XChat
From IRCHelp
 | |
|---|---|
 A screenshot of Xchat. | |
| Developer(s) | Peter Železný (zed) |
| Stable release |
2.8.8 (Source) 2.8.9 (Windows) |
| Operating system | Unix-Like, Microsoft Windows |
| Type | IRC client |
| License | Proprietary for Windows version, GNU General Public License for others |
| Website | http://xchat.org |
Contents |
About XChat
XChat, commonly written X-Chat or xchat, is an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) client available for Unix-like systems and Microsoft Windows (with additional features). Although there is no native version of XChat for Mac OS X, XChat Aqua is available or it may be used with Fink.
XChat has a choice of a tabbed document interface or tree interface, support for multiple servers and it is highly configurable. Both command line and graphical versions are available. 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.
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 but not limited to C or C++, Perl, Python, Tcl, Ruby, Lua, CLISP, D, and DMDScript. The support for so many languages allows customisation in the functinoality and features of XChat by writing plugins.
History
XChat was first released as Version 0.2.0-1. It first appeared in debian mirrors on the 27th of September 1998 [1]. The current XChat Changelog provided with the latest stable release only shows changes as far back as version 1.4.1, however a larger list of changes from version 0.3.1 to the current stable version may be viewed on this wiki.
License Changes
Since August 23, 2004, the official Windows build of XChat became shareware, and, after a 30-day trial period must be purchased. Previous (freeware) builds for Windows have been removed from the official site.
Controversy
When the Windows only binary was released it raised a lot of discussion as to the legality of the release, there are many who believe it is in violation of the GPL. As the code may be in violation of the GPL, a developer whose code is currently in the XChat source code (such as from patches) may be entitled to legal action.
