characters preceding the period are truncated to 8 characters. The characters after the period are truncated to 3 characters.
  • If the remote name does not contain a period, the name is truncated to 8 characters without an extension.
• For other file systems, the name after the last slash in the remote name is the default name.

More details on syntax:

FTP client syntax conventions

Naming files for transfer

The FTP client subcommands that you use for transferring data can have a localfile or a remotefile parameter or both. You can use these parameters to name the data you want to transfer. The transfer subcommands are:

• APPEND localfile [remotefile]
• DELETE remotefile
• GET remotefile [localfile]
• MDELETE remotefiles
• MGET remotefiles
• MPUT localfiles
• PUT localfile [remotefile]

The names for the localfile and remotefile parameters can be either partially qualified or fully qualified. A partially-qualified name includes the name of the data itself as well as one or more names in the hierarchical sequence above the data. A fully-qualified name includes all names in the hierarchical sequence above the data.

When the name is partially qualified, the current working directory identifies the file to be processed. You can set the working directory on the local client system with the LCD subcommand. You can set the working directory on the remote server system with the CD subcommand.

The format of the localfile name parameters must conform to iSeries file naming rules. The remotefile names must adhere to the file naming rules of the remote system.

More details on syntax:

• Enclosing subcommand parameters: You can use either a single quotation mark (') or quotation marks (") to enclose parameters.
• FTP client syntax conventions: FTP client subcommands make use of these syntax conventions.