[doldaconnect.git] / README

			Dolda Connect - README

			     Introduction

Dolda Connect is a  peer-to-peer file sharing program, designed around
the  Direct Connect  protocol.  It is  written  in a  fashion that  is
intended  for  flexibility  and  easy  extension.  It  currently  only
supports  the normal  Direct  Connect protocol,  but  support is  also
planned  for the  ADC protocol,  and  it can  most likely  be made  to
support a great deal of other file sharing protocols as well.

			    Extensibility

Dolda Connect is  built around a client-server model,  in the way that
there  is  a server  (daemon)  program  carrying  out all  the  actual
file-sharing work, and a number of client programs that connect to the
server in order to command  it and display its status. The interaction
between  the client  and server  is carried  out using  a well-defined
protocol, making it  fairly easy to write new  clients for specialized
tasks.

To make it  easier to write new clients, a C  library has been written
to make  common functions easier, such  as connecting, authenticating,
sending requests and  parsing the responses. The C  library also has a
wrapper  module for  GNU  Guile, so  that  clients can  be written  in
Scheme. As of 0.3, there is also a Python module available seperately.

None of these are documented (yet), but there are a number of examples
scattered around the source tree, so  it should not be awfully hard to
figure out  how to  do simple  things. If in  doubt, just  contact the
author.

			       Clients

So far, the following clients are distributet along with the source
tree:

 * A Gtk2 based GUI, which loosely resembles a normal Direct Connect
   client program.
 * A GNOME panel applet for showing the status of current downloads in
   progress.
 * A Gaim chat plugin for chatting in hubs and writing private
   messages.
 * A command-line automatic downloader written in Scheme.
 * A chat logger written in Scheme.
 * A hub manager written in Scheme.

The GNOME applet and Gaim plugin are somewhat experimental. The applet
seems to be working well, but the installation have some quirks (since
GNOME does  not normally look in  /usr/local, care must  be taken with
the installation prefix). The  Gaim plugin has some performance issues
and seems to  be leaking some memory. The  performance problems lie in
Gaim itself, however, and the Gaim developers have indicated that they
will be fixed in Gaim 2.0.0.

			     Installation

See the INSTALL file.

			    Documentation

Documentation is still  spotty at best. For any  information not found
in  the README or  INSTALL files  (or the  source code,  if you  are a
programmer), contact the author.

			       Credits

Dolda Connect is primarily written  by Fredrik Tolf. He can be reached
through  the e-mail address  <fredrik@dolda2000.com>. His  homepage is
<http://www.dolda2000.com/~fredrik/>.


This documented was last updated 2006-11-22, reflecting release 0.3 of
Dolda Connect.
Commit	Line	Data
a56bedc9	1	Dolda Connect - README
	2
	3	Introduction
	4
	5	Dolda Connect is a peer-to-peer file sharing program, designed around
	6	the Direct Connect protocol. It is written in a fashion that is
	7	intended for flexibility and easy extension. It currently only
	8	supports the normal Direct Connect protocol, but support is also
	9	planned for the ADC protocol, and it can most likely be made to
	10	support a great deal of other file sharing protocols as well.
	11
	12	Extensibility
	13
	14	Dolda Connect is built around a client-server model, in the way that
	15	there is a server (daemon) program carrying out all the actual
	16	file-sharing work, and a number of client programs that connect to the
	17	server in order to command it and display its status. The interaction
	18	between the client and server is carried out using a well-defined
	19	protocol, making it fairly easy to write new clients for specialized
	20	tasks.
	21
	22	To make it easier to write new clients, a C library has been written
	23	to make common functions easier, such as connecting, authenticating,
	24	sending requests and parsing the responses. The C library also has a
	25	wrapper module for GNU Guile, so that clients can be written in
a5b603ac	26	Scheme. As of 0.3, there is also a Python module available seperately.
a56bedc9	27
	28	None of these are documented (yet), but there are a number of examples
	29	scattered around the source tree, so it should not be awfully hard to
	30	figure out how to do simple things. If in doubt, just contact the
	31	author.
	32
	33	Clients
	34
	35	So far, the following clients are distributet along with the source
	36	tree:
	37
	38	* A Gtk2 based GUI, which loosely resembles a normal Direct Connect
	39	client program.
	40	* A GNOME panel applet for showing the status of current downloads in
	41	progress.
	42	* A Gaim chat plugin for chatting in hubs and writing private
	43	messages.
	44	* A command-line automatic downloader written in Scheme.
	45	* A chat logger written in Scheme.
a5b603ac	46	* A hub manager written in Scheme.
a56bedc9	47
	48	The GNOME applet and Gaim plugin are somewhat experimental. The applet
	49	seems to be working well, but the installation have some quirks (since
	50	GNOME does not normally look in /usr/local, care must be taken with
	51	the installation prefix). The Gaim plugin has some performance issues
	52	and seems to be leaking some memory. The performance problems lie in
	53	Gaim itself, however, and the Gaim developers have indicated that they
	54	will be fixed in Gaim 2.0.0.
	55
	56	Installation
	57
	58	See the INSTALL file.
	59
4e75a4ae	60	Documentation
	61
	62	Documentation is still spotty at best. For any information not found
	63	in the README or INSTALL files (or the source code, if you are a
	64	programmer), contact the author.
	65
a56bedc9	66	Credits
	67
	68	Dolda Connect is primarily written by Fredrik Tolf. He can be reached
	69	through the e-mail address <fredrik@dolda2000.com>. His homepage is
	70	<http://www.dolda2000.com/~fredrik/>.
	71
	72
	73
a5b603ac	74	This documented was last updated 2006-11-22, reflecting release 0.3 of
a56bedc9	75	Dolda Connect.