having trouble with FTPClient

[mniz13]

I'm attempting to access a directory in an ftp server using java. I am using FTPClient class which i downloaded from org.apache.commons.net.ftp API. I seem to be able to log in to the ftp server just fine but when I attempt to change directories using the doCommand() method, it fails to do so. I can't just use the listFiles() method because that returns and array of FTPFile, which doesn't really help me much because they can't be cast as a regular file and they can't list what they contain, which is the ultimate goal. Here is my code that is supposed to access the ftp and print the list of directories in the specified folder:

public static void accessFTP() throws SocketException, IOException
{
FTPClient client = new FTPClient();
client.connect("--.-.-.--");
System.out.println(client.login("userName", "pw")); // returns true as it should
// confirming the login
System.out.println(client.doCommand("cd" , "dir1")); // prints false. should be true
System.out.println(client.doCommand("cd", "dir2")); // also prints false
String[] work = client.doCommandAsStrings("ls", "");
for (int i=0; i<work.length; i++) // throws nullPointer because work is null
{
System.out.println(work[i]);
}
client.disconnect();
}

[Norm]

I can't just use the listFiles() method because that returns and array of FTPFile, which doesn't really help me much because they can't be cast as a regular file

The list of files returned are not local files. You couldn't use the File class to access them.
You need to use the FTPClient's methods to get to the files that are on the server.
Read the API doc for the FTPFile class to see how to use it.