The API uses a REST-style architecture over the HTTP protocol. Solution 2ĭropbox files are not accessible by FTP. Beyond that, Dropbox has lots of cool features that FTP does not like some revision control, photo gallery sharing, etc. I believe you are only asking about Dropbox's core functionality. This means only the parts of the file that changed are transferred instead of transferring the entire file every time it changes (see rsync). You can close a file request at any time. In this video: an intro to file requests.

Requested files are added to a folder that you specify, and you can share this folder or close the request at any time. In terms of algorithms, I would guess that Dropbox uses file deltas for file transfer, which makes it much more efficient than FTP. With Dropbox, you can collect docs, photos, and other files from people using file requests. Wherever you're pulling photos from, Dropbox will rename your files in the 'yyyy-mm-dd hh.mm.ss' format, making it easy to find everything later. With FTP you would have to delicately pick and choose which files need to be removed or added from each client to the server.Īnother main difference is that synchronisation happens automatically whenever a file changes, which FTP does not do. Just plug your camera or memory card into your computer, and the Dropbox app will upload your photos. This means if you are using your Dropbox account on many machines and editing different files on each machine, they will all be synchronised appropriately. And copying is not the same as synchronizing, which I believe is Dropbox's biggest strength.ĭropbox is a multiway synchronization system.

How does dropbox work for photos