[thelist] PHP Based file download system.

Mike Migurski mike-evolt at teczno.com
Tue Jul 29 15:14:01 CDT 2003


>The problem I'm seeing is that once I had the file off to the user, the
>script will have stopped execution.  The reason behind the one use
>restriction is that the system is for distribution of paid software.  We
>have enough licenses for each user to have a SINGLE copy but that is all,
>so we need to restrict them to one copy only.  I'm just at a loss as to
>how to determin the download completed successfully.  Thanks again,

Not to nitpick, but the license is a totally separate issue from the
technical considerations of the download (unless you're working for the
RIAA, heh) - you can allow users to re-download copies without changing a
word of the license, and you can't prevent them from duplicating the
downloaded file no matter what you do on the server side.

PHP has a number of methods to detect a user abort (see the URL I posted
earlier in this thread) but realistically, you're playing catch-up with
a fluctuating array of ways in which the download might fail without you
knowing about it. Can I suggest allowing the user to download the file as
many times as he or she needs to do so, with a password, or timer, or
other mechanism to prevent the most obvious abuse? You don't want to piss
off paying customers whose connection failed somehow.

Another approach: The iTunes Music Store and the makers of Nato.0+55
software have both opted to tag the downloads themselves with the identity
of the buyer, so that files let out into the wild can be tracked to the
individual who left the barn door open.

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