blob: b4ce805eda3f226017cd828db3d540b852a14297 [file] [log] [blame] [view]
Davide Pesavento08b91c82019-04-13 19:42:10 -04001# NFD - Named Data Networking Forwarding Daemon
Alexander Afanasyeva1417002014-01-21 20:29:55 -08002
Davide Pesavento13dae352021-08-13 15:40:54 -04003[![CI](https://github.com/named-data/NFD/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/named-data/NFD/actions/workflows/ci.yml)
4[![Docs](https://github.com/named-data/NFD/actions/workflows/docs.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/named-data/NFD/actions/workflows/docs.yml)
5![Language](https://img.shields.io/badge/C%2B%2B-14-blue)
6![Latest version](https://img.shields.io/github/v/tag/named-data/NFD?label=Latest%20version)
Nick Gordon3257af22017-12-21 14:15:55 -06007
Alexander Afanasyev0c3e93d2014-05-12 15:49:56 -07008## Overview
9
Beichuan Zhang55b8ed42014-04-26 22:25:44 -070010NFD is a network forwarder that implements and evolves together with the Named Data
Davide Pesavento08b91c82019-04-13 19:42:10 -040011Networking (NDN) [protocol](https://named-data.net/doc/NDN-packet-spec/current/).
12Since the initial public release in 2014, NFD has been a core component of the
13[NDN Platform](https://named-data.net/codebase/platform/).
Steve DiBenedetto1a3c6732014-03-13 06:44:05 -060014
Beichuan Zhang55b8ed42014-04-26 22:25:44 -070015The main design goal of NFD is to support diverse experimentation of NDN technology. The
16design emphasizes *modularity* and *extensibility* to allow easy experiments with new
17protocol features, algorithms, new applications. We have not fully optimized the code for
18performance. The intention is that performance optimizations are one type of experiments
19that developers can conduct by trying out different data structures and different
20algorithms; over time, better implementations may emerge within the same design framework.
21
22NFD will keep evolving in three aspects: improvement of the modularity framework, keeping
23up with the NDN protocol spec, and addition of other new features. We hope to keep the
Steve DiBenedetto62a93942014-08-24 17:13:52 -060024modular framework stable and lean, allowing researchers to implement and experiment with
25various features, some of which may eventually work into the protocol spec.
Davide Pesavento08b91c82019-04-13 19:42:10 -040026
27## Documentation
28
29See [`docs/INSTALL.rst`](docs/INSTALL.rst) for compilation and installation instructions.
30
31Extensive documentation is available on NFD's [homepage](https://named-data.net/doc/NFD/).
32
33## Reporting bugs
34
35Bug reports and feedback are highly appreciated and can be submitted through the
36[NFD issue tracker](https://redmine.named-data.net/projects/nfd/issues) or the
37[ndn-interest mailing list](http://www.lists.cs.ucla.edu/mailman/listinfo/ndn-interest).
38
39## Contributing
40
41NFD is developed by a community effort. Although the first release was mostly done by the
42members of [NSF-sponsored NDN project team](https://named-data.net/project/participants/),
43it already contains significant contributions from people outside the project team (see
44[`AUTHORS.md`](AUTHORS.md)). We strongly encourage participation from all interested parties,
45since broader community support is key for NDN to succeed as a new Internet architecture.
46
47If you are new to the NDN software community, please read [`README-dev.md`](README-dev.md)
Davide Pesavento17521592020-05-14 19:01:32 -040048and the [Contributor's Guide](https://github.com/named-data/.github/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md)
49to get started.
Davide Pesavento08b91c82019-04-13 19:42:10 -040050
51## License
52
Davide Pesavento17521592020-05-14 19:01:32 -040053NFD is a free and open-source software package licensed under the GPL version 3 and
54is the centerpiece of our committement to making NDN's core technology free and open
55to all Internet users and developers. For more information about licensing, refer to
56[`COPYING.md`](COPYING.md).