xMule

xMule (short for "X11 Mule") is a discontinued free[2] client for the eDonkey peer-to-peer file sharing network intended to bring it to virtually all the major Unix platforms, with a particular emphasis on Linux.

xMule
Developer(s)xMule team
Initial releaseJune 2003 (2003-06)
Stable release1.13.7 RC1 (September 11, 2006 (2006-09-11)[1]) [±]
Operating systemCross-platform
Available inC++
Typepeer-to-peer file sharing
LicenseGNU General Public License v2
Websitewww.xmule.ws Edit this on Wikidata

xMule was coded in C++ using wxWidgets and released under GNU General Public License v2. xMule is a fork of lMule,[3] itself a port of eMule. aMule is a fork of xMule.

History

lMule

lMule (short for "Linux Mule") was an early attempt to bring an eMule-like client to Linux started in January 2003 by Timo Kujala, who ported all eMule code to Linux by himself. Alternative applications were at the time command line applications whilst lMule was very similar to eMule in look and feel. The development team grew during the short lifespan of the project, but in June 2003, due to differences between the developers and the hijacking of the website by one contributor, the fork xMule was born, where the initial "x" was supposed to mean the multiplatform goals of the project (this claim was much later changed by xMule maintainer to "X11 mule"). Timo Kujala and the other lMule developers not part of xMule project abandoned all development after this event.

xMule

In June 2003, due to differences between the developers and the hijacking of lMule's official website by one contributor, lMule's fork, xMule, was created.[4][5]

Unlike eMule, which uses MFC (Microsoft Foundation Classes), xMule used wxWidgets for the graphical user interface, therefore could run on many platforms. It fully supported Linux and *BSD, and was intended to support Windows and MacOS.[6]

On 17 August 2003, Ted R. Smith, xMule's only maintainer who lived in the United States at the time, became involved in a legal battle due to his role in the development of xMule. His personal Internet connection was shut down. He appeared to be subpoenaed by the government on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) related issue.[7][8][9]

xMule's final release was 1.13.7 RC1 in September 2006.[10]

Since 18 January 2009, a note on the official website of xMule, written by its developer, Avi Vahl, officially announced the discontinuation of xMule's development. To justify the decision, Avi Vahl claimed that eMule was dead and the future of peer-to-peer was the BitTorrent protocol. The official xMule website encouraged users to move to the BitTorrent network or use aMule.[11]

aMule

On 18 August 2003, shortly after the incident involving Ted R. Smith, aMule (meaning "another Mule" and later "All-platform Mule") was forked from the xMule source code due to major disagreements. aMule's official website stated that "relations between the two projects are sadly in a rather sorry state",[12] whereas xMule's stated that "aMule is geared more towards the present end-user, while xMule is more about long-term extensibility and viability", and drew comparisons to the different coding philosophies behind Internet Explorer and Mozilla.[13] aMule has added the support for Windows and MacOS.

References
  1. "xMule v1.13.7 RC1 is out!". xMule team. 2006-09-11. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
  2. Guelff, Christophe; Allart, Philippe (2011-07-07). Hackez votre Eee PC: L'ultraportable efficace. Eyrolles. p. 18. ISBN 9782212084269. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  3. Blondeel, Sébastien; Cartron, Daniel; Risi, Juliette; Thomas, Jean-Marie (2011-07-07). Débuter sous Linux avec Mandriva. Eyrolles. p. 200. ISBN 9782212130492. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  4. "Timeline". Archived from the original on 2011-06-28. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  5. "LMule - eMule for Linux". Archived from the original on 2005-04-16. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  6. "About xMule". Archived from the original on 2017-08-17. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  7. michael (2003-08-21). "RIAA/MPAA vs. xMule Author, EarthStation 5". Slashdot. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  8. Champeau, Guillaume (2003-08-21). "Un proche d'eMule attaqué en Justice !". Numerama. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  9. "I've been personally shut down..." Ted R. Smith. Archived from the original on 2003-10-04. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  10. "xMule v1.13.7 RC1 is out!". Archived from the original on 2017-08-15. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  11. "Development Status". xMule. Archived from the original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  12. "xMule". AMule Project wiki. Archived from the original on 2020-02-03. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  13. "The Coding Philosophies of xMule vs aMule". xMule. Archived from the original on October 8, 2006. Retrieved 2006-07-23.
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