ft_irc

42Paris School Project

About the Project

ft_irc is a custom IRC server implementation in C++98, developed as part of the 42Paris curriculum. This project deepened my understanding of network programming, TCP/IP communication, and the IRC protocol. It handles multiple clients simultaneously using non-blocking I/O and implements core IRC features.

Features

• Client Management: Handle multiple clients simultaneously with non-blocking I/O (using epoll/poll).
• Authentication: Clients must authenticate with a password (PASS), set a nickname (NICK), and username (USER).
• Channel Operations:
  • Join channels (JOIN)
  • Send public/private messages (PRIVMSG)
  • Channel modes: invite-only (+i), topic restriction (+t), password-protected (+k), user limits (+l)
• Operator Commands:
  • Kick users from channels (KICK)
  • Invite users to channels (INVITE)
  • Set channel topics (TOPIC)
  • Manage channel modes (MODE)
• Network Protocols: TCP/IPv4 communication with support for partial data aggregation.
• Error Handling: Comprehensive IRC error responses (e.g., ERR_NICKNAMEINUSE, ERR_CHANOPRIVSNEEDED).

Technical Details

• Language: C++98
• System Calls: socket, bind, listen, accept, poll/epoll, fcntl, recv, send
• Standards: Compliant with a subset of the IRC protocol (RFC 1459)

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• C++98-compatible compiler (e.g., g++)
• GNU Make

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/ft_irc.git
   cd ft_irc

2. Compile the project:

   make

Usage

Start the server with a port and password:

./ircserv <port> <password>

Connect using an IRC client (e.g., nc or irssi):

nc -C 127.0.0.1 <port>

Project Structure

.
├── incs/              # Header files
│   ├── Monitorer.hpp  # Client/channel management
│   ├── Queue.hpp      # Event loop with epoll
│   ├── User.hpp       # Client connection logic
│   └── ...          
├── srcs/
│   ├── Monitorer.cpp  # Command parsing/handling
│   ├── Queue.cpp      # I/O multiplexing
│   ├── User.cpp       # Client operations
│   └── responses/     # IRC response templates (e.g., RPL_WELCOME)
├── main.cpp           # Server entry point
└── Makefile           # Build script

Key Components

• Event Loop: Uses epoll to manage non-blocking I/O operations.
• Command Parsing: Extracts and processes IRC commands like JOIN, PRIVMSG.
• Channel Modes: Implements invite-only, password-protected, and operator privileges.
• Error Responses: 40+ predefined IRC error and status codes.

Acknowledgements

Developed as part of the 42Paris curriculum. Special thanks to the 42 network for providing foundational knowledge in systems programming.

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