Differences between version 10 and predecessor to the previous major change of BitTorrent.
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| Newer page: | version 10 | Last edited on Thursday, May 20, 2004 4:02:56 pm | by DrewBroadley | Revert |
| Older page: | version 1 | Last edited on Saturday, February 22, 2003 12:27:49 am | by NickJohnson | Revert |
@@ -1,3 +1,12 @@
-A PeerToPeer file downloading system written in python
(but with easy-to-use installers for a number of platforms, including windows
). Unlike most PeerToPeer systems, BitTorrent works per-file. Users download a .torrent file,
which provides meta-data on the download, including the URL of a centralised 'tracker' which is used
to keep
track of peers currently downloading the file and
allow those peers
to discover each other. When a user clicks on a .torrent file, they get a download dialog similar to [InternetExplorer]s or [Mozilla]s. Sections
of the file are fetched
from other peers
in random order, and then exchanged
using a tit-for-tat system.
-and
insanely fast downloads even when the original provider of the file is on a very slow link.
-BitTorrent can
be found
at [http://bitconjurer.org/BitTorrent/|http://bitconjurer
.org
/BitTorrent/]
+A PeerToPeer file downloading system written in [Python]
(but with easy-to-use installers for a number of platforms, including [Windows]
). Unlike most PeerToPeer systems, BitTorrent works per-file. Users first
download a tiny __
.torrent__
file which provides meta-data on the download, including the URL of a centralised '
'tracker'' that listens
to special queries over an ordinary HTTP connection. The tracker itself does not have the file, it only keeps
track of peers currently downloading the file to
allow them
to discover each other. The peers fetch sections
of the file from each
other in random order using a tit-for-tat system. The end result is generally a very efficient downloading system, offering
insanely fast downloads even when the original provider of the file is on a very slow link.
+
+To make the system work, a client which already has the full file, referred to as the seeder, must initially connect to the tracker. This client is in no way special and its continued presence is not required either. There needn't even
be a single client which has the full file
at any given time, provided that all sections of the file exist on at least one of the peers signed onto the tracker.
+
+There is a bittorrent client called
[bittornado|http://bittornado.com/], written in python and using the cross-platform [wxWidgets] graphical library. It also has a console/curses mode as well as the graphical front-end. Debian Unstable (and soon testing?) users can "apt-get install bittornado".
+
+See also:
+* [BitTorrent homepage|
http://bitconjurer.org/BitTorrent/]
+* [Btorrents forum
|http://www
.btorrents.com
/]
+* [Spanish
BitTorrent FAQ|http:
//www.ayudabittorrent.com/]
+* [more bittorrent-links|http://members.chello.nl/p.wiersema/index.html]
+* [Suprnova.org - Ultimate Bittorrent Index|http://www.suprnova.org
]
