php-deluxe.net - description DCPlusPlus

DCPlusPlus

DC++ is an open source, peer-to-peer file sharing client (computing) that can be used to connect to the Direct Connect network. It is developed primarily by Jacek Sieka.

As of 2005, no official statistics exist to verify the proportion of DirectConnect users using DC++. However, it is generally believed to be the most extensively used by a large margin; administrators of popular public DirectConnect hubs generally agree that DC++ is the client used by a significant majority.

DC++ is an open-source alternative to the original client, NeoModus Direct Connect (NMDC). It connects to the same file-sharing network, and supports the same file-sharing protocol. One of the reasons commonly attributed to the aforementioned popularity of DC++ is the fact that it has no adware of any kind; NMDC on the other hand contains adware.

Many other clients exist for the Direct Connect network, and most of these are DC++ mods : modified versions of DC++, based on DC++ s source code. A partial list of DC++ mods is given below. Some of these clients were developed for specialized communities (e.g., music-sharing communities), or in order to support specific experimental features, or perhaps features that have been rejected from inclusion in DC++ itself. An example of an experimental feature is hashing, which was initially implemented in #BCDC%2B%2B and later adopted by DC++.

As of 2002, DC++ was still not accepted into some hubs because it was understood that the number of slots is shared by all the hubs that the client is connected to. When the DC++ tag was added to the client, a hack was to remove the tag in an attempt to mask the identity of the client. Other hacks can make it possible to report an inflated share size to the hub (which, in turn, allows entry to better hubs with higher minimum share requirements) or to lock all upload slots (effectively making it impossible to download anything from that user). However, sysops in most hubs possess tools to automatically scan for such hacked clients and kick or ban users who use them.

=DC++ mods=

An advantage of the open-source nature of DC++ is that several mods have been released which add features to the original client. Many users send patches to DC++ which are included in future releases, but some features are rejected by the developer. Stated reasons for rejecting a patch are because they are coded poorly, or that the feature is frivolous, abusable or overly specialized, and does not belong in the main client. Examples include: upload bandwidth limiting (many users feel that upload bandwidth limiting is a form of cheating, while other users not using a duplex (telecommunications) network connection can only achieve reasonable download speeds by limiting uploads), colorized chat, specialized operator functions (e.g. client/share checking). The developers of some mods, notably those working on BCDC++, contribute every feature/bug-fix that might be appropriate for the main client back to DC++. The developers of other mods, notably rmDC, refuse to admit that their code is based on DC++ and break the GPL by not releasing the source code.

Below, a list of well-known mods and their features: