Multi threading downloader simulate [WIP]

exercises/downloader/README.md

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+# 🧵 Multi-threaded File Downloader (Simulated)
+
+This project simulates a multi-threaded file downloader in C using POSIX threads (`pthreads`). The goal is to practice creating and managing threads, synchronizing access to shared resources, and simulating parallel file downloads.
+
+---
+
+## 📋 Description
+
+Each file provided via command-line arguments is "downloaded" by a separate thread. The download is simulated by printing log messages and sleeping for a random duration. All threads run concurrently and the main thread waits for them to complete.
+
+This project is inspired by Chapter 7 ("Threads") of *Linux System Programming* by Robert Love.
+
+---
+
+## 🚀 Usage
+
+```bash
+$ ./downloader file1.txt file2.txt file3.txt
+````
+
+Each file will be "downloaded" in parallel by a separate thread. The program prints informative messages about the start and completion of each download.
+
+---
+
+## 🛠️ Features
+
+* One thread per file
+* Simulated download using `sleep()`
+* Optional logging to file (future enhancement)
+* Thread-safe output via `pthread_mutex_t`
+* Clean thread termination via `pthread_join`
+
+---
+
+## 🧪 Example Output
+
+```
+[Thread 0x7fdc9a10]: Starting download of file1.txt
+[Thread 0x7fdc9210]: Starting download of file2.txt
+[Thread 0x7fdc9210]: Finished download of file2.txt
+[Thread 0x7fdc9a10]: Finished download of file1.txt
+All downloads complete.
+```
+
+---
+
+## 📂 Project Structure
+
+```
+multidownload/
+├── main.c         # Main program
+├── Makefile       # Build script
+└── README.md      # Project documentation
+```
+
+---
+
+## 🧵 Concepts Practiced
+
+* Thread creation with `pthread_create`
+* Thread joining with `pthread_join`
+* Synchronization with `pthread_mutex_t`
+* Struct-based thread argument passing
+* Output race condition prevention
+
+---
+
+## 🏗️ Build
+
+```bash
+$ make
+```
+
+To clean the build:
+
+```bash
+$ make clean
+```
+
+---
+
+## 📖 References
+
+* *Linux System Programming* by Robert Love — Chapter 7: Threads
+* POSIX Threads (man 7 pthread)
+
+---
+
+*Last updated: 2025-07-28*