Hi all,

I had some issues the IRC application in Contiki to work: I had Contiki in
a subdirectory on a (virtual via FloppyEmu) hard disk. Since the web
browser worked fine, I initially didn't think that would be the problem,
but booting straight to a Contiki disk image works fine. I thought I would
throw that out there, in case someone else tries to do the same silly
thing I wanted to do. (Plus I wanted to post a message to see if I have
usenet working well enough from a IIe-accessible shell account.)

By the way, Contiki IRC doesn't seem to have the "msg" command implemented
(necessary for identifying oneself to libera.chat's NickServ). Not that I
expect to be a regular Contiki IRC user, but is that something that's
easily implemented? If so, is it likely doable by someone approaching the
problem with very little cc65 experience, and unfamiliar with Contiki
internals?

-Jeremiah

jstoddard@sdf.org
SDF Public Access UNIX System - http://sdf.org

So, replying to myself:

> By the way, Contiki IRC doesn't seem to have the "msg" command implemented
> (necessary for identifying oneself to libera.chat's NickServ).

I glanced quickly at some information on the IRC protocol, and likewise
took a quick look at the Contiki IRC source code. I think I have enough of
an understanding to speculate that someone inexpert like myself could do
this, and of how to approach the problem.

The PRIVMSG command seems to be used both for private messages and for
messages to channels. It is already implemented in Contiki in the latter
context. I think "/msg" would need to send the same thing to the IRC
server, just with the immediately following word (rather than a channel
name) as the recipient.

I think a new "else if" section in the parse_line function under
if(line[0] == '/'), to handle "msg" can take care of recognizing the
command. I'll have to look a little closer at the data structures and
existing functions: I don't know whether ircc_msg() can be used directly,
or adapted to also handle this type of message, or if it would be better
to add a new function, like ircc_privmsg()... Either way, the line entered
by the user needs to be parsed a little extra to pull out the recipient
before grabbing the rest as the message.

I hope I'm not way off base here.

-Jeremiah

jstoddard@sdf.org
SDF Public Access UNIX System - http://sdf.org

Eureka!

>> By the way, Contiki IRC doesn't seem to have the "msg" command implemented
>> (necessary for identifying oneself to libera.chat's NickServ).
>
> I glanced quickly at some information on the IRC protocol, and likewise took
> a quick look at the Contiki IRC source code. I think I have enough of an
> understanding to speculate that someone inexpert like myself could do this,
> and of how to approach the problem.

Okay, sorry for the three successive posts to the newsgroup, but I added a
"/msg" command to Contiki IRC, and in a one-minute test it seems to work
well enough to allow me to verify my identity with NickServ! I'm reluctant
to put in a pull request, since I suspect my changes aren't in keeping
with the quality of the rest of the code, but it's up at
github.com/jstoddard/contiki -- It mainly involves the new function
ircc_privmessage and a corresponding PT_THREAD procedure, as well as a new
member in the ircc_state struct for the message recipient.

- Jeremiah

jstoddard@sdf.org
SDF Public Access UNIX System - http://sdf.org

On Sat, 4 Feb 2023, Jeremiah Stoddard wrote:

> So, replying to myself:
>
>> By the way, Contiki IRC doesn't seem to have the "msg" command implemented
>> (necessary for identifying oneself to libera.chat's NickServ).
>
> I glanced quickly at some information on the IRC protocol, and likewise took
> a quick look at the Contiki IRC source code. I think I have enough of an
> understanding to speculate that someone inexpert like myself could do this,
> and of how to approach the problem.

I am quite familiar with the IRC protocol and have written a client for
MS-DOS.

> The PRIVMSG command seems to be used both for private messages and for
> messages to channels. It is already implemented in Contiki in the latter
> context. I think "/msg" would need to send the same thing to the IRC server,
> just with the immediately following word (rather than a channel name) as the
> recipient.

/msg NICK MESSAGE -> PRIVMSG NICK :MESSAGE

> I think a new "else if" section in the parse_line function under if(line[0]
> == '/'), to handle "msg" can take care of recognizing the command. I'll have
> to look a little closer at the data structures and existing functions: I
> don't know whether ircc_msg() can be used directly, or adapted to also handle
> this type of message, or if it would be better to add a new function, like
> ircc_privmsg()... Either way, the line entered by the user needs to be parsed
> a little extra to pull out the recipient before grabbing the rest as the
> message.
>
> I hope I'm not way off base here.
>
> -Jeremiah
>
> jstoddard@sdf.org
> SDF Public Access UNIX System - http://sdf.org

I don't know if https://6.buric.co/airc.c.txt would be of any use but it's
a pretty good and relatively simple implementation of the protocol (again,
for MS-DOS, and using a different TCP stack).

