Define Torrent
The term "torrent" has several meanings in networking technology. All these stem from the BitTorrent protocol. This is a file sharing system created in 2001 by Bram Cohen. The protocol is owned by the company called BitTorrent but is free to use for the general public.
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BitTorrent
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The BitTorrent protocol differs from other file sharing systems in that it splits up a source file and enables others to copy it block by block. This means that several blocks can be downloaded simultaneously and from different sources. The BitTorrent concept of blocks reduces dependence on one source for a whole file and increases download speed. In common parlance, the BitTorrent system is often referred to as "torrent."
Torrent
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The true definition of the term "torrent" is that it is a file available for downloading through the BitTorrent system. There may be several copies of the same file available. These are "seeds" of the torrent. Once one block has been downloaded, the new owner makes that block available for others to copy while the rest of the file downloads onto the computer. This person is called a "peer" for the torrent.
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Torrent Client
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The torrent client is the software resident on the user's computer. It does all the work of the system uploading and downloading files, registering with trackers and displaying progress to the user. The torrent client is sometimes also called a "torrent downloader," or just a "torrent." The client is the heart of the BitTorrent protocol. There is no centralized server. The system enables individuals to contact each other without subscription or permission from a controlling authority. This is called a "Peer-to-Peer" architecture. Although BitTorrent was the original torrent client, there are now many different clients available.
Torrent File
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The mechanism that distributes details about available torrents is called a torrent file. This is also often referred to as a "torrent." The torrent file contains the name and size of the torrent and the number of blocks it is broken into. There is always also an entry giving the web address of a tracker. The tracker is a location where the owners of the file post their possession of it together with their location. Anyone who wants to download the torrent opens the torrent file in their torrent client. The client contacts the tracker to get a list of the seeds and peers for the file. It then contacts those computers directly.
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