Is "SFTP" and "FTP over SSL" a same thing?

Question

I need to write a program to send some files to an SFTP server. I googled, but found there is similar thing called "FTP over SSL".

Are they the same?

Solution

Wikipedia explains the differences: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTPS

FTPS (also known as FTP Secure and FTP-SSL) is an extension to the commonly used File Transfer Protocol (FTP) that adds support for the Transport Layer Security (TLS) and the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) cryptographic protocols.

FTPS should not be confused with the SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), an incompatible secure file transfer subsystem for the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol. It is also different from Secure FTP, the practice of tunneling FTP through an SSH connection.

Comments

[Ikar Pohorský]

Just note that as Secure FTP is often called both: SFTP and FTPS. If someone tells you to communicate over Secure FTP ask him immediately what he/she means to avoid confusion;)