-uso.

On Sun, 5 Feb 2023, Steve Nickolas wrote:

> Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2023 12:21:51 -0500
> From: Steve Nickolas <usotsuki@buric.co>
> Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
> Subject: Re: Contiki IRC
>
> On Sat, 4 Feb 2023, Jeremiah Stoddard wrote:
>
>> So, replying to myself:
>>
>>> By the way, Contiki IRC doesn't seem to have the "msg" command implemented
>>> (necessary for identifying oneself to libera.chat's NickServ).
>>
>> I glanced quickly at some information on the IRC protocol, and likewise
>> took a quick look at the Contiki IRC source code. I think I have enough of
>> an understanding to speculate that someone inexpert like myself could do
>> this, and of how to approach the problem.
>
> I am quite familiar with the IRC protocol and have written a client for
> MS-DOS.
>

Thanks for responding. It's good to know that there's an IRC expert of
sorts here!

>> The PRIVMSG command seems to be used both for private messages and for
>> messages to channels. It is already implemented in Contiki in the latter
>> context. I think "/msg" would need to send the same thing to the IRC
>> server, just with the immediately following word (rather than a channel
>> name) as the recipient.
>
> /msg NICK MESSAGE -> PRIVMSG NICK :MESSAGE
>

That's exactly what my little hack to the Contiki IRC code did. Between
your response and the fact that it worked, I'm quite pleased to know I
seem to have been on the right track.

>> I think a new "else if" section in the parse_line function under if(line[0]
>> == '/'), to handle "msg" can take care of recognizing the command. I'll
>> have to look a little closer at the data structures and existing functions:
>> I don't know whether ircc_msg() can be used directly, or adapted to also
>> handle this type of message, or if it would be better to add a new
>> function, like ircc_privmsg()... Either way, the line entered by the user
>> needs to be parsed a little extra to pull out the recipient before grabbing
>> the rest as the message.
>>
>> I hope I'm not way off base here.
>>
>> -Jeremiah
>>
>> jstoddard@sdf.org
>> SDF Public Access UNIX System - http://sdf.org
>
> I don't know if https://6.buric.co/airc.c.txt would be of any use but it's a
> pretty good and relatively simple implementation of the protocol (again, for
> MS-DOS, and using a different TCP stack).
>

Oooh, thanks a million for pointing me to your MS-DOS implementation. I
may be letting my tiny success go to my head, but I'm kind of sort of
considering another project--this time from scratch--to see if it would be
possible to put together an IRC client that works with those "Simple WiFi
Modem" gadgets. Since the modem handles the TCP stuff, basically
presenting a telnet connection to the serial port (Super Serial Card or
equivalent), there might be a little more breathing room to make a client
with a few more features. I dunno; I don't have any experience
programming a Super Serial Card, either.

Anyway, if I end up jumping into the crazy project, another
implementation, even for another system, will probably be useful for
reference.

> -uso.
>

-Jeremiah

jstoddard@sdf.org
SDF Public Access UNIX System - http://sdf.org

Hi Jeremiah,

> I'm kind of sort of
> considering another project--this time from scratch--to see if it would be
> possible to put together an IRC client that works with those "Simple WiFi
> Modem" gadgets.

Great idea! I'm considering the very same thing for the Contiki web
browser.

> I dunno; I don't have any experience
> programming a Super Serial Card, either.

When you hacked the Contiki IRC client, then you already know cc65. It
comes with a driver for the Super Serial Card (that uses interrupts in
contrast to the SSC firmware). For WiFi modems which support the hardware
handshake on their serial port, that driver makes SSC programming super
simple. See https://github.com/cc65/cc65/blob/master/samples/terminal.c

Together with the cc65 CONIO interface for direct/fast screen access in 80
col. mode (as it is i.e. used by the Contiki IRC client), you're pretty
well equipped.

Both interfaces (serial & screen) are btw. also available for the C64 and
the ATARIs. You could pretty easily support all three machines with
(almost) the same source code (just like the Contiki IRC client).
Regards,
Oliver

On Mon, 6 Feb 2023, Oliver Schmidt wrote:

> Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2023 07:37:34 -0000 (UTC)
> From: Oliver Schmidt <ol.sc@web.de>
> Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
> Subject: Re: Contiki IRC
>
> Hi Jeremiah,
>
>> I'm kind of sort of
>> considering another project--this time from scratch--to see if it would be
>> possible to put together an IRC client that works with those "Simple WiFi
>> Modem" gadgets.
>
> Great idea! I'm considering the very same thing for the Contiki web
> browser.

