CO 285 - Introduction to Networks

Assignment #3: Internet Applications (Revisited)

Due: Sept. 17, 1998 (Week 4)

This set of exercises is meant to give you experience in sending binaries using Email. Topics include FTP, archive compression (file ZIPping) and MIME attachments.

1. Exercises

   From p. 34 in the text, answer questions 2 and 5.

2. File Transfer practice
   1. Browse to PKWare's web site [http://www.pkware.com] and select their shareware download area. Hover the pointer over the link for "PKZip 2.04g for DOS" and note the URL of the link
   2. Using FTP, download the version of PKWare's PKZip compression suite that you identified.
3. Command Line practice
   1. Open a command shell from the Start Menu.
   2. Switch to a temporary directory [e.g., C:\WINNT\TEMP] and run the application you downloaded.
   3. From the same location, run PKZIP without any arguments. What does it tell you?
4. Compression Utility practice
   1. Browse to ftp://teach.millard.org/co285/ex3/
   2. Download a copy of patch.zip
   3. View the contents of the file. What is it?
   4. Find a picture file on the Web that you like.
   5. Copy the picture to a local directory (e.g., H:\).
   6. Create a compressed copy of the file using PKZip
      1. Open a command shell.
      2. Switch to the drive/directory where the file is.
      3. run PKZip with the following arguments (myfile.ext is the name of the file to be compressed)
         pkzip -ex myzip myfile.ext
      4. Note the percent that PKZip shows when compressing the file.
      5. Compare the final sizes of your original and compressed files.
5. Email practice

   Use Netscape Mail or other tool to send the instructor the picture file you compressed via email. Send one message with the actual file attached to it, then send a separate message with the compressed version attached. Indicate where you're sending the message from in the body of the message. If possible, send the email from home (or other slower dialup-type connection); note how long it takes to upload the messages to the SMTP server. Is there any difference? You will get a response within two days if you are successful.

Summary of Tasks

1. Answers to the two questions from the text.
2. Send email with attachments to the instructor.