Original author(s) | Michael Sandrof |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Matthew R. Green, ircII project |
Initial release | 1989[1] |
Stable release | 20240111[2]
/ 11 January 2024 |
Written in | C |
Operating system | Unix-like |
Size | 577 kB |
Available in | English |
Type | IRC client |
Licence | BSD-3-Clause |
Website | www |
ircII (pronounced i-r-c-two or irk-two,[3][4] and sometimes referred to as IRC client, second edition[5]) is a free, open-source Unix IRC and ICB client written in C. Initially released in the late 1980s, it is the oldest IRC client still maintained.[6][7]
Several other UNIX IRC clients, including BitchX, EPIC, and ScrollZ, were originally forks of ircII. It was the first client to implement file transfer capabilities over IRC.[8] The CTCP protocol was implemented by Michael Sandrof in 1990 for version 2.1.[9] The DCC protocol was implemented by Troy Rollo in 1991 for version 2.1.2,[10] and was never intended to be portable to other IRC clients.[11][12]
ircII is written in the C programming language and implements a termcap, text-mode, user interface. Encrypted Transport Layer Security connections to IRC servers are established with the OpenSSL library. [13] The concept of file transfers over IRC networks was first implemented by the authors of ircII. The client was the first to implement both the Client-to-client protocol (CTCP) and the Direct Client-to-Client (DCC) protocol. The application has been promoted as being "fast, stable, lightweight, portable, and easily backgrounded." [14]