diff --git a/appl/ftp/common/strerror.c b/appl/ftp/common/strerror.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..517ac580c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/appl/ftp/common/strerror.c
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+#ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H
+#include <config.h>
+#endif
+
+#include <errno.h>
+#include <string.h>
+
+RCSID("$Id$");
+
+static char emsg[1024];
+
+char*
+strerror(int eno)
+{
+    if(eno < 0 || eno >= sys_nerr)
+	sprintf(emsg, "Error %d occurred.", eno);
+    else
+	strcpy(emsg, sys_errlist[eno]);
+
+    return emsg;
+}