View source for GiFT

{{Short description|Former computer software daemon}}
{{About|the filesharing computer software giFT||Gift (disambiguation)}}
{{Refimprove|date=January 2010}}
{{lowercase}}
{{Infobox software
| name                   = giFT
| logo                   =
| screenshot             =
| caption                =
| developer              = jasta
| released               = {{start date and age|2003}}
| latest release version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q745982|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| latest release date    = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q745982|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| latest preview version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q745982|P348|P548=Q51930650}}
| latest preview date    = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q745982|P348|P548=Q51930650|P577}}
| programming language   = [[C (programming language)|C]]
| platform               = [[Cross-platform]]
| language               = [[English language|English]]
| genre                  = [[Peer-to-peer]]
| license                = [[GNU General Public License|GNU GPL]]
| website                = {{URL|sourceforge.net/projects/gift/}}
}}
'''giFT Internet File Transfer''' ('''giFT''') is a [[daemon (computer software)|computer software daemon]] that allows several [[file sharing]] protocols to be used with a simple client having a [[graphical user interface]] (GUI). The client dynamically loads [[Plug-in (computing)|plugin]]s implementing the protocols, as they are required.<ref name=":0" />

== General ==
[[Image:GiFTcurs.png|thumb|200px|giFTcurs, a terminal front end for the giFT daemon]]
Clients implementing frontends for the giFT daemon communicate with its process using a lightweight [[network protocol]]. This allows the networking protocol code to be completely abstracted from the [[user interface]]. The giFT daemon is written using relatively [[cross-platform]] [[C (programming language)|C]] [[code]], which means that it can be compiled for and executed on a big variety of operating systems. There are several giFT [[GUI]] [[front end processor (program)|front-ends]] for [[Microsoft Windows]], [[Apple Macintosh]], and [[Unix-like]] [[operating system]]s.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name="kcei" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" />

The name ''giFT'' (giFT Internet File Transfer) is a so-called [[recursive acronym]], which means that it refers to itself in the expression for which it stands.

One of the biggest drawbacks of the giFT engine is that it currently lacks [[Unicode]] support, which prevents sharing files with Unicode characters in their file names (such as "ø","ä", "å", "é" etc.).<ref>{{Citation |last=S |first=Nikhilesh |title=nikki93/cgame |date=2024-09-12 |url=https://github.com/nikki93/cgame |access-date=2025-04-13}}</ref> Also, giFT lacks many features needed to use the [[gnutella#Gnutella features|gnutella]] network effectively.

==Available plugins==
Available protocols are:<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://gift.sourceforge.net/software/plugins.mhtml |title=GiFT: Network Plugins |access-date=2007-02-15 |archive-date=2007-02-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216154221/http://gift.sourceforge.net/software/plugins.mhtml |url-status=dead }}</ref>

'''Stable'''
*[[OpenFT]], giFT's own file sharing protocol<ref name="ref2">{{cite web|title=giFT: Internet File Transfer |url=http://www.zeropaid.com/news/1038/gift_internet_file_transfer/ |date=2002-05-11 |access-date=2010-01-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927104419/http://www.zeropaid.com/news/1038/gift_internet_file_transfer/ |archive-date=2011-09-27 }}</ref>
*[[gnutella]] (used by [[FrostWire]], [[Shareaza]])
*[[Turtle F2F]]

'''[[Beta version]]'''
*[[FastTrack]] (used by [[Kazaa]]). The giFT plugin is giFT-FastTrack.

'''[[Alpha version]]'''
*[[OpenNap]]
*[[eDonkey network]]
*[[Soulseek]]

== OpenFT protocol ==
[[Image:Apollon screenshot.png|thumb|The Apollon front end]]
giFT's sibling project is OpenFT, a [[peer-to-peer]] file-sharing [[network protocol]] that has a structure in which nodes are divided into 'search' nodes and 'index' [[supernode (networking)|supernode]]s in addition to common [[node (computer science)|nodes]]. Since both projects are related very closely, when one says 'OpenFT', one can mean either one of two different things: the OpenFT protocol, or the implementation in the form of a plugin for giFT.

