[development] GSoC?: Mirroring / download improvements with Metalink

[Benjamin Lewis]

On Sunday 23 March 2008 07:17:45 pm Anthony Bryan wrote:
> Hi,
>
> There was some discussion [1] last year about Metalink (which list
> mirrors & checksums for download programs). Since then, support has
> been added to KGet in KDE and DownThemAll!, a Firefox extension. What
> we are missing is things to make it easier for projects to make the
> simple XML .metalinks.
>
> I know this is late, but if anyone is interested, we'd be willing to
> co-mentor if needed, and fund development of this (if not accepted for
> GSoC).
>
> A brief overview of Metalink:
> "Metalink solves the first problem -- how to find the most speedy way
> to download a file -- by grouping different download protocols into
> one protocol. This enables Metalink clients to automatically switch
> between different mirror servers without explicit user instructions.
> Not only multiple server information is described but also meta-data
> (e.g., the location of the server, document tags and license)."
> Geospatial Semantic Web
>
> Some basic features the information in a metalink can be used for:
>
>     * Listing multiple mirrors for higher availability.
>     * Automatic error recovery and repair of corrupted downloads.
>     * Describe mirror location and priority for automated and efficient
> use. * More information about a download for users.
>     * Add a file or multiple files to a download queue.

I would definitely be interested (as a student) in implementing something like 
this, as it seems like a really nifty idea.

-- 

Benjamin Lewis
Fedora Ambassador
ben.lewis at benl.co.uk

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