GnucDNA
Encyclopedia
GnucDNA is a software library
for building peer-to-peer
applications. It provides developers with a common layer to create their own Gnutella
and/or Gnutella2
client or network. As a separate component, GnucDNA can be updated independently of the client, passing down improvements to the applications already using it.
- support is outdated compared to modern implementations by clients like gtk-gnutella
and Shareaza
.
The library gives programs which link to it the ability to share files with built in support for uploading, downloading, file queuing and partial file sharing (the ability to upload verified chunks of a file while it is downloading), hash
those files, extract meta-data to be shared through the network, and the ability to perform advanced searching by specific hash and meta-data parameters. GnucDNA also offers applications the ability to update their software easily through the same P2P network that they create.
The GnucDNA component is COM
based to inherit the advantage of language independence and versatility. Applications in C++
, Visual Basic
, .Net, and even scripts can utilize GnucDNA. Also by being a separate component, it can be used in a number of alternate situations such as part of a plugin, a service
or running behind a web server
.
have already gone into coding
, improving, and testing the GnucDNA as part of the Gnucleus project. As others took notice of the project the engine was duplicated over 15 times, but while the interfaces and services others provided were great, they could not keep up with the main development. So the decision was taken, to move the Gnucleus engine, now called GnucDNA, into a separate component, so that anyone has access to it without fear of falling behind in the developments and improvements that are made. It also opens up new doors for those interested in creating their own P2P networks, but do not want to re-invent the low layer communication and file transfer mechanisms.
Gnucleus is the gnutella
and Gnutella2
client project for Microsoft Windows
that the GnucDNA library code originally has been developed in, before it was split to a semi-separated project. Just like the GnucDNA library, it has been released under the GNU General Public License
.
The client is designed to be easy to use without reducing the number of options available. Gnucleus implements a number of features including Ultrapeer capability on gnutella (resp. Hub mode on G2
), multisource swarming downloads, partial-file sharing, SHA1 file hashing, Tiger tree
sub chunk verification and proxy server
support.
file sharing
application that uses the GnucDNA library to connect to the gnutella
and G2
networks. Its design goal focusses on leaving a small resource footprint and being simple to use for beginners.
Kiwi Alpha doesn't contain functionality such as media players, in the spirit of its lightweight goal. However, the application comes with two bundled pieces of adware
, such as SaveNow, which seems to contradict the small footprint goal. Also, the program's website states that "Kiwi Alpha does not require users to register and protects the user's privacy by connecting anonymously
to the network". This is misleading, as both supported protocols do not obfuscate the user's IP address
, which the statement seems to indicate.
Library (computer science)
In computer science, a library is a collection of resources used to develop software. These may include pre-written code and subroutines, classes, values or type specifications....
for building peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...
applications. It provides developers with a common layer to create their own Gnutella
Gnutella
Gnutella is a large peer-to-peer network which, at the time of its creation, was the first decentralized peer-to-peer network of its kind, leading to other, later networks adopting the model...
and/or Gnutella2
Gnutella2
Gnutella2, often referred to as G2, is a peer-to-peer protocol developed mainly by Michael Stokes and released in 2002. While inspired by the gnutella protocol, G2 shares little of its design with the exception of its connection handshake and download mechanics. It adopts an extensible binary...
client or network. As a separate component, GnucDNA can be updated independently of the client, passing down improvements to the applications already using it.
General
GnucDNA is a widespread and established library which can be extended by programmers. It includes the capability of forming a decentralized network between peers with integrated Ultrapeer support, allowing the network to avoid bottlenecks of low bandwidth nodes. However, the Ultrapeer - respectively Hub on G2Gnutella2
Gnutella2, often referred to as G2, is a peer-to-peer protocol developed mainly by Michael Stokes and released in 2002. While inspired by the gnutella protocol, G2 shares little of its design with the exception of its connection handshake and download mechanics. It adopts an extensible binary...
- support is outdated compared to modern implementations by clients like gtk-gnutella
Gtk-gnutella
gtk-gnutella is a peer-to-peer file sharing application which runs on the gnutella network. gtk-gnutella uses the GTK+ toolkit for its graphical user interface. Released under the GNU General Public License, gtk-gnutella is free software.- History :...
and Shareaza
Shareaza
Shareaza is a peer-to-peer file sharing client running under Microsoft Windows which supports the gnutella, Gnutella2 , eDonkey, BitTorrent, FTP, HTTP and HTTPS network protocols and handles magnet links, ed2k links, and the now deprecated gnutella and Piolet links...
.
The library gives programs which link to it the ability to share files with built in support for uploading, downloading, file queuing and partial file sharing (the ability to upload verified chunks of a file while it is downloading), hash
Hash function
A hash function is any algorithm or subroutine that maps large data sets to smaller data sets, called keys. For example, a single integer can serve as an index to an array...
those files, extract meta-data to be shared through the network, and the ability to perform advanced searching by specific hash and meta-data parameters. GnucDNA also offers applications the ability to update their software easily through the same P2P network that they create.
The GnucDNA component is COM
Component Object Model
Component Object Model is a binary-interface standard for software componentry introduced by Microsoft in 1993. It is used to enable interprocess communication and dynamic object creation in a large range of programming languages...
based to inherit the advantage of language independence and versatility. Applications in C++
C++
C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
, Visual Basic
Visual Basic
Visual Basic is the third-generation event-driven programming language and integrated development environment from Microsoft for its COM programming model...
