KVIrc
Encyclopedia
KVIrc is a graphical IRC client for Linux
, Unix
, Mac OS
and Windows
. The name is an acronym of K Visual IRC in which the K stands for a dependency to KDE
, which became optional from version 2.0.0. The software is based on the Qt framework and its code is released under the GNU General Public License
.
and/or over IPv6
). Unicode
, ISO-8859-*, Asian and Windows-native character sets are supported. DCC
is supported. A special feature is the smart encoding, which allows the user to use 2 encodings at the same time; the user can send Unicode and read Unicode and CP-1252 for example.
Along with the widely supported mIRC
-Codes for bold, underlined and colored fonts, KVIrc provides graphical emoticons and animated avatars. The chat interface is highly configurable and supports downloadable themes.
The channel windows can be split in two subwindows, one for chat messages and the other for commands like joins/parts/mode changes. The size of the subwindows is variable, so the user is able to hide the commands window. Every channel, query and DCC Chat is encryptable with Blowfish
or AES/Rijndael.
KVIrc has its own scripting language named KVS which can be used to add complex functions to react automatically to network events. Perl
and Python
can be also used to a certain degree. Object-oriented programming is supported and the builtin Qt binding
classes allow building additional parts of user interface. The SocketSpy feature allows developers to watch the raw communication between client and server.
operating system. The interest of the free software community has grown quickly, the client was included in several linux
distributions and additional developers joined the project eventually forming the informal KVIrc Development Team.
Since the KDE libraries were still in an early development stage their interface was changing very frequently and it became hard for the developers to follow them. Moreover, there was strong interest in porting KVIrc to Windows where KDE
wasn't available. The strict dependency on KDELibs was then gradually weakened and officially dropped in version 2.0.0.
Partial KDE integration is still available as a compile time option.
KVIrc 3.0.0 was released in 2004 with the support for Linux
and Windows platforms. A preliminary Mac OS
port followed in the same year.
As of March 2011, the latest stable release is 4.0.4 Insomnia.
,
Debian GNU/Linux
,
Gentoo Linux
,
Arch Linux
,
OpenSUSE
and RedHat/Fedora
. Other linux flavors are supported via community contributed binary packages and build scripts.
KVIrc is also available for Microsoft Windows
2000 / XP / Vista / 7, Mac OS X
and FreeBSD
.
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...
, Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
, Mac OS
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
and 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...
. The name is an acronym of K Visual IRC in which the K stands for a dependency to KDE
KDE
KDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
, which became optional from version 2.0.0. The software is based on the Qt framework and its code is released under the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
.
Features
KVIrc is able to connect to several servers at the same time (optionally with SSLTransport Layer Security
Transport Layer Security and its predecessor, Secure Sockets Layer , are cryptographic protocols that provide communication security over the Internet...
and/or over IPv6
IPv6
Internet Protocol version 6 is a version of the Internet Protocol . It is designed to succeed the Internet Protocol version 4...
). Unicode
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
, ISO-8859-*, Asian and Windows-native character sets are supported. DCC
Direct Client-to-Client
Direct Client-to-Client is an IRC-related sub-protocol enabling peers to interconnect using an IRC server for handshaking in order to exchange files or perform non-relayed chats. Once established, a typical DCC session runs independently from the IRC server. Originally designed to be used with...
is supported. A special feature is the smart encoding, which allows the user to use 2 encodings at the same time; the user can send Unicode and read Unicode and CP-1252 for example.
Along with the widely supported mIRC
MIRC
mIRC is an Internet Relay Chat client for Microsoft Windows, created in 1995 and developed by Khaled Mardam-Bey. Although it is a fully functional chat utility, its integrated scripting language makes it extensible and versatile....
-Codes for bold, underlined and colored fonts, KVIrc provides graphical emoticons and animated avatars. The chat interface is highly configurable and supports downloadable themes.
The channel windows can be split in two subwindows, one for chat messages and the other for commands like joins/parts/mode changes. The size of the subwindows is variable, so the user is able to hide the commands window. Every channel, query and DCC Chat is encryptable with Blowfish
Blowfish (cipher)
Blowfish is a keyed, symmetric block cipher, designed in 1993 by Bruce Schneier and included in a large number of cipher suites and encryption products. Blowfish provides a good encryption rate in software and no effective cryptanalysis of it has been found to date...
or AES/Rijndael.
