📡 ft_irc

This project is about creating your own IRC server using C++ 98. You will use an actual IRC client to connect to your server and test its functionality.

✏ About

ft_irc is a project that involves developing an IRC server that allows multiple clients to connect, authenticate, and communicate through private and public channels. The implementation follows the IRC protocol using TCP/IP communication.

⚙ Requirements

• The server must use non-blocking I/O (poll or equivalent).
• No forking is allowed.
• The following system functions are authorized:
  • socket, close, setsockopt, bind, connect, listen, accept
  • htons, htonl, ntohs, ntohl, inet_addr, inet_ntoa
  • send, recv
  • signal, sigaction
  • poll (or equivalent like select(), kqueue(), epoll())
  • lseek, fstat, fcntl
• External libraries and Boost libraries are forbidden.

📝 Instructions

• The server must be started as: ./ircserv <port> <password>
• <port>: The port number the server listens on.
• <password>: The required password for client authentication.

1. SSH:

    git clone https://github.com/kellyhayd/ft_irc.git ircserv
    cd ircserv
    make
    ./ircserv <port> <password>

2. Valgrind output saved in valgrind_out.txt after:

   ulimit -n 1024 # necessary once only, to address 'file descriptor too high' error
   make valgrind

✅ Features

• The server should:

  • Support multiple clients simultaneously.
  • Handle non-blocking I/O operations using a single poll() (or equivalent).
  • Maintain proper communication between the server and connected clients via TCP/IP.
  • Work seamlessly with a real IRC client.

• The following core IRC functionalities must be implemented:

  • Authentication, setting a nickname and username.
  • Joining and communicating in channels.
  • Sending and receiving private messages.
  • Message broadcasting to all channel members.
  • User roles: Operators and regular users.

• Implementing operator-specific commands:

  • KICK - Ejects a client from a channel.
  • INVITE - Invites a client to a channel.
  • TOPIC - Changes or views the channel topic.
  • MODE - Modifies channel settings:
    • i - Invite-only mode.
    • t - Restricts TOPIC changes to operators.
    • k - Sets/removes a channel password.
    • o - Grants/removes operator privileges.
    • l - Sets/removes a user limit.

• The server must handle malformed requests and partial data reception.

• Ensure that the server aggregates packets correctly before processing a command.

🏗 Implementation Notes

• The server must handle malformed requests and partial data reception.
• Ensure that the server aggregates packets correctly before processing a command.

🌟 Bonus Part

⭐ Additional Features

• IRC bot that can automate tasks. QuoteBot send a random quote when called by "!quote"

📚 Helpful Resources

1. https://reactive.so/post/42-a-comprehensive-guide-to-ft_irc/ (high-level guide)
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC
3. https://modern.ircdocs.horse/ (official IRC protocol guide)
4. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10654286/why-should-i-use-non-blocking-or-blocking-sockets
5. https://libera.chat/
6. IRC God Blog about the ft_irc by 42 students
7. Medium ft_irc
8. Channels and Command Management
9. TCP Server Creating the basic of a TCP server
10. Network Programming Sockets