UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

The task is to create a server client chat that contains a few basic safeguards against floods etc and which is capable of issuing at least one or two commands on the client computer. Working samples of such arrangements abound but freeware/shareware samples are not readily available. A catch in all this is that the server will probably work in a *nix environment but the majority of client users will be on a windows computer.

I have a little bit of programming experience but networking and/or sockets are definitely weak points with me. So, the question is, where to begin? A brief overview of what I'm looking at would be helpful, as wood links to explanatory forum posts I mayn't have found while searching, as well as any reference links, sample snippets or fullblown code, freeware/shareware projects, and finally book titles that delve into these matters might provide a more solid foundation upon which to build.

Thanks for your time and insights.

Google for 'irc' - get the 'source' and 'delve'.

Thank you but many server hosting companies disallow the use of irc. I'm on a dedicated server but have also seen the negative side of irc and have tended to shy away from it. Before seriously considering it, I'd really need a pros and cons fact sheet about it and a big long list of traps to look out for.

I'm currently using parachat until I can get something better. Parachat works fine enough but it's a resource hog, expensive to get much in the way of features, and none of those features will handle the few tasks I require.

For what it's worth, I googled many times over before posting here.

What do you mean by the "negative" side of IRC? The obnoxious people lurking around there or the botnets controlled via IRC? Both shouldn't be a problem if you set up your own private IRC server, that has no connection to any other.

Another possible solution might be Jabber.