CERNLIB is a suite of data analysis tools and libraries created for use in physics experiments, but also with applications to other fields such as the biological sciences.

ZFTP is a macro-extensible file transfer program which supports the transfer of formatted, unformatted and ZEBRA RZ files (CMZ, HBOOK, etc.). It provides a common interface on all systems and avoids the problems of file format conversion that occur when transferring CERNLIB files between different architectures.

Except for the special treatment of CERNLIB files and use of a different port, zftp is very similar to an FTP client. Unless you are already familiar with this program, it will almost certainly be useless to you.