Although the name ''OpenFT'' stands for "Open FastTrack", the OpenFT protocol is an entirely new protocol design: only a few ideas in the OpenFT protocol are drawn from what little was known about the [[FastTrack]] protocol at the time OpenFT was designed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What means OpenFT? - AfterDawn |url=https://www.afterdawn.com/glossary/term.cfm/openft |access-date=2025-08-26 |website=www.afterdawn.com}}</ref>

=== OpenFT file-sharing protocol ===
Like FastTrack and [[Napster]], OpenFT is a network where [[node (networking)|node]]s submit lists of shared files to other nodes to keep track of which files are available on the network. This reduces the bandwidth consumed from search requests at the price of additional memory and processing power on the nodes that store that information. The transmission of shared lists is not fully recursive: a node will only transmit its list of shared files to a single search node randomly chosen as that node's "parent", and the list of those files will not be further transmitted to other nodes.<ref name=":0">From the giFT documentation at [http://gift.sf.net the giFT homepage]</ref>

OpenFT is also similar to the [[gnutella]] network in that search requests are recursively forwarded in between the nodes that keep track of the shared files.

There are three different kinds of nodes on the OpenFT network:

; USER
: Most nodes are USER nodes; these have no special function.
; SEARCH
: These nodes handle search requests; they search the filelists their CHILD nodes (explained below) submit to them. These nodes must have a capable Internet connection and at least 128M [[Random Access Memory|RAM]]. A modern processor is highly recommended as well.<ref>According to the giFT documentation:<blockquote>Search nodes handle search requests. They search the filelists their CHILD (common) nodes submitted to them. These nodes must have a capable Internet connection and at least 128M RAM. A modern processor is highly recommended as well.</blockquote></ref>
; INDEX
: Nodes with fast connections and much memory can be INDEX nodes, which keep lists of available search nodes, collect statistics, and try to maintain the structure of the network.<ref>According to the giFT documentation:<blockquote>INDEX nodes keep lists of available search nodes, collect statistics, and try to maintain the structure of the network.</blockquote></ref>

A node can be both a SEARCH and an INDEX node.
USER nodes will pick three SEARCH nodes to be their PARENT nodes. They will submit their shares list to them if the PARENT accepts the USER as its CHILD. By default, SEARCH nodes will be PARENTS for a maximum of 500 CHILD nodes.

== giFT front-ends ==
{{update section|reason=claims things are "current" relating to software whose last release was over 10 years ago|date=November 2022}}
{| class="wikitable"
! Name || Platform || License || Features || Latest version || Website
|-
| giFTcurs<ref name=":2">Scott Rippee (15 Jan 2004) [http://www.osnews.com/story/5679/Throw_That_GUI_Out_the_Door_Console_Applications_That_Shine/page2/ Throw That GUI Out the Door: Console Applications That Shine], [[OSNews]]</ref>
| [[Unix-like]]
| [[GNU General Public License|GPL]]
|
* [[Ncurses]]-based
* the only one that was officially supported
| 0.6.2
|
|-
| Apollon<ref name=":1">Juergen Haas, [http://linux.about.com/od/kubuntu_doc/a/kubudg29t21.htm Appolon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707075539/http://linux.about.com/od/kubuntu_doc/a/kubudg29t21.htm |date=2011-07-07 }}, [[About.com]] Kubuntu Guide</ref><ref name=":3">Carsten Schnober, [http://www.linux-magazine.com/w3/issue/55/Apollon.pdf Olympian Exchange. File Sharing with Apollon and GiFT] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121095531/http://www.linux-magazine.com/w3/issue/55/Apollon.pdf |date=2008-11-21 }}, [[Linux Magazine]] issue 55, June 2005, pp. 82-83</ref>
| [[Unix-like]]/[[KDE]]
| [[GNU General Public License|GPL]]
|
*Tabbed searching
*Preview of [[mp3]] and videos
*FirstRun wizard
*[[System tray]] docking
*Chat with other Apollon users
| 1.0.2.1 (2005-05-08)
| apollon.sourceforge.net
|-
| KCeasy<ref name=":4">Thomas Mennecke (September 5, 2004) [http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=560 Getting Into KCeasy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220014137/http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=560 |date=2012-02-20 }}, [[Slyck.com]]</ref><ref name=":5">[http://filesharingz.com/reviews/kceasy-review.php KCEasy Review] FileSharingZ.com</ref><ref name=kcei/>
| [[Microsoft Windows]]
| [[GNU General Public License|GPL]]<ref name=kceasylicense>{{cite web|url=https://sourceforge.net/projects/kceasy/|title=KCeasy|website=SourceForge|date=8 April 2013 }}</ref>
|
* Includes a media player.
* Originally, included the giFT-FastTrack plugin, to connect to [[Kazaa]] and [[Kazaa Lite]]. In Version 0.12 and later he removed the giFT-FastTrack plug-in in order to avoid a legal fight with [[Sharman Networks]]. The FastTrack plug-in is still being developed and is available from a third-party website. Upgrading from previous versions of the program will not remove the giFT-FastTrack plug-in.
| 0.19-rc1  (2008-02-03)
|KCeasy Source Forge website
|-
| giFTwin32<ref name=kcei>{{cite web|url=http://www.slyck.com/story481_Slycks_Interview_with_KCeasy|title=Slyck News - Slyck's Interview with KCeasy|website=www.slyck.com|access-date=2010-02-16|archive-date=2010-01-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100103150143/http://www.slyck.com/story481_Slycks_Interview_with_KCeasy|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| [[Microsoft Windows]]
|
|
* fewer features than KCeasy, but also has a smaller footprint
* better suited for older hardware
| <!-- keep this for a better table formatting --> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
|
|-
| Poisoned<ref name=":6">John Borland, [http://news.cnet.com/2100-1027-5109645.html Macintosh users join Kazaa network], [[CNET]]  News, November 19, 2003</ref><ref name=":7">Thomas Mennecke, ''[http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=305 Poisoned: Bringing FastTrack to the Macintosh Community] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220014142/http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=305 |date=2012-02-20 }}'', November 21, 2003</ref>
| [[Mac OS X]]
| [[GNU General Public License|GPL]]
|
* Its name is a pun on the [[German language|German]] word ''Gift'' (which means ''poison'' in English).
| 0.5191 (2006-08-08)
| www.gottsilla.net
|}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}
* [[MLDonkey]] - another plugin based multi-network P2P client

