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 screenshot of XChat 2.8.0 |
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| Developed by | Peter Železný (zed) |
|---|---|
| Latest release | 2.8.6 (Source), 2.8.7 (Windows) / March 20, 2008 |
| OS | Multi-platform |
| Type | IRC client |
| License | Proprietary for Windows version, GNU General Public License for others |
| Website | http://www.xchat.org/ |
XChat, commonly written X-Chat or xchat, is one of the most popular IRC clients for Unix-like systems. An additional version is made for Microsoft Windows with additional features not available elsewhere and a different version number. It is also available for Mac OS X as a Mac OS X native version called X-Chat Aqua, and an X11 version maintained by the Fink project. It has a choice of a tabbed or tree interface, support for multiple servers, and a high level of configurability. Both command line and graphical versions are available, although use of the graphical version far outweighs use of the command line version. The main code is licensed under the GNU General Public License (but the Official Windows version is Shareware) and uses the GTK+ toolkit for its interface.
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Features
XChat is a full-featured IRC client and includes all basic functionalities that are found in most other IRC clients, including CTCP, DCC file transfers and chats, and a plugin system for various languages (including at least C or C++, Perl, Python, Tcl, Ruby[1], Lua[2], CLISP, D, and DMDScript[3]). By writing plugins, one can extend the features and customize the functionality of XChat.
XChat runs on at least the following operating systems: GNU/Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris, AIX, IRIX, Mac OS X, Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP and others. Support for 98/ME was dropped from the official windows build[4], but XChat can still be compiled from source or obtained from an alternate build site.
Shareware controversy
As of August 23, 2004, the official Windows build of XChat has become shareware, and must be purchased for USD $20, AUD $25 or 14.95€ after a 30-day trial period. Previous (freeware) builds for Windows have been removed from the official site. There has been a great deal of discussion about the legality of this move. Since the XChat project has not required copyright assignment, the maintainer of the XChat project does not actually hold copyright to the entirety of the code. While he has offered to remove and rewrite any patches, provided the author of the patches asks him to, there are many who feel that he is still in violation of the GPL, especially since the code for the shareware enforcement is not disclosed.
It is stated that the shareware fee is required due to the excessive amount of time it takes to make it compile under Windows[5].
Unofficial Windows builds of XChat are made available (at no cost) by contributors, who maintain binaries of the latest release, and also compile frequently from CVS.
See also
References
External links
Support
- XChat website
- FAQ
- Forum
- linuxquestions.org wiki, Information beyond the FAQ
- XChat Aqua website
- XChat support channel on freenode
- XChat support channel on efnet
Unofficial versions and builds
Windows builds
Builds that are still being updated:
Third-party plugins
Programming languages
- Tcl Plugin for XChat
- Ruby Plugin for XChat
- Common Lisp Plugin for XChat
- DMDScript (ECMAScript) Plugin for XChat
Derivative software
- lurc, an IRC client based on xchat 1.0
- Conspire, an IRC client based on xchat 2.8-cvs with support for more modern IRC protocol features
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