I 'm trying to download some thing and it asking me if I want a http download or ftp. what is the difference

Answer 1

They are just two different protocols, File Transfer Protocol and HyperText Transfer Protocol. From the browser user perspective there's no significant difference, neither is significantly more reliable or efficient. You don't need any extra software for either. The files are the same after they arrive. On the other hand people have favorites, for whatever spurious reason, and the servers might not be equally capable. I tend to use ftp in the, perhaps mistaken, belief that it will place less load on their web server and most people will have chosen http so I might get more bandwidth. If one doesn't work well for you just try the other.

Answer 2

If you are using a web browser, both should work just fine and it doesn't really matter which one you use. As to the difference, FTP and HTTP are two different web protocols (File Transfer Protocol and HyperText Transfer Protocol) or ways for two connected computers to "talk" to each other. Your browser "speaks" both. HTTP is usually for downloading html, i.e. web pages while FTP is used to copy files from one place to another.

Answer 3

if the download link is a FTP you need the FTP upload and download software to download any thing you want , for these software you can find it an Google , just search for it . but if the links is normal HTML you can download it just by clicking on it without need the extra software

Answer 4

It one can be done through the broswer to download the application. The other, FTP is done through a special program called "FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL" program.

Answer 5

http is a website and can be used for downloading files
ftp is something called an ftp server that is designed for downloading files.

your browser can download from both. an ftp server may be faster and more reliable, especially if you use a download manager ( http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=download+manager&btnG=Search )

more info:
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2002/FTP_HTTP.asp

Answer 6

HTTP: HyperText Transfer Protocol
FTP: File Transfer Protocol
Personnaly I always use HTTP