Direct download link

Direct download link (DDL), alternatively simply direct download, is a term used within the Internet-based file sharing community. It is used to describe a hyperlink 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 (P2P) downloading architectures in that it uses a client–server architecture, where 100-percent of the file is stored on a single file server or in parallel across multiple file servers in a server farm.

Originally, P2P was used to distribute large sized files without requiring much bandwidth on the part of any one node. However, because of sharing issues, such as the lack of seeding of , throttling of a node's file sharing ports by an Internet service provider, 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 gigabytes of free bandwidth and storage space.

Despite the term commonly being used among warez and other file sharing enthusiasts, direct downloading is heavily used by companies as a means of distributing products, such as application software, drivers for peripherals, documentation in PDF format, and much more.

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:

The maintainers of the site may have arguably good reasons for these impediments, such as:

However, many users see this as quite unnecessary, because they generally know what they need and don't 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 and/or download methods, 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 program, where the same program is built and offered for both platforms).

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