Uploading refers to ''transmitting''

data Data ( , ) are a collection of discrete or continuous values that convey information, describing the quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpreted for ...

from one

computer system A computer is a machine that can be programmed to automatically carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as ''programs'', wh ...

to another through means of a

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

. Common methods of uploading include: uploading via

web browsers A web browser, often shortened to browser, is an application for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's scree ...

FTP The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard communication protocol used for the transfer of computer files from a server to a client on a computer network. FTP is built on a client–server model architecture using separate control and dat ...

clients, and terminals ( SCP/ SFTP). Uploading can be used in the context of (potentially many) clients that send files to a central

server Server may refer to: Computing *Server (computing), a computer program or a device that provides requested information for other programs or devices, called clients. Role * Waiting staff, those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending custome ...

. While uploading can also be defined in the context of sending files between

distributed Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...

clients, such as with a

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, forming a peer-to-peer network of Node ...

(P2P) file-sharing protocol like

BitTorrent BitTorrent is a Protocol (computing), communication protocol for peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P), which enables users to distribute data and electronic files over the Internet in a Decentralised system, decentralized manner. The protocol is d ...

, the term

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 ...

is more often used in this case. Moving files within a computer system, as opposed to over a network, is called file copying. Uploading directly contrasts with

download In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar systems. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...

ing, where data is ''received'' over a network. In the case of users uploading files over the

internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

, uploading is often slower than downloading as many

internet service providers An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides a myriad of services related to accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non ...

(ISPs) offer asymmetric connections, which offer more network

bandwidth Bandwidth commonly refers to: * Bandwidth (signal processing) or ''analog bandwidth'', ''frequency bandwidth'', or ''radio bandwidth'', a measure of the width of a frequency range * Bandwidth (computing), the rate of data transfer, bit rate or thr ...

for downloading than uploading.

Definition

To transfer something (such as data or files), from a computer or other digital device to the

memory Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembe ...

of another device (such as a larger or remote computer) especially via the internet.

Historical development

Remote

first came into fruition in January 1978, when Ward Christensen and Randy Suess, who were members of the Chicago Area Computer Hobbyists' Exchange (CACHE), created the Computerized Bulletin Board System (CBBS). This used an early file transfer protocol (MODEM, later

XMODEM XMODEM is a simple file transfer protocol developed as a quick hack by Ward Christensen for use in his 1977 MODEM.ASM terminal program. It allowed users to transmit files between their computers when both sides used MODEM. Keith Petersen made a ...

) to send

binary files A binary file is a computer file that is not a text file. The term "binary file" is often used as a term meaning "non-text file". Many binary file formats contain parts that can be interpreted as text; for example, some computer document files ...

via a hardware

modem The Democratic Movement (, ; MoDem ) is a centre to centre-right political party in France, whose main ideological trends are liberalism and Christian democracy, and that is characterised by a strong pro-Europeanist stance. MoDem was establis ...

, accessible by another modem via a

telephone number A telephone number is the address of a Telecommunications, telecommunication endpoint, such as a telephone, in a telephone network, such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN). A telephone number typically consists of a Number, sequ ...

. In the following years, new protocols such as Kermit were released, until the

File Transfer Protocol The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard communication protocol used for the transfer of computer files from a server to a client on a computer network. FTP is built on a client–server model architecture using separate control and d ...

(FTP) was standardized 1985 (). FTP is based on

TCP/IP The Internet protocol suite, commonly known as TCP/IP, is a framework for organizing the communication protocols used in the Internet and similar computer networks according to functional criteria. The foundational protocols in the suite are ...

and gave rise to many

FTP clients The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of File Transfer Protocol (FTP) client–server model, clients. Unless otherwise specified in footnotes, comparisons are based on the stable versions without any add-ons, ...

, which, in turn, gave users all around the world access to the same standard

network protocol A communication protocol is a system of rules that allows two or more entities of a communications system to transmit information via any variation of a physical quantity. The protocol defines the rules, syntax, semantics, and synchronization of ...

to transfer data between devices. The transfer of data saw a significant increase in popularity after the release of the

World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW or simply the Web) is an information system that enables Content (media), content sharing over the Internet through user-friendly ways meant to appeal to users beyond Information technology, IT specialists and hobbyis ...

in 1991, which, for the first time, allowed users who were not computer hobbyists to easily share files, directly from their web browser over

HTTP HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is an application layer protocol in the Internet protocol suite model for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web, wher ...

Resumability of file transfers

Transfers became more reliable with the launch of HTTP/1.1 in 1997 (), which gave users the option to resume downloads that were interrupted, for instance due to unreliable connections. Before web browsers widely rolled out support, software programs like GetRight could be used to resume downloads. Resuming uploads is not currently supported by HTTP, but can be added with the Tus open protocol for resumable file uploads, which layers resumability of uploads on top of existing HTTP connections.

Types of uploading

Client-to-server uploading

Transmitting a local file to a remote system following the

client–server model The client–server model is a distributed application structure that partitions tasks or workloads between the providers of a resource or service, called servers, and service requesters, called clients. Often clients and servers communicate ov ...