== References ==
<references/>
* Marcus Bergner, ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20100905131930/http://www8.cs.umu.se/~bergner/thesis/html/node62.html FastTrack]'' chapter in his MS Thesis "Improving Performance of Modern Peer-to-peer Services", 10 June 2003, [[Umeå University]], chapter "discusses the FastTrack protocol used by the  KaZaA family of file sharing applications. Since the protocol is a well kept secret most discussions will relate to the giFT project, an open source implementation attempting to provide similar capabilities."
* {{cite book | author1 = Choon Hoong Ding | author2 = Sarana Nutanong | author3 = Rajkumar Buyya | citeseerx = 10.1.1.70.3712 | chapter = Peer-to-Peer Networks for Content Sharing | editor1-first = Ramesh | editor1-last = Subramanian | editor2-first = Brian D. | editor2-last = Goodman | title = Peer-to-peer computing: the evolution of a disruptive technology | publisher = Idea Group | year = 2005 | isbn = 1-59140-430-4 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/peertopeercomput0000unse/page/58 58–61] | chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/peertopeercomput0000unse/page/58 }}
* {{cite web | title = Introduction to giFT - internet File Transfer | url = http://vodka-pomme.net/projects/introduction-to-gift-internet-file-transfer | date = 2007-01-06 | access-date = 2010-01-04}}

== Further reading ==
* Minaxi Gupta, [[Markus Jakobsson]], Andrew Kalafut, and Sid Stamm, ''Crimeware and Peer-to-Peer Networks'', chapter 3 in Markus Jakobsson, Zulfikar Ramzan, ''Crimeware: understanding new attacks and defenses'', Addison-Wesley, 2008, {{ISBN|0-321-50195-0}}, pp.&nbsp;55–76 (discuses malware in the OpenFT and [[Limewire]] networks)
** '''''based on''''': {{cite conference |last1=Kalafut |first1=Andrew |last2=Acharya |first2=Abhinav |last3=Gupta |first3=Minaxi |year=2006 |title=A study of malware in peer-to-peer networks |book-title=Proceedings of the 6th ACM SIGCOMM on Internet measurement |conference=IMC'06 |pages=327–332 |citeseerx=10.1.1.70.3712 |doi=10.1145/1177080.1177124 |isbn=1-59593-561-4}}

== External links ==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20171123184905/http://gift.sourceforge.net/ Official website]
{{File sharing protocols}}
{{Gnutella|Gnutella clients}}

[[Category:Free file sharing software]]
[[Category:File sharing software for Linux]]
[[Category:Free software programmed in C]]
[[Category:Cross-platform software]]
[[Category:File sharing networks]]
[[Category:Software using the GNU General Public License]]