Developing on the BitTorrent Sync API? Our developer evangelist is here to work with you.
It has been an exciting and busy week with the Sync team and I’m always thrilled when the Sync API and the folks who are developing on it get some attention. Ryan Tate just covered us in his Wired piece: BitTorrent Sync Apps Offer Escape From Big Brother. On that positive note, I was able to catch Jack Minardi – creator of SyncNet – for a quick Q&A session.
Aaron: How’d you get here and how’d you get started as a developer?
Jack: It is hard to say. I guess I started when I first wrote programs for my TI calculator back in grade school. I believe I truly became a software developer after working with the brilliant minds at Enthought as a scientific software developer.
Aaron: Any tips for people looking to build on the Sync API?
Jack: Use a simple wrapper around the API in your language of choice. It will abstract away much of the work and leave you to developing. I wrote a simple one for python: https://github.com/jminardi/python-btsync
Aaron: What’s next for SyncNet?
Jack: What’s next for Syncnet is for the community to decide.
Aaron: What is the vision for SyncNet?
Jack: I see Syncnet as an example of what can be built on top of these next generation distribution protocols.
Aaron: What problems does it solve?
Jack: First Syncnet helps reduce server costs by distributing the load across the whole network. Second it prevents bad actors from censoring a certain site, and third it lowers the barrier to content publication. Anyone who can make a new folder on their computer can publish a site to the Syncnet network.
Aaron: What are some of the practical use cases you envision?
Jack: Today Syncnet can be used to replace sites that are updated by few people and viewed by many. This covers many popular websites like blogs and new pages.
Aaron: What has the response been so far?
Jack: Generally positive, people are excited about a decentralized web.
Aaron: How can the Sync community help you? What input do you need?
Jack: Beta testers and feature-adders!
