The following is from the HP ARPA File Transfer Protocol User's Guide,
Using FTP Commands in UDCs and Programs. Since you are doing this from a
job stream, you cannot use the parm line. Instead, you must hardcode
node, user, and password into the jobstream. Hardcoding the password is
pretty poor security; you could make the ftpcmd file appendable but not
readable, or run it from a secured group (just reply if this is a
concern). Use RA!HPDate!HPMonthXX for the filename, unless you need the
leading zero for single digit days and months.

This is the closest thing I have found for a technique to pass variables
into a subsystem: echo the variables into a file, and RUN the subsystem
using the command file. I have for instance used this to list
yesterday's log, manipulating SHOWLOG and decrementing to get the
required number, ECHOing the commands to a command file, and then
passing the command file to DUI.DIAG.SYS, aka SYSDIAG.

--------
Transferring Multiple Files

You can create a command file to automatically copy a group of files
from
the remote system into your account as in the following example.


   1.  Create a file with the following contents:
_____________________________________________________
|                                                   |
|     parm node, user, pass                         |
|     continue                                      |
|     purge ftpcmds,temp                            |
|                                                   |
|     echo exitonerror                    >> ftpcmds|
|     echo open !node                     >> ftpcmds|
|     echo user !user !pass               >> ftpcmds|
|     echo get file1 file1                >> ftpcmds|
|     echo get file2 file2                >> ftpcmds|
|     echo get file3 file3                >> ftpcmds|
|     echo quit                           >> ftpcmds|
|                                                   |
|     run ftp.arpa.sys; stdin=ftpcmds               |
|                                                   |
|     if !FTPLASTERR <> 0 then                      |
|        showvar FTP@                               |
|     endif                                         |
|                                                   |
|     continue                                      |
|     purge ftpcmds,temp                            |
_____________________________________________________



   2.  From the CI, (:)  enter the following to execute the command file
       you created:

            : yourfile remotehostname  username password

        EXITONERROR is enabled in the above example.  If there is an
       error while executing, the error will be printed on the terminal
       display.

You can create a UDC using the same set of commands above, except
changing the word  parm to a UDC name such as getfiles.  The first
statement for this UDC is:

     getfiles node, user, pass

Enter the contents of the file in your UDC file.  To execute this UDC,
you would enter:

     :getfiles  remotehostname  username  password


>----------
>From:  [log in to unmask][SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
>Sent:  Saturday, November 02, 1996 7:07 AM
>To:    [log in to unmask]
>Subject:       File names and FTP
>
>I'm an inexperienced MPEix programmer who needs to FTP a file from an HP to a
>BACSBOX. The file name is not known until run time when it takes the form
>RAddmmXX where ddmm is the day and month. Everything is fine in the HP under
>MPE where the file is created correctly, can be referred to as !RAFILE and
>written to as required.
>However, once I run FTP in my job stream it cannot recognise the file as
>!RAFILE.
>
>How do I pass the name of the file to FTP at run time?
>
>Any suggestions would be gratefully received either posted to the newsgroup
>or
>by email to [log in to unmask] or at my compuserve address
>[log in to unmask]
>
>
>Thanks in advance.
>
>Michael Duignan
>