This project involves creating an IRC (Internet Relay Chat) server in C++ 98. The server will handle multiple clients, support various IRC commands, and facilitate communication between clients via channels.
- Develop an IRC server in C++ 98.
- The server must handle multiple clients simultaneously without hanging.
- All I/O operations must be non-blocking.
- Use
poll()or equivalent for handling all operations. - Implement specific IRC commands: AUTHENTICATE, NICK, USER, JOIN, PRIVMSG, KICK, INVITE, TOPIC, MODE.
- Ensure robust error handling and testing.
- Use a reference IRC client for testing.
"IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a protocol for real-time text messaging between internet-connected computers created in 1988. It is mainly used for group discussion in chat rooms called “channels” although it supports private messages between two users, data transfer, and various server-side and client-side commands. As of April 2011, the top 100 IRC networks served over 500,000 users at a time on hundreds of thousands of channels." (source)
1. Code the IRC server in C++98
2. Your binary should look like this : ./ircserv <port> <password>
3. You should use poll() and only once.
4. The client/server communication will be TCP/IP (v4 or v6)
5. The following features are mandatory :
i) You should be able to register, i.e to define a nickname, a username
ii) You should be able to join a channel, send or receive private messages
iii) Every message sent by a client in a channel must be received by all of the clients who have joined this channel
iv) You should have normal users and operators, and implement the operators' specific commands 6. No leaks (even still reachables) and handle the signals (partial messages with
CTRL+D, suspended process withCTRL+Z, and obviously SIGINT (CTRL+C)) 7. (bonuses) implement a bot + file transfer.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| Invite | The INVITE command is used to invite a user to a channel. |
| Join | The JOIN command indicates that the client wants to join the given channel(s), each channel using the given key for it. |
| Kick | The KICK command can be used to request the forced removal of a user from a channel. |
| Kill | The KILL command is used to close the connection between a given client and the server they are connected to. KILL is a privileged command and is available only to IRC Operators. |
| Mode | The MODE command is used to set or remove options (or modes) from a given target. Our user modes : i, o. Our channels modes: b,k,m,o,p,s,t,v |
| Nick | The NICK command is used to give the client a nickname or change the previous one. |
| Pass | The PASS command is used to set a ‘connection password’. If set, the password must be set before any attempt to register the connection is made. |
| Privmsg | The PRIVMSG command is used to send private messages between users, as well as to send messages to channels. |
| Quit | The QUIT command is used to terminate a client’s connection to the server. The server acknowledges this by replying with an ERROR message and closing the connection to the client. |
| Topic | The TOPIC command is used to change or view the topic of the given channel. |
| User | The USER command is used at the beginning of a connection to specify the username and realname of a new user. |
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To understand what exactly is an IRC and begin the project : Chirc (An irc subject from a Chicago uni) and the next pages too.
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Regarding the client/server connection : Beej's Guide to network programming. This is super super helpful to better understand what is a socket, what the
poll()function entails, which system calls we should use or in which order, and so on. -
A link to the IRC Client Protocol with a good formatting : Modern IRC Client Protocol. You will find there a description of all the commands with correct syntax, expected Numerical Replies,...