Using Telnet
Telnet is a program that lets you "log in" to a UNIX machine
where you can enter various commands directly. This is in
contrast to FTP which pretty much just lets you do a few of
the common UNIX commands. Most FTP programs will let you upload
and download files, create directories, rename files, and
change file permissions.
Telnet is useful, especially when debugging CGI scripts,
because it gives you access to all UNIX commands, not just
the few that FTP programs support. Not all ISPs give you telnet
access, however, so you need to check for that when you're
shopping for a web host.
Telnet Basics
To open a telnet session, you first need a telnet application.
Some are listed in the Related Links section below, and you
can also search download.com
or shareware.com.
Once you install one of these applications, you can open
a telnet session to your ISP. How you do that depends on the
telnet program you install. Most of the grahpical interface
programs have something like "Open Connection" in the File
menu. You type the name of your host (ex. columbia.digiweb.com,
enscript.com).
Fig 1. Open Connection
screen using Better Telnet
Then, a console screen will appear and you will be prompted
for your normal login user name and password. Once logged
in, you will see a command line prompt, similar to that seen
in DOS.
Fig 2. Console screen
using Better Telnet
Ok, Now what?
From there, you will need to know the basic UNIX
commands to do anything from the command line. If you
know DOS commands, these will seem somewhat similar.
Telnet applications
General telnet references
|