, e.g., a web browser transferring a video to a website, is called client-to-server uploading.

Remote uploading

Transferring data from one

remote system Remote administration refers to any method of controlling a computer or other Internet-connected device, such as a smartphone, from a remote location. There are many commercially available and free-to-use software that make remote administration ...

to another remote system under the control of a local system is called remote uploading or site-to-site transferring. This is used when a local computer has a slow connection to the remote systems, but these systems have a fast connection between them. Without remote uploading functionality, the data would have to first be downloaded to the local system and then uploaded to the remote server, both times over a slower connection. Remote uploading is used by some online file hosting services. Another example can be found in FTP clients, which often support the

File eXchange Protocol File eXchange Protocol (FXP or FXSP) is a method of data transfer which uses File Transfer Protocol, FTP to transfer data from one remote server to another (inter-server) without routing this data through the client's connection. Conventional FTP ...

(FXP) in order to instruct two FTP servers with high-speed connections to exchange files. A web-based example is the Uppy file uploader that can transfer files from a user's

cloud storage Cloud storage is a model of computer data storage in which data, said to be on "the cloud", is stored remotely in logical pools and is accessible to users over a network, typically the Internet. The physical storage spans multiple servers (so ...

such as

Dropbox Dropbox is a file hosting service operated by the American company Dropbox, Inc., headquartered in San Francisco, California, that offers cloud storage, file synchronization, personal cloud, and Client (computing), client software. Dropbox w ...

, directly to a website without first going to the user's device.

Peer-to-peer

Peer-to-peer (P2P) is a

decentralized Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those related to planning and decision-making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group and gi ...

communications model in which each party has the same capabilities, and either party can initiate a communication session. Unlike the client–server model, in which the client makes a service request and the server fulfils the request (by sending or accepting a file transfer), the P2P network model allows each

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, lines ...

to function as both client and server.

is an example of this, as is the

InterPlanetary File System The InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) is a protocol, hypermedia and file sharing peer-to-peer network for sharing data using a distributed hash table to store provider information. By using content addressing, IPFS uniquely identifies each fi ...

(IPFS). Peer-to-peer allows users to both ''receive'' (download) and ''host'' (upload) content. Files are transferred directly between the users' computers. The same file transfer constitutes an upload for one party, and a download for the other party.

Copyright issues

The rising popularity of file sharing during the 1990s culminated in the emergence of

Napster Napster was an American proprietary peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing application primarily associated with digital audio file distribution. Founded by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker, the platform originally launched on June 1, 1999. Audio shared ...

, a music-sharing platform specialized in

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany under the lead of Karlheinz Brandenburg. It was designed to greatly reduce the amount ...

files that used peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing technology to allow users exchange files freely. The P2P nature meant there was no central gatekeeper for the content, which eventually led to the widespread availability of

copyrighted A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, e ...

material through Napster. The

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) took notice of Napster's ability to distribute copyrighted music among its user base, and, on December 6, 1999, filed a

motion In physics, motion is when an object changes its position with respect to a reference point in a given time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed, and frame of reference to an o ...

for a

preliminary injunction An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable reme ...

in order to stop the exchange of copyrighted songs on the service. After a failed appeal by Napster, the injunction was granted on March 5, 2001. On September 24, 2001, Napster, which had already shut down its entire network two months earlier, agreed to pay a $26 million dollar settlement. After Napster had ceased operations, many other P2P file-sharing services also shut down, such as

Limewire LimeWire was a free peer-to-peer file sharing client for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Solaris. Created by Mark Gorton in 2000, it was most prominently a tool used for the download and distribution of pirated materials, particularly pirated m ...

Kazaa Kazaa Media Desktop ( ) (once stylized as "KaZaA", but later usually written "Kazaa") was a peer-to-peer file sharing application using the FastTrack protocol licensed by Joltid Ltd. and operated as Kazaa by Sharman Networks. Kazaa was subsequ ...

and

Popcorn Time Popcorn Time is a multi-platform, free software BitTorrent client that includes an integrated media player. The application provides a piracy-based alternative to subscription-based video streaming services such as Netflix. Popcorn Time u ...

. Besides software programs, there were many

BitTorrent websites BitTorrent is a communication protocol for peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P), which enables users to distribute data and electronic files over the Internet in a decentralized manner. The protocol is developed and maintained by Rainberry, Inc., ...

that allowed files to be indexed and searched. These files could then be downloaded via a

BitTorrent client The following is a general comparison of Glossary of BitTorrent terms#Client, BitTorrent clients, which are computer programs designed for peer-to-peer file sharing using the BitTorrent, BitTorrent protocol. The BitTorrent protocol coordinates se ...

. While the BitTorrent protocol itself is legal and agnostic of the type of content shared, many of the services that did not enforce a strict policy to take down copyrighted material would eventually also run into legal difficulties.

References

External links

{{commons category, SVG upload icons
An All Too-Brief History of File Sharing
Computer networking Data transmission Servers (computing)