That sounds awesome. BBSes are great, but it would be fantastic if there
were a few other things to do with those WiFi modems, too.

>
>> I dunno; I don't have any experience
>> programming a Super Serial Card, either.
>
> When you hacked the Contiki IRC client, then you already know cc65. It
> comes with a driver for the Super Serial Card (that uses interrupts in
> contrast to the SSC firmware). For WiFi modems which support the hardware
> handshake on their serial port, that driver makes SSC programming super
> simple. See https://github.com/cc65/cc65/blob/master/samples/terminal.c

Oh, cool. I guess I'm diving into cc65, then, rather then just getting my
feet wet.

>
> Together with the cc65 CONIO interface for direct/fast screen access in 80
> col. mode (as it is i.e. used by the Contiki IRC client), you're pretty
> well equipped.
>
> Both interfaces (serial & screen) are btw. also available for the C64 and
> the ATARIs. You could pretty easily support all three machines with
> (almost) the same source code (just like the Contiki IRC client).

Neat! Maybe that will give me an excuse to get the old thrift store C64
working, finally.

>
> Regards,
> Oliver
>

Thanks for the information. If I jump into this project, it will
definitely be useful.

-Jeremiah

jstoddard@sdf.org
SDF Public Access UNIX System - http://sdf.org

On Sun, 5 Feb 2023, Jeremiah Stoddard wrote:

> Thanks for responding. It's good to know that there's an IRC expert of sorts
> here!

I've actually run an IRC network of my own since 2008.

There is a difference between the software Freenode used to use and the
software we use that causes some glitches because I made some assumptions
around our ircd - implications regarding the presence or absence of a
colon. I think it only affects JOIN.

-uso.

Hi,

>Oooh, thanks a million for pointing me to your MS-DOS implementation.
>I may be letting my tiny success go to my head, but I'm kind of sort
>of considering another project--this time from scratch--to see if it
>would be possible to put together an IRC client that works with those
>"Simple WiFi Modem" gadgets. Since the modem handles the TCP stuff,
>basically presenting a telnet connection to the serial port (Super
>Serial Card or equivalent), there might be a little more breathing
>room to make a client with a few more features. I dunno; I don't have
>any experience programming a Super Serial Card, either.

Maybe it could interest you, it's not exactly a "simple wifi modem" as
it has a protocol, but I'm in the process of making a serial/network
proxy for my Apple //c. It allows connecting to arbitrary hosts/ports,
does http(s), ftp(s), sftp, (that can be extended to whatever libCURL
supports), and provides a few helpers (return a match in the
response's body, parse JSON, convert images to HGR and send them.

I'm using it to make a Mastodon client. You can find it at
https://github.com/colinleroy/a2tools/tree/master/src

(surl-server/ runs on a PC or Raspberry, client lib is in lib/surl*,
code using it can be found in stp/, mastodon/, telnet/, and surl/)

HTH!
--
Colin
https://www.colino.net/

Hi Colin,

> Maybe it could interest you, it's not exactly a "simple wifi modem" as
> it has a protocol, but I'm in the process of making a serial/network
> proxy for my Apple //c. It allows connecting to arbitrary hosts/ports,
> does http(s), ftp(s), sftp, (that can be extended to whatever libCURL
> supports), and provides a few helpers (return a match in the
> response's body, parse JSON, convert images to HGR and send them.
>
> I'm using it to make a Mastodon client. You can find it at
> https://github.com/colinleroy/a2tools/tree/master/src

I just saw the video you linked on Facebook. The Mastodon client thing is
pretty neat. I run a Misskey server, so maybe I should try to make a
Misskey client with your proxy stuff. So many project ideas, such limited
time, hahaha.

-Jeremiah

jstoddard@sdf.org
SDF Public Access UNIX System - http://sdf.org

Hi,

>I just saw the video you linked on Facebook. The Mastodon client thing
>is pretty neat. I run a Misskey server, so maybe I should try to make
>a Misskey client with your proxy stuff. So many project ideas, such
>limited time, hahaha.

Yes indeed! We should really get the civilization to the point of
20-hours work-weeks. We'd have much more fun. :-)

--
Colin
https://www.colino.net/