MetalServe SVN 250

MetalServe provides a standalone IRC DCC file server.

MetalServe is a standalone DCC file server that can be used to share files on Internet Relay Chat (IRC) networks such as EFNet and Undernet. Unlike the only available similar Unix program, iroffer, which offers "packs" of files, MetalServe offers single files similar to the way the SDFind, SPRJukebox, and OmenServe scripts for mIRC, a Windows IRC client, work.

The motivation for writing this program arose because the masquerading Linux router between my desktop IRC client and the IRC servers in the Internet made sending files even harder than getting files. Additionally, the router was hosting the files to be offered anyway, so why not let the serving application run on the router as well. However the only available application as of the time of this writing (April 2002) was iroffer, which, as mentioned, operates in a different manner than desired.

I took a look at the available IRC clients and their scripting capabilities but in the end "standard" ircII 4.4M, BitchX, Epic etc. didnt look powerful enough, had too many security holes etc. and various other aspects, including speed and independency, gave me reason enough to write a dedicated server application in C. In other words, I preferred the "precision screwdriver" approach.