Bersirc
Encyclopedia
Bersirc is an open source
Internet Relay Chat
client for the Microsoft Windows
operating system. Linux
and Mac OS X
versions are "in development". It uses the Claro toolkit, which aims to provide an interface to native windowing system
s and widgets on all operating systems. Microsoft .NET and Qt toolkit ports were also planned. The current version of Bersirc is 2.2.14.
and there are no plans to change this. Bersirc 2.1 was to be released under the Qt Public License, but the Qt toolkit and license were abandoned.
Bersirc was originally written in Delphi by Jamie Frater in 1999 as a Windows
-only IRC client, comparable to HydraIRC and Klient. But development stagnated due to his growing responsibilities in real life
.
On February 10, 2004 Nicholas Copeland bought the source code
from Frater and released it as open source
. The older Delphi
client, Bersirc 1.4, was supposed to be maintained under the name Bersirc 1.5. The original site was also archived by the new owner, including all the old plugins and extensions, but there has been almost no information about the future of the legacy clients since.
Developers stated that development of the 1.4 client stalled because the original source code extensively used proprietary software components. The 1.4 client relies on many parts of old versions of the Raize Components package.
The primary developer, Theo Julienne, announced plans to develop the 2.1 branch in C++
using the Qt toolkit, but with the release of the 2.2 branch this was changed to C
using Claro Graphics.
Bersirc has received positive reviews. The German website Winfuture referred to version 2.2.13 as a "great free alternative to the popular shareware IRC client mIRC. The program contains only what is necessary for chatting on IRC...". Snapfiles gave the program 3.5/5 stars, referring to it as "feature rich and nicely designed".
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
Internet Relay Chat
Internet Relay Chat
Internet Relay Chat is a protocol for real-time Internet text messaging or synchronous conferencing. It is mainly designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels, but also allows one-to-one communication via private message as well as chat and data transfer, including file...
client for the Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
operating system. Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
versions are "in development". It uses the Claro toolkit, which aims to provide an interface to native windowing system
Windowing system
A windowing system is a component of a graphical user interface , and more specifically of a desktop environment, which supports the implementation of window managers, and provides basic support for graphics hardware, pointing devices such as mice, and keyboards...
s and widgets on all operating systems. Microsoft .NET and Qt toolkit ports were also planned. The current version of Bersirc is 2.2.14.
Features
The program supports multiple Servers, a finger client, DCC File Transfers and Chat, Smart Paste, Object Pascal Scripting, Internet Time Support (Swatch Netbeats), Channel Lists, Favorite Channels list, Ident Server, AutoJoin on Invite, AutoRejoin on Kick, configurable date formats, an ICQ-like notify list, advanced filtering, a configurable user interface, and a built in IRC user guide.License
Bersirc is licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public LicenseGNU Lesser General Public License
The GNU Lesser General Public License or LGPL is a free software license published by the Free Software Foundation . It was designed as a compromise between the strong-copyleft GNU General Public License or GPL and permissive licenses such as the BSD licenses and the MIT License...
and there are no plans to change this. Bersirc 2.1 was to be released under the Qt Public License, but the Qt toolkit and license were abandoned.
History
Originally bersIRC, existed as a TCL/TK script unrelated to the currently used Bersirc, it was created by the irc-user: SeLf-AdHeSiVe, it was last modified in 1998, and is freely downloadable at http://defiled.8m.com/ and has been for years. It may undergo some renditions.Bersirc was originally written in Delphi by Jamie Frater in 1999 as a Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
-only IRC client, comparable to HydraIRC and Klient. But development stagnated due to his growing responsibilities in real life
Real life
Real life is a term usually used to denote actual human life lived by real people in contrast with the lives of fictional or fantasy characters.-Usage online and in fiction:On the Internet, "real life" refers to life in the real world...
.
On February 10, 2004 Nicholas Copeland bought the source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
from Frater and released it as open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
. The older Delphi
Delphi
Delphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...
client, Bersirc 1.4, was supposed to be maintained under the name Bersirc 1.5. The original site was also archived by the new owner, including all the old plugins and extensions, but there has been almost no information about the future of the legacy clients since.
Developers stated that development of the 1.4 client stalled because the original source code extensively used proprietary software components. The 1.4 client relies on many parts of old versions of the Raize Components package.
The primary developer, Theo Julienne, announced plans to develop the 2.1 branch in C++
C++
C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
using the Qt toolkit, but with the release of the 2.2 branch this was changed to C
C (programming language)
C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....
using Claro Graphics.
Reception
In 2001, New Zealand gaming website GamePlanet recommended Bersirc for users to connect to its IRC services.Bersirc has received positive reviews. The German website Winfuture referred to version 2.2.13 as a "great free alternative to the popular shareware IRC client mIRC. The program contains only what is necessary for chatting on IRC...". Snapfiles gave the program 3.5/5 stars, referring to it as "feature rich and nicely designed".
External links
- Bersirc website
- Bersirc 1.4 site (archive)
- [irc://irc.free2code.net/bersirc Bersirc official IRC channel]
- Bersirc mailing list
- Jamie Frater's Official website