Direct download link (DDL), or simply ''direct download'', is a term used within the Internet-based

file sharing File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents or electronic books. Common methods of storage, transmission and dispersion include r ...

community. It is used to describe a

hyperlink In computing, a hyperlink, or simply a link, is a digital reference to data that the user can follow or be guided by clicking or tapping. A hyperlink points to a whole document or to a specific element within a document. Hypertext is text ...

that points to a location within the Internet where the user can download a file. When used in conversation, DDL distinguishes itself from other forms of

peer-to-peer Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads between peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the network. They are said to form a peer-to-peer ...

(P2P) downloading architectures in that it uses a client–server architecture, where 100-percent of the file is stored on a single

file server In computing, a file server (or fileserver) is a computer attached to a network that provides a location for shared disk access, i.e. storage of computer files (such as text, image, sound, video) that can be accessed by the workstations that are ab ...

or in parallel across multiple file servers in a

server farm A server farm or server cluster is a collection of computer servers, usually maintained by an organization to supply server functionality far beyond the capability of a single machine. They often consist of thousands of computers which require ...

. Originally, P2P was used to distribute large sized files without requiring much bandwidth on the part of any one

node In general, a node is a localized swelling (a "knot") or a point of intersection (a vertex). Node may refer to: In mathematics * Vertex (graph theory), a vertex in a mathematical graph * Vertex (geometry), a point where two or more curves, line ...

. However, because of sharing issues, such as the lack of seeding of torrents, throttling of a node's file sharing ports by an

Internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise privatel ...

, or lawsuits because of uploading copyrighted material, direct downloads has become a popular and legal alternative among Leechers. There is also an increase in businesses offering

gigabyte The gigabyte () is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. The prefix '' giga'' means 109 in the International System of Units (SI). Therefore, one gigabyte is one billion bytes. The unit symbol for the gigabyte is GB. This defini ...

s of free bandwidth and storage space.

Subverting a site maintainer's policies

DDL has also taken on a meaning of providing direct links within a site where the original site's maintainers impede a user from accessing a file directly. Typical impediments include: * Requiring the user to

log in In computer security, logging in (or logging on, signing in, or signing on) is the process by which an individual gains access to a computer system by identifying and authenticating themselves. The user credentials are typically some form ...

before being provided a link to the content they desire. * Using

ECMAScript ECMAScript (; ES) is a JavaScript standard intended to ensure the interoperability of web pages across different browsers. It is standardized by Ecma International in the documenECMA-262 ECMAScript is commonly used for client-side scriptin ...

or similar programming along with altering the DOM so as to initiate a download instead of clicking or right-clicking directly on a link. * Downloading a

trampoline A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched between a steel frame using many coiled springs. Not all trampolines have springs, as the Springfree Trampoline uses glass-reinforced plastic rods. People bounce ...

stub program which, when executed, downloads the complete file. * Downloading a "download manager" application which then downloads the desired file (which is similar to downloading a stub, but is used for more than one file or package from the same site). The maintainers of the site may have arguably good reasons{{according to whom, date=April 2021 for these impediments, such as: * being able to inform (email) users of available updates so as to reduce the time software is vulnerable * attempting to bind the user to a legal agreement (license, terms of use, acceptable use policy, etc.) before dispensing the files or software (a form of

shrink wrap contract Shrinkwrap contracts or shrinkwrap licenses are boilerplate contracts packaged with products; usage of the product is deemed acceptance of the contract. Web-wrap, click-wrap and browse-wrap are related terms which refer to license agreements in ...

or browse wrap license) * always downloading the latest version and therefore reducing their software's extant vulnerability * reducing their Internet bandwidth requirements by only transferring files the user is likely to need However, many users see this as quite unnecessary, because they generally know what they need and do not want to go through the site's mechanics (such as filling out forms over and over) to get said file. Also, there may be bugs in the site's detection or download methods (or both), thus forcing the user to obtain the file directly. Another example is when the site maintainer tries to identify the user's platform, and the user is simply using something other than the target platform to download the file (for example, using a Microsoft Windows system to download a

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which i ...

program, where the same program is built and offered for both platforms). Therefore, some users may collaborate on sites other than the one offering the desired files, and post URLs which they have identified as being for the desired file. Thus a user wanting the same file does not have to endure the impediments encountered from the original site's maintainers, and simply obtains the file directly.

Subverting a site maintainer's policies

See also