The Catalyst File Transfer product is a single ActiveX control which provides a simplified interface for downloading and uploading files. By providing a common interface for dealing with FTP and HTTP servers, the control allows a developer to concentrate on file transfer, and ignore protocol-specific issues. The control can transfer a file with a single method, simply by specifying a URL, as in a web browser, without the need to separately supply the protocol, host, port, file name, and account information. Alternatively, connection and access information may be supplied separately, to allow multiple file transfer operations to be performed in a single server session. In either case, the differences between the supported protocols are kept to a minimum. Advanced features such as proxied connections and secure encrypted connections are easily implemented by simply setting a few properties.
- Comprehensive FTP Interface
The control offers a comprehensive interface for FTP, providing the developer with everything that he needs to incorporate FTP file transfers in an application, as well as FTP remote file management. In addition to downloading and uploading by file name, URL, and wild card patterns, a developer may use the control for creation, listing, and removal of directories, as well as renaming and removal of files. The set of properties and methods is sufficiently rich to enable a developer to take advantage of features supported by specific FTP servers, such as resumption of interrupted transfers and passive mode operation in the presence of firewalls.
The control offers a simple interface for HTTP file transfer, silently composing commands and request headers in the format required by web servers. Redirection to relocated resources is handled internally, without the need for the application to interpret server responses.
The Catalyst File Transfer control implements the standard Internet protocols for FTP and HTTP, ensuring the highest degree of compatibility possible with servers of those types around the world. These standards are defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force and published as standard track Request For Comment (RFC) documents. RFC 959 documents the File Transfer Protocol (FTP), which is used for file transfer between a client and a server, and for remote management of files on a server. The Internet draft document "Securing FTP with TLS" describes a mechanism that can be used by FTP clients and servers to implement security and authentication using the TLS protocol defined by RFC 2246 and the extensions to the FTP protocol defined by RFC 2228. RFC 1945 documents Version 1.0 of the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and RFC 2616 documents Version 1.1 of the protocol. These standards govern the communication of client applications such as browsers with web servers. The File Transfer Control implements the GET and PUT commands of these standards.
The Catalyst File Transfer control is built on the solid foundation of the award-winning SocketTools family of products. The same core technologies and features that have been market-tested and proven since 1995 were used to create the File Transfer control. As a leading developer of Internet component software, tens of thousands of developers around the world trust Catalyst Development to create components with the stability and features needed to build dependable, world-class software.
The File Transfer control has been designed with a great degree of flexibility and can be used with a wide variety of programming languages and different types of development environments. Implemented as a standard ActiveX control, it is fully supported by languages such as Visual Basic, Visual FoxPro, Visual C++, Borland C++Builder, Delphi and PowerBuilder. In addition, the control can also be used as a basic COM object in scripting languages like VBScript, with full support for server-side scripting in Active Server Pages and other similar technologies.
- Simplified Redistribution
Created using the ActiveX Template Library, the Catalyst File Transfer control has no dependency on third-party components or Microsoft support libraries. This means that only the control itself needs to be included with the program that uses it, simplifying the process of redistributing and installing the software while reducing the application's overall size.
As important as functionality, features and stability are, comprehensive documentation is equally as important to the application developer. This is why the Catalyst File Transfer product includes a Developer's Guide which provides an overview of the product, a QuickStart Guide to help the developer get started and ease the learning curve, and a complete Technical Reference which documents every property, method and event supported by the control. A printable version of the documentation is included with the product, as well as context-sensitive online help which can be accessed directly from within the development environment. Example programs in a variety of languages are also included to help the developer become familiar with the features of the control and provide code which they can re-use in their own applications.
Catalyst understands today's software development requirements which often require support for multiple operating systems and different programming languages. As with all Catalyst components, the File Transfer control is licensed to a single developer, and applications built using the control can be redistributed to as many end-users as needed without additional royalties or runtime licensing fees. Developers are also permitted to install the product on different development systems as long as they are the only one using it and there is no chance that it can be used by more than one person at the same time.
32-bit Minimum Version
Operating System:
- Windows XP (Minimum Version 5.10.2600)
- Windows 2000 (Minimum Version 5.00.2195)
- Windows NT (Minimum Version 4.00.1381 SP6)
- Windows ME (Minimum Version 4.90.3000)
- Windows 98 (Minimum Version 4.10.1998)
Processor Type:
- Intel Pentium (or compatible)
System Memory:
- 32 Mb on Windows 98/ME
- 64 Mb on Windows NT
- 128 Mb on Windows 2000/XP
Disk Space:
The minimum processor, memory and disk requirements are for Catalyst File Transfer only.
Although not required, it is recommended that the Windows 98 SE update be installed for Windows 98. For Windows 2000, it is recommended that at least Service Pack 2 (SP2) be installed.
Note that while the Windows 95 platform is no longer officially supported, the control will work provided that the OSR2 and TCP/IP stack updates have been installed. Operating system updates can be downloaded from the Microsoft website or ordered from Microsoft on CD-ROM.
Developers can use the control in any language which fully supports the ActiveX control specification and/or COM objects. Visual Basic 5.0, Visual FoxPro 5.0 and Visual C++ 6.0 are the minimum versions of the Microsoft Visual Studio languages which are supported.