Accessing an FTP directory listing with PHP

Question

I need to download data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' public FTP server for analysis. I'm attempting to use PHP to retrieve a listing, but I'm not sure how to do it with a public FTP server - using no ftp_login results in "false" being returned, and attempting to login as anonymous hangs the script.

My code:

<?php
// set up basic connection
$ftp = ftp_connect("ftp.bls.gov");
       ftp_login($ftp, "anonymous", "");
             ftp_pasv($ftp, true);
var_dump(ftp_rawlist($ftp, "/pub/time.series/la/"));
?>

Answer 1

Your script works for me (see output), I get a nice directory listing. Please contact the system administration of the server your PHP script is running and ask for support. It looks like that this is a network configuration issue to me.

Additionally always check function return values for errors before you continue:

// connect
$ftp = ftp_connect("ftp.bls.gov");
if (!$ftp) die('could not connect.');

// login
$r = ftp_login($ftp, "anonymous", "");
if (!$r) die('could not login.');

// enter passive mode
$r = ftp_pasv($ftp, true);
if (!$r) die('could not enable passive mode.');

// get listing
$r = ftp_rawlist($ftp, "/pub/time.series/la/");
var_dump($r);

---

What is Anonymous FTP?

Anonymous FTP is a means by which archive sites allow general access to their archives of information. These sites create a special account called "anonymous". User "anonymous" has limited access rights to the archive host, as well as some operating restrictions. In fact, the only operations allowed are logging in using FTP, listing the contents of a limited set of directories, and retrieving files. Some sites limit the contents of a directory listing an anonymous user can see as well. Note that "anonymous" users are not usually allowed to transfer files TO the archive site, but can only retrieve files from such a site.

Traditionally, this special anonymous user account accepts any string as a password, although it is common to use either the password "guest" or one's electronic mail (e-mail) address. Some archive sites now explicitly ask for the user's e-mail address and will not allow login with the "guest" password. Providing an e-mail address is a courtesy that allows archive site operators to get some idea of who is using their services.

Excerpt from: How to Use Anonymous FTP (RFC 1635)