FAQ.P2PLinks

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What is an URI?

URI stands for Uniform Resource Identifier and is a way to reference to a resource, in many cases a file. An URI can - but doesn't have to - contain information about the location(s) of the resource, the way it can be retrieved, a way to identify it, optionally uniquely, or other types of information about the resource. The most widely spread example for URIs are URLs. URIs are defined in RFC 2396.

In the world of P2P, URIs are often used to link to files on P2P networks. This allows users to easily trade links to a particular file with friends or to create collections of those links to put on websites. Those URIs typically contain some sort of file hash which uniquely identifies the file, which usually can be used to search for the file on a P2P network supporting searches for this type of hash. There are various types of URIs being used in the P2P world, of which Shareaza supports the most important ones, namely Magnet links and eD2k links. Shareaza also supports the only rarely used Piolet and Gnutella links.

Note that URIs are text strings that can (for example) be included in any website at HTML level. .torrent files are therefore no URIs by definition, even if they do fulfill the same task: identifying files in a unique manner.

What is a magnet link?

Magnet links aim to be a sort of link that can be used independently of the p2p network, hashing algorithm or file-sharing program being used -- they aren't even limited to be used together with p2p at all. More informations about them can be found at the Magnet-URI Project. Since magnet links may contain any type of hash, not all magnet links can be used by all programs. For files located on the Gnutella and Gnutella2 networks, they typically use the SHA1 hash. For files on the eDonkey2000 network, they use a hash commonly referred to as CMD4 or ed2k-hash. Shareaza understands either type of those links. Magnet links can also contain more than one hash, which makes it easy to create links that are usable by a wide range of applications and networks. Magnet links always start with the string "magnet:?". Creating and Using Magnet Links.

What are eDonkey and Gnutella links?

An eDonkey link (or eD2k link for short) is similar to a magnet link, but is much less flexible and limited to the use of the CMD4 hash, which only makes it suitable to be used together with the eDonkey2000 network. However, Shareaza can even use them on the Gnutella2 network in a limited way. eD2k links always start with "ed2k://".

Gnutella links were used with the Gnutella network and they make use of the SHA1 hash. However, these links are now deprecated in favor of magnet links. Shareaza has dropped support for creating such links. Gnutella links started with "gnutella://".

Where can I find sites using these type of links?

There are a number of sites currently using magnet links and more appear all the time. Here's a small list:

Magnetmix for all kinds of files
freebase for freeware software
g24u for freeware software

Why don't p2p (Torrent, ed2k, magnet or Gnutella) links open up in Shareaza?

Other programs may "steal" priority for the links. To have Shareaza open up these links go to Menu Tools > Shareaza Settings > General > Web. Put a check mark next to each link that you want to have Shareaza handle.

Why don't magnet links or eD2k links work with Opera?

Opera fixed a bug in their magnet support in version v7.2.0 (Beta 2). Versions before this will have problems, so you should update your browser if you run into trouble.

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