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When I download a file from a server, and select a destination to download to. Does the server know where I saved it? Or does the server just say it sent to me and nothing else is further specified?
Does the above you answered apply to just HTTP or other servers too?
For all protocols I know of, the server does not know where you saved it.
That is, HTTP, I think FTP also, and also messages in POP3 & SMTP, and as someone who has to design protocols, I very much doubt that anyone would write a protocol [implementation] that tells the server that. First of all, it's a privacy issue - what's it the server's business where I saved it, or how the file tree on my computer goes. It would also probably give away my username (as in if I saved it to /home/joshua/picture.jpg).
No - the server won't know where you saved it. Even if it did, you could always move/copy the file somewhere else, so any data about the original download location would be obsolete. Is there a particular reason this important?
The whole file browser that pops up to save content is completely browser based. Web servers can't touch your local files (well, some poor ActiveX stuff can ). Basically, the browser sends back a "I've got a location, send the file!", and the server just starts pumping bytes to the browser, which does the actual writing to your local hard drive.
That's why the each browser has a slightly different file browser dialog, compare IE, Firefox, Opera, etc. sometime.
Hope that helps.
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). Basically, the browser sends back a "I've got a location, send the file!", and the server just starts pumping bytes to the browser, which does the actual writing to your local hard drive.