KVIrc has its own scripting language named KVS which can be used to add complex functions to react automatically to network events. Perl
Perl
Perl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Perl was originally developed by Larry Wall in 1987 as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions and become widely popular...
and Python
Python (programming language)
Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive...
can be also used to a certain degree. Object-oriented programming is supported and the builtin Qt binding
Language binding
In computing, a binding from a programming language to a library or OS service is an API providing that service in the language.Many software libraries are written in systems programming languages such as C or C++...
classes allow building additional parts of user interface. The SocketSpy feature allows developers to watch the raw communication between client and server.
Development
Szymon Stefanek began the development of KVIrc in 1998 and released the first public version in 1999. The software had a strict dependency on the KDE libraries and was available only on the LinuxLinux
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...
operating system. The interest of the free software community has grown quickly, the client was included in several 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...
distributions and additional developers joined the project eventually forming the informal KVIrc Development Team.
Since the KDE libraries were still in an early development stage their interface was changing very frequently and it became hard for the developers to follow them. Moreover, there was strong interest in porting KVIrc to Windows where KDE
KDE
KDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
wasn't available. The strict dependency on KDELibs was then gradually weakened and officially dropped in version 2.0.0.
Partial KDE integration is still available as a compile time option.
KVIrc 3.0.0 was released in 2004 with the support for 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 Windows platforms. A preliminary Mac OS
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
port followed in the same year.
As of March 2011, the latest stable release is 4.0.4 Insomnia.
Distribution
KVIrc is included in major linux distributions: UbuntuUbuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...
,
Debian GNU/Linux
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...
,
Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux
Gentoo Linux is a computer operating system built on top of the Linux kernel and based on the Portage package management system. It is distributed as free and open source software. Unlike a conventional software distribution, the user compiles the source code locally according to their chosen...
,
Arch Linux
Arch Linux
Arch Linux is an independently developed, Linux-based operating system for i686 and x86-64 computers. It is composed predominantly of free and open source software, and supports community involvement....
,
OpenSUSE
OpenSUSE
openSUSE is a general purpose operating system built on top of the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported openSUSE Project and sponsored by SUSE...
and RedHat/Fedora
Fedora Project
The Fedora Project is an endeavor sponsored by Red Hat to co-ordinate the development of the Fedora operating system. Founded on September 2003 as a result of a merger between the Red Hat Linux and old Fedora Linux projects...
. Other linux flavors are supported via community contributed binary packages and build scripts.
KVIrc is also available for 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...
2000 / XP / Vista / 7, 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...
and FreeBSD
FreeBSD
FreeBSD is a free Unix-like operating system descended from AT&T UNIX via BSD UNIX. Although for legal reasons FreeBSD cannot be called “UNIX”, as the direct descendant of BSD UNIX , FreeBSD’s internals and system APIs are UNIX-compliant...
.
External links
- Bug tracker
- List of recent SVN commits
- Online Documentation
- Source tree browser
- Official Russian site
- KVIrc development statistics maintained by the cia.vc project
- Official KVIrc themes site
IRC Channels
- [irc://irc.freenode.net/kvirc #kvirc] channel on the freenode IRC network
- [irc://irc.tin.it/kvirc #kvirc] channel on the IrcNet IRC network
- [irc://irc.azzurra.org/kvirc.net #kvirc.net] channel on the Azzurra IRC network
Reviews and Download Sources
- KVIrc review by LWN.netLWN.netLWN.net is a computing webzine with an emphasis on free software and software for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. It consists of a weekly issue, separate stories which are published most days, and threaded discussion attached to every story. Most news published daily are short...
- Review on Tom's Hardware
- KVIrc article on linuxlinks.com
- KVIrc article on lxer.com
- KVIrc entry in the Free Software FoundationFree Software FoundationThe Free Software Foundation is a non-profit corporation founded by Richard Stallman on 4 October 1985 to support the free software movement, a copyleft-based movement which aims to promote the universal freedom to create, distribute and modify computer software...
directory - KVIrc entry on Freshmeat.net
- KVIrc entry on kde-apps.org
- KVIrc entry on SoftpediaSoftpediaSoftpedia is an Internet web site that indexes information and provides software downloads. The site also covers major technology, science, health, and entertainment news from both external and in-house sources and provides software and game reviews. , it is one of the top 500 websites according to...
Derivative software
- Portable KVIrc, a version of KVIrc suitable for portable storage devices