XiRCON
{{Short description|Internet Relay Chat (IRC) client}}
{{Infobox software
| name = XiRCON
| screenshot = Xircon.png
| caption = Xircon 1.0B4 running Kano 15b8 w/ conio theme loaded on Windows XP.
| author = Mark Hanson
| developer =
| released = {{Start date|1996}}
| programming language = Borland C++/Object Windows Library, scripted with Tcl{{cite web |title=XiRCON FAQ 1.0b1.6 |url=http://www.irc.org/ftp/pub/pub/irc/clients/msdos/win3/xircon/tcl/xircfaq.html |access-date=26 July 2021|quote=XiRCON is an IRC client written in Borland C++ for win32 that supports tcl.}}
| operating system = Microsoft Windows
| platform = x86
| size =
| discontinued = yes
| language = English
| genre = IRC client
| website =
}}
XiRCON is a discontinued freeware IRC client for Microsoft Windows. After TCP/IP was added to Windows, XiRCON was one of the most popular IRC clients on the platform.{{cite journal |last1=Fagerland |first1=Snorre |editor1-last=Fitzgerald |editor1-first=Nick |title=Murky Waters |journal=Virus Bulletin |date=April 1998 |page=7 |url=https://www.virusbulletin.com/uploads/pdf/magazine/1998/199804.pdf |access-date=26 July 2021 |issn=0956-9979}} The XiRCON client was used for a number of fields, such as library helpdesk,{{cite book |last1=Lankes |first1=David |last2=Collins |first2=John William |last3=Kasowitz |first3=Abby S |title=Digital reference service in the new millennium : planning, management, and evaluation |date=2000 |publisher=New York : Neal-Schuman Publishers |isbn=978-1-55570-384-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/digitalreference0000unse/page/200/mode/2up?q=xircon}} genealogy,{{cite book |last1=Howells |first1=Cyndi |title=Cyndi's List: A Comprehensive List of 70,000 Genealogy Sites on the Internet |date=2001 |publisher=Genealogical Publishing Com |isbn=978-0-8063-1678-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GySyU_AtM9oC&q=xircon%20 |access-date=26 July 2021 |language=en}} and US Naval command. Author Mark Hanson ceased development in 1997.{{cite web |title=Whatever Happened to XiRCON? |access-date=26 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050305014720/http://www.xircon.com/status.html |quote=Mark Hanson (aka dwoo) the author is no longer maintaining XiRCON. Actually he hasn't released a new version since 1997.|url=http://www.xircon.com/status.html|archive-date=2005-03-05}}
Adoption
Due to its graphical user interface and ease of use, XiRCON is a suggested client in Learn Internet Relay Chat, Volume 1 (Toyer, 1998).{{cite book |last1=Toyer |first1=Kathryn |title=Learn Internet Relay Chat |date=1998 |publisher=Wordware Pub. |isbn=978-1-55622-605-2 |page=86 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7_0nAQAAMAAJ&q=%22xircon%22+freeware |access-date=23 January 2013 |language=en}} The client received a four-star rating "(better than most, very solid)" from IRCReviews.com, which summarized, "An IRC client that appeals to users of all skill levels."{{cite web |title=IRC Clients: Microsoft Windows: XiRCON |url=http://www.ircreviews.org/clients/xircon.html |website=IRC Reviews|access-date=23 January 2013}} With the proliferation of mIRC computer worms, Steal this Computer Book 4.0 recommended switching to competing IRC clients like XiRCON.{{cite book |last1=Wang |first1=Wallace |title=Steal This Computer Book 4.0: What They Won't Tell You About the Internet |date=6 May 2006 |publisher=No Starch Press |isbn=978-1-59327-343-9 |page=72 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4gcvDwAAQBAJ&dq=xircon+irc&pg=PT89 |access-date=26 July 2021 |language=en |quote=To stop most IRC worms, switch from mIRC to Visual IRC (www.visualirc.net), XiRCON (www.visualirc.net [sic]), or X-Chat (www.xchat.org).}}
= U.S. Navy =
XiRCON was approved for military use, and in the US Navy it was more popular than mIRC.{{cite journal
| last1 = Heacox
| first1 = Nancy J.
| last2 = Moore
| first2 = Ronald A.
| last3 = Morrison
| first3 = Jeffrey G.
| last4 = Yturralde
| first4 = Rey F.
| date = 2004-05-13
| title = Real-time Online Communications: 'Chat' Use in Navy Operations
| pages = 6{{spaced ndash}}7
| publisher = SPAWAR Systems Center San Diego
| location = San Diego, California
| url = http://www.dodccrp.org/events/2004_CCRTS/CD/papers/086.pdf
| accessdate = 2009-06-07
}} In an effort to evaluate how real-time communications boost productivity in US Military command, a 2004 paper by Pacific Science & Engineering Group estimated that 28-50% of command groups used XiRCON.
Post-discontinuation
{{More citations needed section|date=July 2021}}
After its discontinuation, XiRCON fielded a steadily growing community based around the Kano script, among others. As mIRC progressed it started to include XiRCON features such as multi-server support and visual themes. XiRCON's remaining userbase began to dwindle as mIRC became more stable and popular scripts comparable to Kano were released. A very small community still keeps the program alive via moderating the official IRC channel, [irc://irc.he.net/#XiRCON #XiRCON] on EFnet.
An attempt was made to clone XiRCON{{cite web|title=XiRCON-II|url=http://wiki.tcl.tk/XiRCON-II|accessdate=2008-02-09}} by David Gravereaux, who was also the author of the Falcon extension{{cite web|title=Falcon extension for XiRCON|url=http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=1616&package_id=2093|accessdate=2008-02-09}} for XiRCON, but has yet to complete it. Gravereaux also wrote a "hack" for XiRCON that allowed it to use any Tcl core v8.1 or higher.{{cite web|title=XiRCON Tcl 8.1+ hack|url=http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=1616&package_id=27045|accessdate=2008-02-09}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.xircon.com |date=* |title=Official website }}
- {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.xircon.com/scripts |date=* |title=Official script archive }}
- [http://www.kano.net/kanotcl/ Kano Website]
- [http://www.flarn.com/~gecko/Xircon/ Gecko's site w. Xircon-related material]
{{IRC clients}}