This is an `ftp' client derived from NetBSD sources and then modified in
various ways by Noah Friedman <friedman@splode.com>.

The file INSTALL contains detailed instructions for configuring, compiling,
and installing the client.  The file NOTES contains a few additional
configuration notes.

Because this modified package uses GNU `getopt' for long options, and the
GNU `readline' library (optional), the entire distribution is covered by
the GNU General Public License as well as the original copyright terms of
the University of California at Berkeley (UCB).  Where applicable, source
files contain both copyright notices.

Please report bugs to <friedman@splode.com>.


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Why another ftp client?

I wanted to strike a balance between backward-compatibility and the
addition of some features I wanted to have in an ftp client (some of those
features are listed below).  NCFTP is a good alternative, but I am too used
to the old `ftp' interface, and I have a large .netrc file which recent
versions of ncftp no longer know how to read.  Also, I wanted a client
which interfaces well with Emacs's ange-ftp.el or efs.el transparent ftp
packages.

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How does this client differ from vanilla `ftp'?

Here is a short summary:

* This source should be reasonably portable across unix platforms.
  It configures itself using GNU Autoconf.  You can compile it so that
  object files are written to another directory, which permits simultaneous
  building on multiple platforms from the same copy of the sources.

* GNU-style long option support.  Run `ftp --help' for a summary.

* Command line editing support, and context-sensitive completion using the
  GNU readline library.

  You can complete partial local or remote file names, hostnames, and ftp
  commands by pressing the TAB key at any time.  (The right kind of
  completion is done automatically based on knowledge about ftp command
  syntax.)

* Many new commands and features; see the file `NEWS' for a fuller
  description.

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On what platforms does this package work?

It has been tested on the following.  It may work on other platforms
without modification as well; porting is easy.

    alpha-dec-netbsd1.2 (64-bit cleanliness not thoroughly verified)
    hppa1.0-hp-hpux7
    i486-pc-linux2.0
    i586-pc-solaris2.5
    m68k-hp300-bsd4.3
    m68k-hp300-netbsd1.1
    mips-dec-ultrix4.3
    sparc-sun-solaris2.5
    sparc-sun-sunos4.1

Happy hacking!