, .Net, and even scripts can utilize GnucDNA. Also by being a separate component, it can be used in a number of alternate situations such as part of a plugin, a service
Web service
A Web service is a method of communication between two electronic devices over the web.The W3C defines a "Web service" as "a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network". It has an interface described in a machine-processable format...
or running behind a web server
Web server
Web server can refer to either the hardware or the software that helps to deliver content that can be accessed through the Internet....
.
History
Over five years of developmentSoftware development
Software development is the development of a software product...
have already gone into coding
Computer programming
Computer programming is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to create a program that performs specific operations or exhibits a...
, improving, and testing the GnucDNA as part of the Gnucleus project. As others took notice of the project the engine was duplicated over 15 times, but while the interfaces and services others provided were great, they could not keep up with the main development. So the decision was taken, to move the Gnucleus engine, now called GnucDNA, into a separate component, so that anyone has access to it without fear of falling behind in the developments and improvements that are made. It also opens up new doors for those interested in creating their own P2P networks, but do not want to re-invent the low layer communication and file transfer mechanisms.
Gnucleus
- Note: Gnucleus has previously had its own article, therefore Gnucleus redirects here. To see the Gnucleus article in other language versions, just click this link and choose from the side menu.
Gnucleus is the gnutella
Gnutella
Gnutella is a large peer-to-peer network which, at the time of its creation, was the first decentralized peer-to-peer network of its kind, leading to other, later networks adopting the model...
and Gnutella2
Gnutella2
Gnutella2, often referred to as G2, is a peer-to-peer protocol developed mainly by Michael Stokes and released in 2002. While inspired by the gnutella protocol, G2 shares little of its design with the exception of its connection handshake and download mechanics. It adopts an extensible binary...
client project for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
that the GnucDNA library code originally has been developed in, before it was split to a semi-separated project. Just like the GnucDNA library, it has been released under the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
.
The client is designed to be easy to use without reducing the number of options available. Gnucleus implements a number of features including Ultrapeer capability on gnutella (resp. Hub mode on G2
Gnutella2
Gnutella2, often referred to as G2, is a peer-to-peer protocol developed mainly by Michael Stokes and released in 2002. While inspired by the gnutella protocol, G2 shares little of its design with the exception of its connection handshake and download mechanics. It adopts an extensible binary...
), multisource swarming downloads, partial-file sharing, SHA1 file hashing, Tiger tree
Hash tree
In cryptography and computer science Hash trees or Merkle trees are a type of data structure which contains a tree of summary information about a larger piece of data – for instance a file – used to verify its contents. Hash trees are a combination of hash lists and hash chaining, which in turn are...
sub chunk verification and proxy server
Proxy server
In computer networks, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource available from a different server...
support.
Kiwi Alpha
Kiwi Alpha is a peer-to-peerPeer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...
file sharing
File sharing
File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digitally stored information, such as computer programs, multimedia , documents, or electronic books. It may be implemented through a variety of ways...
application that uses the GnucDNA library to connect to the gnutella
Gnutella
Gnutella is a large peer-to-peer network which, at the time of its creation, was the first decentralized peer-to-peer network of its kind, leading to other, later networks adopting the model...
and G2
Gnutella2
Gnutella2, often referred to as G2, is a peer-to-peer protocol developed mainly by Michael Stokes and released in 2002. While inspired by the gnutella protocol, G2 shares little of its design with the exception of its connection handshake and download mechanics. It adopts an extensible binary...
networks. Its design goal focusses on leaving a small resource footprint and being simple to use for beginners.
Kiwi Alpha doesn't contain functionality such as media players, in the spirit of its lightweight goal. However, the application comes with two bundled pieces of adware
Adware
Adware, or advertising-supported software, is any software package which automatically plays, displays, or downloads advertisements to a computer. These advertisements can be in the form of a pop-up. They may also be in the user interface of the software or on a screen presented to the user during...
, such as SaveNow, which seems to contradict the small footprint goal. Also, the program's website states that "Kiwi Alpha does not require users to register and protects the user's privacy by connecting anonymously
Anonymity
Anonymity is derived from the Greek word ἀνωνυμία, anonymia, meaning "without a name" or "namelessness". In colloquial use, anonymity typically refers to the state of an individual's personal identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown.There are many reasons why a...
to the network". This is misleading, as both supported protocols do not obfuscate the user's IP address
IP address
An Internet Protocol address is a numerical label assigned to each device participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing...
, which the statement seems to indicate.
See also
- Peer-to-peerPeer-to-peerPeer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...
- P2P protocols and clients - MorpheusMorpheus (computer program)Morpheus was a file sharing and searching peer-to-peer client for Microsoft Windows, developed and distributed by the company StreamCast, that originally used the Opennap protocol, but later supported many different peer-to-peer protocols...
- has used the GnucDNA core - FoxyFoxy (P2P)Foxy is a Chinese P2P software by Vastel Technology Ltd. Inc. popular in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. This software was treated as trojan in antivirus software Norton Antivirus or AVG for its file sharing. There may also be a malware Foxy...
- uses a modified GnucDNA core
External links
- GnucDNA Project Homepage
- Gnucleus Homepage
- Gnucleus Sourceforge Project Page
- Gnucleus forums
- Kiwi Media World, Kiwi Alpha's homepage