urk 0.-1.cvs
http://urk.sourceforge.net/


Overview:

urk is an IRC client written purely in python for linux/gnome. It has a powerful
built-in scripting system (also python), which is used to implement much of the
client.


Requirements/User installation:

urk requires the following packages (and should run on any os that can provide 
them):
-python version 2.4 or greater (www.python.org)
-pygtk 2.6 or greater (www.pygtk.org)

Most Linux (or at least GNOME) users should have these things already or be able
to easily install them.

Because urk is pure python, no compilation of urk is required. Just extract the 
source to somewhere and run 'python urk.py'.

Windows versions of the above should theoretically work but may not in practice.
I am hoping someone will come along and actually support urk on windows.


Optional requirements:

urk can also make use of these packages if you have them:
-pygtksourceview, part of gnome-python-extras <=2.12 and gnome-python-desktop 
 >=2.14, for source highlighting and undo in the internal script editor
-python-dbus, for, well, not much (if dbus is available, urk only makes a single
 instance per session, and commands can be executed remotely by calling urk.py)


Getting started:

Make sure you have all the requirements, go to the directory where you have
extracted the source, and type 'python urk.py'.

We don't have any preferences windows yet. You can change your nickname by
typing '/nick nickname' (replacing nickname with the nick you want to use)
or typing a new nick in the nick field on the lower right corner and pressing 
enter.

To connect, type '/server irc.gamesurge.net' (replacing irc.gamesurge.net with 
the server you want to connect to).

If you want to connect to another server (without disconnecting the current
one), use the -m switch as in '/server -m irc.gamesurge.net'.

To join a channel when you're connected to a server, type '/join #channelname',
replacing #channelname with the channel you want to join.

urk currently only supports the bare minimum commands and features you should
need to connect and chat normally. On channels, you can send messages by
typing them (if you want to send a message that starts with a /, use /say to
send your message). You can send actions to channels with /me and send messages
to arbitrary targets with /msg. If urk does not recognize a command, it will
send it to the server. This works to implement most commands you would expect
on an irc client.


Configuration:

Most configuration has to be done manually. If urk is running, you can configure
it using commands. The settings are stored in urk.conf on your profile
directory, which you can locate by typing '/pyeval urk.userpath' in urk.

To set a value in urk, type

/pyexec conf.conf['setting'] = value

To see the current value, type

/pyeval conf.conf['setting']

To unset a value (meaning urk will use the default), type

/pyexec del conf.conf['setting']

Setting:            Description:

'nick'                 The nickname urk should use. The default is to try to get
    it from the os. Put this in quotes when you set it.

'altnicks'             A list of alternative nicknames to use. The default is
    an empty list.

'quitmsg'              The message people see when you quit. The default is to
    advertise urk with your current version; we have to promote it somehow.
    This value needs to be in quotes.

'autoreconnect'        If True, urk will try to reconnect when you're
    disconnected from a network. Defaults to True. Set this to True or False.

'highlight_words'      A list of words, in addition to your nick, that cause a
    highlight event (normally the tab label turns blue and, if it's available,
    the tray icon shows up). For example: ['python', 'whale', 'peanut butter']

'log_dir'              The place where logs are written. The default is a
    directory called "logs" on your profile directory.

'ui-gtk/tab-pos'       The side of the window where the tabs will reside
    2 for top
    0 for left
    1 for right
    3 for bottom (default)

'ui-gtk/show-menubar'  If True, the menubar is shown. The default is True. Set
    this to True or False.

'command_prefix'       The prefix used to signal a command. Defaults to '/'

'font'                 The font used for output. Defaults to "sans 8".

'bg_color'             The background color ("black" or "#000000").

'fg_color'             The foreground color ("white" or "#ffffff").

'timestamp'            A timestamp that will show up before messages. The
    default is no timestamp. A simple timestamp with hours and minutes is
    "[%H:%M] ". See http://docs.python.org/lib/module-time.html#l2h-1955 for
    a key to format this string.

'start-console'        If True, urk will start up with a special console window
    that shows debugging output (normally sent to a terminal) and accepts
    python expressions. Defaults to False.

'status'               If True, urk will be in status window mode. Each network
    will ALWAYS have a status window. When not in status window mode, networks 
    only have a status window when there are no channel windows. Defaults to 
    False.

'open-file-command'    The command used to open files and url's with your 
    preferred application (such as "gnome-open"). This is ignored on Windows, 
    and you should never need to mess with this, ever.


System-wide installation:

Not yet implemented.


About scripting:

urk scripts are python source files that contain definitions of functions with 
certain "magic" names, like onText (for when someone sends a channel or private 
message). See www.python.org for help on writing python code. The format for 
onText is:

def onText(e):
    code

e is an object used to pass on the various information relating to the event
that triggered the function. The name is a convention we use, much like self.

e.source is the nickname of the person who sent the message.

e.target is the nickname or channel that received the message.

e.text is the text of the message.

e.network is an object representing the network where the message was sent.

e.window is a window that seems to be related to the event for some unspecified
reason. It could be the status window, a channel window, a query, anything.

Complete documentation doesn't exist yet. Sorry. Ask us or look at the source. theme.py is good for finding event names.


Bugs/Feedback:

Naturally, feedback of any sort is welcome. Of course we want to know about
bugs. In particular, we'd also like to hear about any features you want or
expect in an irc client that urk doesn't have. While we'd like to limit the
things that go in the default client (a notify list, for example, is something
we'd want to see as an external script, not as part of the default setup, and
something we're not likely to implement soon), there are probably a lot of 
little things that we may have skipped over because we don't use them or have 
become used to urk not having them.

The best way to get in touch with us is by irc, at #urk on irc.gamesurge.net.
Or send a message to the mailing list, urk-discussion@lists.sourceforge.net.