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IRC Hacks | 
 enlarge | Author: Paul Mutton
Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Buy New: $18.21
New (24) Used (9) from $2.99
Media: Paperback
Pages: 432
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6.1 x 0.8
ISBN: 059600687X
Dewey Decimal Number: 005.71376
EAN: 9780596006877
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
IRC ( Internet Relay Chat) may very well turn out to be the world's most successful hack. In 1988, Jarkko Oikarinen wrote the original IRC program at the University of Oulu, Finland. As he says in his forward, IRC started as one summer trainee's programming exercise. A hack grew into a software development project that hundreds of people participated in, and then became a worldwide environment where tens of thousands of people now spend time with each other. I have found many of my friends through IRC and learnt a significant part of my present software engineering knowledge while using and working with IRC. That would not have been possible without learning from code examples and hacks from others. IRC has continued to grow in popularity since its inception. Millions of people from all over the world now use IRC to chat with friends, discuss projects and collaborate on research. With a simple, clearly defined protocol, IRC has become one of the most accessible chat environments, with clients written for a multitude of operating systems. And IRC is more than just a simple chat system it is a network of intercommunicating servers, allowing thousands of clients to connect from anywhere in the world using the IRC protocol. While IRC is easy to get into and many people are happy to use it without being aware of what s happening under the hood, there are those who hunger for more knowledge, and this book is for them. IRC Hacks is a collection of tips and tools that cover just about everything you'd need to become a true IRC master, featuring contributions from some of the most renowned IRC hackers, many of whom collaborated on IRC, grouping together to form the channel #irchacks on the freenode IRC network (irc.freenode.net). Like all of our Hacks books, there are many different ways to use IRC Hacks. You can read the book from cover to cover, but you might be better served by picking an interesting item from the table of contents and just diving in. If you're relatively new to IRC, you should considering starting with a few hacks from each progressive chapter. Chapter 1 starts you off by showing you how to connect to IRC, while Chapter 2 acquaints you with the everyday concepts you'll need to use IRC effectively. Chapter 3 is all about users and channels, and introduces the first pieces of code. Chapter 4 shows you how to make useful enhancements to IRC clients. Chapter 5 is where you will learn the basics about creating IRC bots, with Chapters 6-12 introducing more complex bots that can be used for logging, servicing communities, searching, announcing, networking, managing channels or simply for having fun. Chapter 13 delves into the IRC protocol in more detail, and Chapter 14 demonstrates some interesting alternative methods for connecting to IRC. Finally, Chapter 15 will move you on to new pastures by showing you how to set up your own IRC server. This book presents an opportunity to learn how IRC works and how to make best use of some of the features that have made it the most successful, most scalable, and most mature chat system on this planet. IRC Hacks delves deep into the possibilities.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 Useful collection of tips and tidbits December 27, 2006
Jerry Saperstein (Evanston, IL USA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is an overlooked means of communication in this era of instant messaging, texting on cell phones, networking sites and the like. Yet IRC remains a great source for on-the-spot and authoritative technical knowledge and help; leisure time socializing and just observing how many nutty people there are online. (Some of the poltical, religious and other IRC channels are absolutely hilarious to observe.)
Relatively few of the tips and hacks in this book will be of use to the ordinary IRC user. Most presume a modest proficiency in programming Java or Perl and a more than modest understanding of how IRC works. Still, even though the book will not be of great use to most IRC users, it is still worth a read if for no other reason than to expand your own knowledge of IRC and what can be done with it.
Jerry
 Book Review - "IRC Hacks" July 26, 2005
Dan Clough (Florida, USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
IRC Hacks
100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools
By Paul Mutton
First Edition July 2004
Series: Hacks
ISBN: 0-596-00687-X
432 pages, $24.95
I found this book to be fairly interesting and somewhat useful. Being quite familiar with IRC already, some of the introductory material was information that I already knew, but I did learn a few things about the more technical aspects of the IRC protocol and IRC servers/networks. Much of this book has to do with writing and using IRC channel "bots", which I think most casual IRC users would not be all that interested in.
The first four chapters introduce what IRC is, and how to connect to an IRC network and begin chatting with others. Various IRC client applications are described, including the most popular ones for Linux, Mac, and Windows. Other topics here include how to register your nickname, configuring your client, how to join servers/channels, and some nice customizations to add functionality and enjoyment to your use of IRC. I would think that these first chapters would be very useful to a newcomer to IRC, and allow them to get up and running quickly.
