The Automatic File Distributor provides a framework for very flexible,
non-stop, log and debug-able delivery of an arbitrary amount of files to
multiple recipients as expressed in URLs (currently mailing and ftp supported
with the mailto://user@domain and ftp://user:password@host URL conventions).

The most common technique used to distribute data is for each individual to
fetch the data from one common place. This place can be a database, FTP-server
or even the WWW (World Wide Web). However, this is not always the most user or
customer friendly way for a company or organization to distribute its products.
For this reason AFD (Automatic File Distributor) was developed, to provide a
better service to users or customers in transporting the required data directly
to the location where it is required.

WWW: http://www.dwd.de/general/GBTI/afd/english/