MIRC

Infobox_Software
name = mIRC

caption = Screenshot of mIRC 6.31 running on Windows 2000, displaying a channel chat.
developer = mIRC Co. Ltd. (Khaled Mardam-Bey)
latest_release_version = 6.34
latest_release_date = August 8, 2008
operating_system = Microsoft Windows
genre = IRC client
license = Proprietary
website = http://www.mirc.com

mIRC is an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) 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.

mIRC has been downloaded over sixteen million times from CNET's www.download.com service [cite web|url=http://www.download.com/mIRC/3000-2150_4-10001733.html|title=Download.com|accessdate=2008-08-13] . Nielsen//NetRatings also ranked mIRC among the top ten most popular Internet applications in 2003 [cite web|url=http://www.internetnews.com/stats/article.php/3096631|title=InternetNews Traffic Patterns 2003|accessdate=2008-08-13] .

It is unknown if the "m" in mIRC stands for anything — Khaled's personal FAQ explains that "it quite possibly stands for 'moo', or perhaps even MU" [cite web|url=http://www.mirc.com/khaled/faq.html|title=Khaled's Nutshell|accessdate=2007-08-13] .

History

Khaled Mardam-Bey decided to create mIRC because he found the first IRC client for Windows, WinIRC, lacked some basic IRC features. Then he continued developing it due to the challenge and the fact that people appreciated his work. The subsequent popularity allowed him to make a living out of mIRC. It costs $20 to register it after the 30-day evaluation period, though no functions are disabled if mIRC is run for longer than 30 days unregistered; a nag screen merely delays the start of the program.

In 2008, mIRC started offering an option where users can register mIRC for free via TrialPay, a business solution that offers free registration of software if users make purchases at online retailers or sign up for trial periods of other services.

Main features

mIRC has a number of features that set it apart from other IRC clients. One of the more obvious differences is its own advanced scripting language (see below) which is further developed with each version. The scripting language can be used to make minor changes to the program like custom commands (aliases), but can also be used to completely alter the behaviour and appearance of mIRC. Another widely used feature is mIRC's file sharing abilities, via the DCC protocol. It also has a built in file server.

Over the years various other features that have often been suggested by users have been incorporated. This includes support for multiple server connections, SSL, UTF-8 display support and an option to view channels and notify lists in a treebar format rather than the default switchbar. mIRC is still in active development but it is very rarely announced what features will be introduced in the future.

mIRC scripting

mIRC's abilities and behaviours can be altered and extended using the embedded mIRC scripting language.

mIRC scripting is not limited to IRC related events and commands. There is also support for COM objects, calling DLLs, sockets and dialog boxes, amongst other things. This allows the client to be used in a variety of ways beyond chatting, for example as an IRC bot, a media player, a web HTML parser or for other entertainment purposes such as mIRC games. In practice however mIRC will not be used solely for such specific purposes, but rather they are addons for the client, which will otherwise be used for chatting.

Due to the level of access the language has with a user's computer, for example, being able to rename and delete files, a number of abusive scripts have been made. Perhaps one of the more prominent examples of abuse was that executed with the $decode identifier which decodes a given encoded string. Many users who did not understand this were misguided into decoding strings which executed commands on their systems, such messages were disguised as a fake promise of ops in an IRC channel. However, this led to changes being made in version 6.17 so $decode is now disabled by default and various other features which can be considered 'dangerous' are able to be locked.

Criticism

Onno Tijdgat, author of Ircle, criticizes mIRC's color format, arguing that it uses a flawed design and follows no common standard [cite web|url=http://www.ircle.com/colorfaq.shtml|title=Color FAQ|accessdate=2008-08-13] . Khaled Mardam-Bey responded to this criticism, observing that there was no common standard between IRC clients at the time so using any one existing format would "have annoyed those clients that didn't use that particular format". Ultimately this led to him creating a new format designed for ease of use, however he acknowledged that "the design should have been more robust" [cite web|url=http://trout.snt.utwente.nl/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=2&Number=194218&Searchpage=2&Main=36021&Words=Wikipedia&topic=0&Search=true#Post194218|title=mIRC Discussion Forums|accessdate=2008-08-13] .

ee also

*Comparison of IRC clients
*mIRC Scripting Language

References

External links

* [http://www.mirc.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.mirc.com/khaled Official website of mIRC's author]
* [http://www.mircscripts.org/ mircscripts.org]
* [http://www.mircscripts.com/ mircscripts.com]
* [http://www.mircscripts.us/ mircscripts.us]