Chapter 5 introduces the concepts of "bots", and how to write your own bots in various languages, including Perl, Python, and Java. Some of it is fairly technical, and may appeal mostly to programmers and more serious IRC "hackers". Also mentioned is the idea of bot "ethics" and the policies that many IRC networks have regarding their use.
The next several chapters (6 - 12) provide numerous ideas and examples of making and using your own bots. IRC bots can perform many functions, some of which can be very useful, and others that have primarily an entertainment value. Much of the content of these chapters is actual code examples for many different types of bots, including Logging, Social, Search & Query, Announcement, Network and Channel Management, and Fun bots.
Chapters 13 - 15 go a little further into the technical side of how the IRC protocol works, encryption, web access to IRC, and even how to run your own IRC server. Many readers will find these subjects more complex than they care to get involved in.
Overall, I think this book is best suited to IRC users who are somewhat more than beginners, and are fairly technically oriented. I was surprised by the large amount of bot programming examples, which actually make up the majority of the book. I am not sure there will be that many users who really want to code their own bot. The first few chapters are helpful for IRC beginners, although there are probably better books for that purpose. I did get some ideas for modifying an existing bot, which I presently use occasionally in our LUG's IRC channel for entertainment (trivia contests). All in all, this title is best suited for more experienced users who may enjoy programming and "hacking" around with IRC bots.
A useful collection of tips, tricks, and bots for IRC. May 21, 2005
Daniel Hanks (Orem, UT United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was first introduced to IRC back in 1997, with a co-worker who spent a lot of his time typing away at a text-based IRC client. He told me later he had some very good friends on IRC, one of which my co-worker never met in person until this friend came to my co-worker's wedding. I ventured into some IRC channels myself, but always felt a little "behind the curve" in terms of understanding what was going on beyond the basics of just participating in a discussion.
Many who are new to IRC may feel the same way, and often those accustomed to the medium are less than accomodating of newbies. Fortunately O'Reilly's IRC Hacks comes to the rescue. O'Reilly uses the term "hacks" here in the positive sense of a clever way to use a particular technology, or an elegant way to solve a certain problem.
The first couple of chapters constitute an introduction to IRC. Various IRC clients for Windows, Linux, and Max OS X are covered, along with ways to enhance these clients. That might be enough for many users of IRC, but to be true to its title, the book proceeds to describe several frameworks you can use to write your own IRC bots in Java, Perl, and Python. No less than 7 chapters follow outlining a wide variety of different bots that can be used to enhance your IRC experience.
The remaining chapters give an in-depth look at the IRC protocol, describe ways in which you can connect to IRC via "other" means (such as from a mobile phone), and also provide coverage on setting up your own IRC server.
Overall IRC Hacks is very informational, and a good introduction to IRC. Perhaps one of its greatest strengths is the large number of "starting points" it provides to allow you to do just about anything with IRC. One complaint I have about the book is that in the chapters offering samples of bots you can write, the vast majority of them are written in Java. I would like to have seen more Perl in the mix. It's there to some extent in the beginning chapters, but Java examples dominate the latter part of the book.
 Author is very biased about his articles January 21, 2005
R. Yalamanchili (Pittsburgh, PA)
3 out of 12 found this review helpful
I have just read an article on slashdot on how the author has "analysed" IRC networks and concluded 99.9% of the traffic from the top 60 channels is illegal. What I wonder is, the top 60 channels all belong to warez groups and have nothing to do with the countless legit constructive channels around. Its like generalizing the internet to one particular field like pornography or illegal file-sharing.
Overall, I think this author is unqualified to write without bias and wouldn't recommend his work to others. Sincerity begets appreciation and this author deserves none.
 Fascinating uses for IRC October 12, 2004
Jack D. Herrington (Silicon Valley, CA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book opens up a whole new dimension of functionality for instant messaging. There are about fifty recipes dedicated specifically to helping you get automated access to information through IRC. Most of the examples are in Java, but there is some Perl and Python as well.
As Hacks books go this is a little looser than the others. I would have liked less time spent on the user interface twiddling, and I'm not sure what the artificial intelligence hack was about. But overall the book is great.
For anyone who loves instant messaging and wants to allow access to their applications through IM, this is the book. If you are a hardcore IRC user you will also want to have a look at this book.
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