BTDigg is the first BitTorrent DHT search engine.[1][2][3][4] This DHT search engine participates in the BitTorrent DHT network, supports the network and makes correspondences between magnet links and a few torrent attributes (name, size, list of files) which are indexed and inserted into a database. For end users BTDigg provides a full text search over the database via Web interface. The Web part of search system retrieves a proper information by a user's text query. The Web search supports queries in European and Asian languages. The project name is an acronym of BitTorrent Digger (digger means a treasure-hunter).[5]
Facilities
The Web part of BTDigg search system provides magnet links and partial torrent information (name, list of files, size) from the database which are relevant for a given user's text query.
BTDigg's DHT search engine links two subjects that are partial information from a torrent and a magnet link. And it's similar to the process of linking a content of a Web page with a page URL which Web search engines are doing. Besides Web search user interface BTDigg provides API for third-party applications.
Initially BTDigg was created as the DHT search engine for free content being distributed across the BitTorrent network. BTDigg is oriented towards promotion of free content and helps authors of free content to spread the word about their content.
Features
BTDigg is the global BitTorrent DHT search engine operating all over the world. BTDigg Web interface supports English, Russian, Portuguese languages and the Web search engine is working well for queries in European and Asian languages. Users can customize search results by choosing proper sort order in the Web interface.
Among the other features there are search API, API popularity, plugins for μTorrent and qBittorrent[6] BitTorrent clients, Web browser plugin (for Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome). API popularity gives a picture of changing popularity for a torrent in the BitTorrent DHT network.
History of BTDigg
BTDigg was founded by Nina Evseenko in January 2011 and prerequisites were a plenty of projects releasing free content using the BitTorrent protocol[7] such as Pioneer One, VODO, Musopen, Jamendo, ClearBits and others.[8]
There are the following visible milestones that were found in BTDigg Twitter:[9]
|
| 31 March 2011 | Web plugin to search with one click |
| 4 April 2011 | API popularity |
| 9 April 2011 | qBittorrent plugin |
| 13 April 2011 | new Web design |
| 19 April 2011 | showing torrent info-hash as QR code picture |
| 28 April 2011 | torrent fakes detection |
| 30 April 2011 | detection of torrent duplicates |
| 12 July 2011 | charts of the popular torrents in soft real-time |
| 29 July 2011 | different sort order |
| 16 Jan 2012 | supporting SSL connections |
| 27 March 2012 | showing distributed votes |
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages are decentralization of database creation and ability to show distributed ratings being provided by users via μTorrent.[10] The disadvantage is no guarantee about content because BTDigg doesn't analyze and doesn't store content.
Public Perception
Most of people perceive BTDigg as a tracker or BitTorrent Index. It's not a tracker because BTDigg doesn't share content, doesn't participate in or coordinate BitTorrent swarm. It's not a BitTorrent Index because it doesn't store and doesn't maintain a static list of torrents.
References
External links
