The National Center for Supercomputing Applications                     1/28/92
Anonymous FTP Server General Information

This file contains information about the general structure, as well as
information on how to obtain files and documentation from the FTP server.
NCSA software and documentation can also be obtained through the the U.S.
Mail.  Instructions are included for using this method as well.

Information about the Software Development Group and NCSA software can be 
found in the /ncsapubs directory in a file called TechResCatalog.


THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS GIVES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, FOR THE
SOFTWARE AND/OR DOCUMENTATION PROVIDED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, 
WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY AND WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.


_____________________________________________________________

FTP INSTRUCTIONS

Most NCSA Software is released into the public domain.  That is, for these 
programs, the public domain has all rights for future licensing, resale, 
and publication of available packages. If you are connected to Internet
(NSFNET, ARPANET, MILNET, etc) you may download NCSA software and documentation and source code if it is available, at no charge from the anonymous file 
transfer protocol (FTP) server at NCSA where you got this file. The procedure
you should follow to do so is presented  below. If you have any questions
regarding this procedure or whether you are connected to Internet, consult your local system administration or network expert.

1. Log on to a host at your site that is connected to the Internet and is
   running software supporting the FTP command.

2. Invoke FTP on most systems by entering the Internet address of the server.
   Type the following at the shell (usually "%") prompt:

      % ftp ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu

3. Log in by entering anonymous for the name.

4. Enter your local email address (login@host) for the password.

5. Enter the following at the "ftp>" prompt to copy a text file from our 
   server to your local host:

      ftp> get filename

   where "filename" is the name of the file you want a copy of.  For example,
   to get a copy of this file from the server enter:

      ftp> get README.FIRST

   To get a copy of our software brochure, enter:

      ftp> cd ncsapubs
	   get TechResCatalog 

   NOTE:  Some of the filenames on the server are rather long to aid in
          identification.  Some operating systems may have problems with names
          this long.  To change the name the file will have on your local
          machine type the following at the "ftp>" prompt ("remoteName" is the
          name of the file on the server and "localName" is the name you want
          the file to have on your local machine):

             ftp> get remoteName localName

          Example:

             ftp> get TechResCatalog catalog.txt


6. For files that are not text files (almost everything else) you will need to
   specify that you want to transfer binary files.  Do this by typing the
   following at the "ftp>" prompt:

      ftp> type binary

   You can now use the "get" command to download binary files.  To switch back
   to ASCII text transfers type:

      ftp> type ascii

7. The "ls" and "cd" commands can be used at the "ftp>" prompt to list and
   change directories as in the shell.

8. Enter "quit" or "bye" to exit FTP and return to your local host.


_____________________________________________________________

FTP SOFTWARE BY MAIL

To obtain an order form, send your request to the following address:

FTP Archive Tapes
c/o Debbie Shirley
152 Computing Applications Building
605 East Springfield Avenue
Champaign, IL  61820

or call:
Debbie at (217) 244-4130


_____________________________________________________________

VIRUS INFORMATION

The Software Development Group at NCSA is very virus-conscious. We routinely
check our machines for viruses and recommend that you do so also. For the
Macintoshes we use Disinfectant. You can obtain a copy of Disinfectant from
the /Mac/Utilities directory.

If you use Microsoft DOS or Windows you can find the latest virus scan from 
the anonymous site oak.oakland.edu in the /SimTel/msdos/virus directory.

_____________________________________________________________

GENERAL INFORMATION


DIRECTORY STRUCTURE

The FTP server is organized as specified below:

   /Mac       		Macintosh software
   /PC        		IBM PC software
   /Unix      		Software for machines running UNIX or equivalent OS
   /Unix/SGI		Software that primarily runs on Silicon Graphics 
			 machines only
   /Visualization	Software tools for data visualization.
   /Web			World Wide Web tools, including Mosaic, httpd,
			and html editors.
   /HDF   	 	Hierarchical Data Format applications and tools
   /Samples   		Samples that can be used with most of NCSA software 
			 tools
   /Documentation 	Currently being constructed, check each application's 
			 directory for documentation
   /ncsapubs		Information produced by the Publications group,
			 including Metacenter announcements, data link & access,
			 a software listing, start-up guides, and other 
			 reference documents.
   /misc      		Miscellaneous documentation and software
   /incoming  		directory for contributions
   /outgoing		swap directory

Information for a particular application can be found in the README file,
located in the same directory as the application.  The README files contain
information on new features, known bugs, compile information, and other
important notes.

All directories on the FTP server contain an INDEX file.  These files outline
the hierarchical structure of the directory and (recursively) all files and
directories contained within it.  The INDEX at the root level contains the
structure of the enire server listing all files and directories on it.  The
INDEX file in each software directory contains additional information about
each file.  The letter in parenthesis after the file name indicates how the
file should be downloaded