​​Using IPFS for BMS/bmson distribution

​​Introduction to IPFS

​​IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) is a highly distributed file system based on peer-to-peer technology. All computers running IPFS share a single file system.
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​​You can learn more about this technology at https://ipfs.io/ and on Wikipedia (日本語).
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​​Japanese book about IPFS: https://ipfs-book.decentralized-web.jp/
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​​IPFS and BMS(bmson) community

​​What would happen if IPFS is used to distribute BMS/bmson?
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​​IPFS Path for Download URL

​​When publishing BMS/bmson,
​​I can also add my song folder to IPFS. When I add it, I get a unique “hash”.
​​I can put the hash into DownloadURL (in form of “/ipfs/<hash>”).
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User-uploaded image: image.png
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  • ​​What is a hash?
  • ​​A hash is a short identifier for a piece of content.
  • ​​Same content results in the same hash.
  • ​​Different content results in a different hash.
  • ​​IPFS is a system that lets you retrieve the content through the peer-to-peer network if you know the hash of that content.
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​​Browsing files

​​Because folder is published to IPFS,
​​I can browse it through the public IPFS gateway:
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User-uploaded image: image.png
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​​Downloading the folder

​​If you install IPFS in your computer, you can quickly download the folder into your computer:
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​​(Command line)
​​PS> ipfs get QmdqpfL2LQZ3W4VSWePHhTvsz1is3pKVJhoMqi5hv2Tn6k -o recursivedescent
​​Saving file(s) to recursivedescent
​​4.91 MB / 4.91 MB [==========================] 100.00% 0s
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User-uploaded image: image.png
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  • ​​Benefit: No need to download files from many different websites.
  • ​​Benefit: No need to extract files.
  • ​​Benefit: By downloading the content, you also help seed them to other people (for a limited time). This means everyone gets faster downloading speed. (Like BitTorrent.)
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​​Mounting as a drive

​​IPFS can be used as a network drive.
​​This means it is possible to play a BMS file directly from IPFS drive.
​​e.g.
​​java -jar beatoraja.jar "Z:\ipfs\QmdqpfL2LQZ3W4VSWePHhTvsz1is3pKVJhoMqi5hv2Tn6k\RECURSIVE DESCENT.bmson"
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​​What if games supported IPFS?

​​If BMS players supported IPFS, what would happen?