On the ZD Net Asia site today, there's a quick look at using the FTP functionality that can be compiled into PHP to create a method to upload files.

Take file upload, for example. Sure, you can do it the traditional way, using HTTP file upload and transferring the file directly to a location on your Web server's disk. Or you can do it the more exotic way, and use the FTP protocol to upload in a two-step process: from your local disk to a Web server, and then to an FTP server.

Reams have already been written about HTTP file upload, which is why this brief tutorial focuses on FTP-based file uploads instead (in the example that follows, though, you'll see both in action). Note that this tutorial assumes that you have a working PHP/Apache installation, with both HTTP file upload and FTP functions active.

They have three steps for you to take to get their example up and working:

• checking that you have the access rights to get on the server
• creating an upload form
• code the PHP upload processor

The form and PHP code are provided, so there's no reason to worry on that count. The biggest issue is whether or not you have the FTP support compiled into your PHP installation. From there, it's just a few simple function calls away from pushing the uploaded files contents out to a remote server.