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

[Ezra B. Gildesgame]

I suggest posting this to the Summer of Code 2008 group on  
groups.drupal.org (http://groups.drupal.org/soc-2008) as many  
reviewers' eyeballs are likely to be there as the 5:00PST deadline  
approaches.


Ezra Gildesgame

On Mar 23, 2008, at 3:17 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.
>
> -- 
> (( Anthony Bryan ... Metalink [ http://www.metalinker.org ]
>  )) Easier, More Reliable, Self Healing Downloads
>
> [1]
> http://lists.drupal.org/archives/development/2007-03/msg00011.html
> http://groups.drupal.org/node/3647