XiRCON FAQ 1.0b1.6

Hello and welcome to the XiRCON FAQ. This document will attempt to answer any questions you might have about this new revolutionary IRC client.
The latest version of this faq will always be at ftp://xircon.webzone.net/tcl/xircfaq.html or http://www.irczone.com/xircfaq.html

1. Client questions.

1-1. Where do I get it?

The main XiRCON web site is at http://xircon.webzone.net. There is another site with lots of useful info at http://www.irczone.com. Simply download the xirc10b1.zip file from there. You may also want to get a script while you are there (see 2-1).

1-2. How do I install it?

Simply unzip the package into a directory of your choice and run xircon.exe.

1-3. How do I remove it?

Simply remove all the files in the directory. The program does add a tree to the registry, under HKEY_CURENT_USER\Software\XiRCON , and you can delete it if you wish.

1-4. What's this zircon thing I keep hearing about

zircon is an IRC client written in tcl/tk for X Windows. XiRCON is an IRC client written in Borland C++ for win32 that supports tcl.

1-5. What's the status of the client? (free/share)

The client is freeware at this time, and this is not expected to change.

2. Client usage questions

2-1. Boy, this client is really bare. What's up with that?

Well, the whole idea of the client is that there is very little built in to it. Without adding a script to it, the client has very little capabilities. Get the scripts from ftp://xircon.webzone.net/tcl/. In the /bits/ directory are a bunch of little TCL bits of code that people have written, either for instructional purposes, or to add functionality.

2-2. Okay, what are some commands I can try?

However, there are some built in commands. /newserver starts a new server window, keeping your old one.

2-3. How do I get those URLs in channel to work?

XiRCON just calls the shell .url shortcut. IE 2.0 or higher, and NS 3.0 or higher both do this. If you can't get it to work, try start | run | http://www.cnn.com. If that works, then it's a bug. If that doesn't work, then the browser is installed improperly, and it's beyond control of XiRCON. If, however, you want to *change* the browser, check Explorer, View, Options, File types, and look for the URL:HyperText Transfer Protocol type. Edit it yourself.

2-4. How do I edit my scripts?

Just use notepad or whatever you want. An integrated editor has been requested for later betas.

2-5. Where do I find out info about my DCCs?

Go to the server window, and choose the button that says DCC. It looks like two green arrows.

2-6. Where can I find out what scripts I have loaded?

The default.tcl contains a /scripts command.

2-7. How can I play sounds?

There is a tcl command called mmplay that does this. Note, it's not an IRC command, so you will have to put this command into a tcl script.

2-8. Hey! I keep getting killed when I use the links page?

Unfortunately, if you do a lot of refreshing of the links page, some IRC operators may take this to be a linklooker client and kill you. So, don't do it.

2-9. Okay, so I got a script. Now what?

Well, just type /load scriptname. The script is then loaded. Depending on the script, nothing may actually happen. There may only be aliases, in which case it will add some commands. If it isn't documented, that's just because the scriptwriter hasn't done it yet. Don't forget, you can /unload scripts all you want. Also, /load will automatically unload and reload a script that has changed.

3. TCL questions

3-1. What is TCL?

TCL stands for Tool Command Language, and is a project being run at Sun Labs. Basically TCL is an embbed language, meaning it can be written into an application, and used to script it.

3-2. Where can I find more information on TCL?

There are several places to go on the web for good TCL info:
  1. http://www.sunlabs.com/research/tcl
  2. http://www.sco.com/Technology/tcl/Tcl.html
There is also a .hlp file containing all the tcl core commands, it is part of the TCL7.6 distribution, and it is at ftp://ftp.sunlabs.com/pub/tcl/win76p2.exe

3-3. Wait, do I need a separate program to compile the TCL?

No. As TCL is embedded, the XiRCON client does all the interpetation itself.

3-4. What about using eggdrop .tcl files? Does that work?

No, it does not. There is a basic tcl core command set that is common to both, however, XiRCON and eggdrop both add their own commands. For example, 'bind' is in eggdrop-TCL, but not XiRCON-TCL.

3-5. How can I find out more information about the TCL commands that XiRCON supports?

Look at the tcl.txt file that comes with the XiRCON package.

4. Closing comments

4-1. Thanks for reading.

Thank you for reading this FAQ. If you have any other questions, or have ideas for other questions you think should be included, please email me at aaronw@pobox.com. Also, please don't hesitate to come to #xircon on efnet.