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

[Kyle Cunningham]

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.
>
>   

Whoa, I'm surprised to see this come up again since this was going to be 
my original proposal for the Summer of Code last year, I'm glad the 
people are still interested it.  I don't think I would have the time to 
mentor a project like this (and granted I haven't applied for mentorship 
at all for that reason), however I would be happy to help in whatever 
way I can.  I think it would be pretty straightforward to do and that it 
would be a great addition to Drupal.

Cheers,
Kyle Cunningham