* ChatBuilder's Java applet-based implementation of an IRC client
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a server-based instant messaging system and counts as one of the veteran services of the online world. In the context of our interests in developing Web applications, IRC has a lot of potential as a tool for enabling communications between your company and customers, or between your employees.
I just discovered an interesting and cost-effective Java applet-based implementation of an IRC client published by ChatBuilder.com called ChatBuilder IRC1 (see links below).
Installing the applet simply requires copying the Java applet’s .class file plus some additional files to somewhere in your Web server root directory or subdirectories. You then create the applet definition on the Web page that is to deliver the IRC client service. For ChatBuilder RC1, there are a lot of parameters you can specify to control the look and feel of the applet, although the minimal set is simple:
You can specify which IRC server the applet should use as well as which channel (the publisher calls the channels “rooms”) should be the default (the default value of this is given as “#chatbuilder”). You can also specify the default nickname to use (“nickname” is the IRC’s term for user ID, and the default nickname when unspecified is “guest”).
The applet has a large collection of commands that can be interactively specified such as “/license”. Alternatively, the applet can be controlled by JavaScript. For example, so that the user doesn’t have to remember commands we can put some or all of them in a menu (called “settings” below) and then send the selected command to the applet:
This is a very interesting tool, although the interface is a little techie for inexperienced users.
In addition to the paid license, ChatBuilder is also available as a free unlimited version with all the features working. The differences are that one type command – ‘quit message’ – is disabled, the text “unregistrated copy” is displayed under the display screen, and when you make a connection or use the “/license” command this pops up: “Unregistrated copy, please register your copy at http:// www.ChatBuilder.com.”
These nags disappear when you register your copy, which costs $49 and includes all patches and free lifetime support.
For $99 you’ll get a license to use all versions of ChatBuilder within a three-year period, the ability to remove the name “ChatBuilder IRC” from the display, and you can sign the applet with your own security certificates.
