Ircle (formerly rendered as "IRCle"[1]) is an IRC client developed by Onno Tijdgat for the Macintosh computer platform. Ircle is shareware, with free upgrades. The client is scriptable with AppleScript, can support multiple channels and servers, and up to ten simultaneous connections.
[edit] History
Ircle was originally written in THINK Pascal by Olaf Titz and released in 1993, with the source code licensed under the GPL[2] up to version 1.56.[3] Titz then sold the code to Tijdgat.[citation needed] Tijdgat continued development privately, rewriting it in C under Metrowerks CodeWarrior Pro and updating it for the then-new Power Macs.[3] Ircle 3.0 was released in 1994. Some time in the late 1990s, a version of Ircle was released that could only be used with the Talk City internet chat service, which used IRC protocols.[citation needed]
Tijdgat announced in December 2005 that extensive work was underway to update Ircle for x86 based Macs. The upgrades were to be backward compatible with older CPUs, while development for Mac OS 7, 8, and 9 would cease. On September 21, 2006, the Intel compatible (universal binary) version was released with a number of new features.
[edit] Features
Ircle supports up to ten server connections, and comes configured with a "long list of servers".[4] The "channelbar" feature simplifies managing the otherwise large number of windows in Ircle.[4] Applescript allows detailed control and modification of the client.[5] Third party developer Public Access Software hosted Ircle Scripting Resources, Applescript scripts for Ircle-based tools, applications and even games, until 1999.[6][7] The Ircle "faces" window displays updateable images of chat contacts.[8][9]
[edit] Reception
Ircle is described as "the most widely used IRC client for Macintosh computers", "stable, full-featured", with "good user support,"[5] and "one of the best" Mac IRC clients.[10] The "one downside" to Ircle is "a rather intimidating preferences dialog".[1][11] One author described it as "the godfather of Mac IRC clients. It has been around the longest and has the most features, making it the de facto gold standard against which all other clients compare themselves."[12]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Bourne, David L. (1998). Mac OS 8 Web Server Cookbook. Prentice Hall. p. 133.
- ^ Olaf, Titz (November 25, 1993). "Ircle Abstract". Info-Mac HyperArchive. Archived from the original on 2000-03-04. http://web.archive.org/web/20000304100317/http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Abstracts/dev/src/ircle-151-p.hqx.txt.
- ^ a b Tijdgat, Onno. "License and Credits". ircle.com. http://www.ircle.com/agreement.shtml.
- ^ a b Golbeck, Jennifer (2004). Dornfest, Rael; Davidson, James Duncan. ed. Mac OS X Panther Hacks (2nd ed.). O'Reilly Media. pp. 208–210. ISBN 0596007183. http://books.google.com/books?id=ggsPgcWzL4IC&pg=PA208#v=onepage&f=false.
- ^ a b Bidgoli, Hossein, ed. (2003). The Internet Encyclopedia. 2. Wiley. p. 312. ISBN 0471222046. http://books.google.com/books?id=3ZfDy4sqQBEC&pg=PA314#v=onepage&f=false.
- ^ "Ircle AppleScript Resource Closing! Public Access Software Shifts Gears". MacObserver.com. July 6, 1999. http://www.macobserver.com/news/99/july/990706/irclescritingsite.html.
- ^ "Wordscore 3 released". MacObserver.com. December 27, 1999. http://www.macobserver.com/news/99/december/991227/wordscore3.html.
- ^ Garrett, David Lane (1996). "Intranets Unleashed". Sams Publishing. ISBN 1575211157.
- ^ "Ircle Reference : Faces". ircle.com. http://www.ircle.com/reference/faces.shtml.
- ^ Levine Young, Margaret (1999). Internet: The Complete Reference. Osborne Publishing. p. 338. ISBN 007211942X. http://books.google.com/books?id=gPdSAAAAMAAJ.
- ^ "Preferences". ircle.com.
- ^ Charalabidis, Alex (1999-12-15). "IRCing On The Macintosh: Ircle". The Book of IRC: The Ultimate Guide to Internet Relay Chat (1st ed.). San Francisco, California: No Starch Press. p. 61. ISBN 1-886411-29-8.
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