Net::Bittorrent

jettero has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Why are we not yet seeing some good torrent packages for perl?

I just did a CPAN search and didn't really find anything. I have a hard time getting python to work right. Part of the problem is that I don't use it for anything except torrent.

I'd rather not have it installed at all, especially for one download client. I snagged a copy of two of the C libraries out there with the idea of XS embracing them. Neither of them seems terribly mature.

Many say I'm crazy for not being a fan of python, but am I crazy for wanting a 23k CPAN package for torrent? I'm hardly the best choice, but presently I'm in regular communication with the authors of both of the C packages I got to compile and I intend to produce a package.

I just feel like I'm a bit toward the bottom of the barrel so I wonder why nobody beat me to the punch. What am I missing?

Comment on Net::Bittorrent

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Need by Matts (Deacon) on Nov 15, 2003 at 19:33 UTC
There's simply a lack of need for it. There are lots of modules that you might be the only person to ever want or need. Take for example one of my modules - XML::LibRSVG, and interface to the gnome librsvg API. Now this would be a very cool replacement for something like GD for building charts and graphs, along with a zillion other uses, if I developed it more thoroughly, but nobody ever asks about it, or posts bugs for it, so I can only presume there is very little interest in it. But then there's things like DBD::SQLite. SQLite had been around for ages before I wrote this, but I was the first to write an interface to it. And it's now my most popular module by a long shot. So don't give up hope - write the code and stick it on CPAN. It'll either get used or it won't, but either way you'll feel better for publishing it.	[reply]
Re: Need by jettero (Monsignor) on Nov 15, 2003 at 19:39 UTC
That's a good point. I have no problem posting things on CPAN. I just wonder why it's never been built before... I can't be the only one that wants it. Can I? That's the part that really mystifies me. I wished a more competent programmer than myself would tackle Net::BitTorrent. But if it's me, that will be fine too. I'm not saying I'm a bad programmer either, just that I'm not able to read the python code, so some things about bt will be mysterious to me...	[reply]
Re: Net::Bittorrent by Koschei (Monk) on Nov 22, 2003 at 15:06 UTC
Keep your eye on orclev's cpan directory. You'll note he's got a bencoder (which is needed for torrent stuff) and a .torrent manipulator. He's gradually working to something. Perhaps email him and ask how you can help? -- Iain, aka Koschei.	[reply]
Re: Net::Bittorrent by OverlordQ (Hermit) on Nov 16, 2003 at 09:13 UTC
I'd like a good Net::BitTorrent Module :) Personally I'd use it for the computers that for some reason dont like Python.	[reply]
Re: Net::Bittorrent by Aristotle (Chancellor) on Nov 22, 2003 at 09:03 UTC
I have been wanting to write it (actually, several, as the way clients talk to each other, the way they talk to the tracker, their file handling etc are all very separate concerns). I have also been meaning to finish my CDDB stuff and to finally put up the Postscript glyph to Unicode mapper I wrote for my current work project. That work project has priority, though.. :) I've been subscribed to the btprotocol-List for a while too, but haven't been reading so far. Makeshifts last the longest.	[reply]