CSC418/2504F: Uploading files to CDF

Overview

Your assignments will usually consist of a written part and an electronic part. Since the electronic part must submitted from within the CDF system, you'll need to place your files on that system if you're working on your home computer.

Detailed Instructions

The web page describing remote connections is at the CDF home page:

http://www.cdf.toronto.edu/

Click on "*NEW* Working at Home" and then on "Connect to CDF" for details.

Bare-bones Instructions

Here is a sketchy description of the commands you need to know. There's three things wrong with it:

It's sketchy.
It assumes you have a Windows 98/NT machine.
It advises you to use Telnet and FTP, both of which send your passwords on the internet in plain text, so others may learn them.

Use these at your own risk.

You probably have Telnet on your Windows machine. On IE or Netscape, open the following URL:

telnet:cdf.utoronto.ca

follow the prompts:

at the login: prompt, type your cdf account.
at the password:prompt, type your password (your student ID).

Now you're talking to the Unix shell, which may be a whole new world for you. It's kind of like the MS-DOS shell: The following commands are similar:

command	meaning
cd directory-name	change directory
cd ..	go to parent directory
cd ~	go to your home directory, your starting point
mkdir directory-name	make a new directory

These ones are different:

Unix MS-DOS Meaning

ls dir show file names in the current directory

more filename type filename show file contents on the screen

Unix	MS-DOS	Meaning
ls	dir	show file names in the current directory
more filename	type filename	show file contents on the screen

The most important command for you will be "make". It builds an executable program, based on the source code files in the current directory, and the instructions in a file called "Makefile". Programming questions will include a Makefile that works on the CDF machines.

You may ask, how do I get the source code into my cdf account space in the first place? Use FTP. On a Windows machine, click the "Start" button, choose "Run...", and type "ftp", then click "OK". You'll need to know these FTP commands:

command meaning

open cdf.utoronto.ca (connect to the cdf machines)

user (log in. Usually you don't have to run this command, because ftp will prompt you for account and password)

dir

(list files in current directory ON CDF MACHINE)

!dir (list files in current directory ON WINDOWS MACHINE)

cd (change directory on CDF machine)

lcd (change directory on WINDOWS machine)

put (send files from local WINDOWS machine to remote CDF machine)

get (receive files from remote to local machine)

quit (exit FTP)

command	meaning
open cdf.utoronto.ca	(connect to the cdf machines)
user	(log in. Usually you don't have to run this command, because ftp will prompt you for account and password)
dir
(list files in current directory ON CDF MACHINE)
!dir	(list files in current directory ON WINDOWS MACHINE)
cd	(change directory on CDF machine)
lcd	(change directory on WINDOWS machine)
put	(send files from local WINDOWS machine to remote CDF machine)
get	(receive files from remote to local machine)
quit	(exit FTP)

Note: by default, "put" and "get" work in ASCII mode, which is best for text files like source code. If you're sending or receiving binary files, type the "bin" command first to ensure no special translation happens.

Alejo Hausner, Dept of Computer Science, University of Toronto

Last modified: Mon Sep 24 15:50:31 EDT 2001