                 Installation Instructions for BitchX 1.0

BitchX is known to compile on the following systems (maybe others as well):
    * BSDI 2.0, 2.1, 3.1, 4.0
    * FreeBSD 2.x, 3.x, 4.0
    * NetBSD 3.x, 4.x
    * SunOS 4.1.4, 5.x and above
    * Linux (All)
    * IRIX 5, 6
    * HP-UX 9.x, 10.x
    * OSF/1 (DEC Alpha)
    * Ultrix
    * AIX
    * OS/2 (with EMX)
    * Windows 9x/2000/NT (with Cygwin)
    * QNX

Introduction:

	Problems may occur during the compilation process of BitchX. If
you do have a problem, please gather as much information about the error
(*FULL* output of "make") and join #BitchX on EFNet, or e-mail
edwards@bitchx.com. Bug reports can be sent in exactly the same way as
well.

	Several script writers tend to hang in the #BitchX on EFNet to
distribute their work to others. scripts.bitchx.com is a great place where
scripts can be found.

	Some features will only work with certain servers -- IRCUMODE and
/4OP for example. Therefore, servers such as UnderNet, DalNet, and NewNet,
to name a few, will not respond to the user modes given. Scripts can cause
problems as well, usually due to bugs within the script. If there is a
known bug in the client, please contact the appropriate people, panasync
or any of the non-idling ops in #BitchX. If the bug can be reproduced
faithfully, then we have enough to determine how it can be resolved.

Compiling BitchX:

In order to compile BitchX you need to do the following: (Optional steps
are marked with an asterisk, "*")

  1) Enter the BitchX directory tree; this is the most important step.
     Executing configure outside the tree is now possible, for example:

     # mkdir obj-i586-mandrake-linux
     # cd obj-i586-mandrake-linux
     # ../configure --prefix=/usr --with-plugins

  2) Run the GNU configuration script, "configure". It should find
     whatever it needs for the compilation of BitchX, such as system
     includes, ncurses, Tcl, and locations of important files. There are
     options that can be given to "configure". "configure --help" will detail
     all of them. Using at least "configure --with-plugins" is recommended
     if you plan on using one or more of the many plugins that are
     distributed with BitchX. Add "--with-gtk" if you have gtk and gnome-libs
     and would like a graphical client. Add "--with-tcl" if you want Tcl script
     support on i386 systems (Note: most users do not need this). tcl.o for
     other architecures may be available on BitchX FTP sites. The source code
     for tcl.o is not publically available.
      
* 3) "include/config.h" may need tweaking if you intend to change the
     default server list. To change, locate "DEFAULT_SERVER" and remove the
     original default servers and add as many as you please (These will
     be appended to the "/usr/local/lib/bx/ircII.servers" and "~/.ircservers"
     list). Alternatively, you can run "make bxconf" and use the graphical
     configuration utility to change many of BitchX's options.

  4) Execute "make" inside the BitchX directory. If any error messages are
     shown (Error, *not* Warning messages!!!) that you are unable to resolve
     on your own, seek help. "README" has more information on where you can go
     for help.

* 5) Edit "include/defs.h". On some systems, configure may not properly
     determine one or two definitions ("#define foo"). Search for
     offending defines which cause make not to proceed compiling.
     Usually, there should be a "#define" or "#undef" located on the line
     make has shown. A reversal of the definition (change "#define" to
     "#undef", or vice versa). Go on to step 6 once you have completed
     this step. If problems still persist, see "README" for information on
     where you can go for help. Note: DOING THIS STEP IS NOT RECOMMENDED.
     If "configure" fails to properly define something for whatever reason,
     PLEASE REPORT THIS AS A BUG to the current configure script maintainer
     (see "README" for details), rather than trying to edit "include/defs.h"
     by hand. 

* 6) Debugging information may be left into the compiled binary, so a
     "strip source/BitchX" solves the rather large size seen previously.
     However, "make install" (Step 7) should strip the binaries for you.

  7) Execute "make install". This should install the BitchX binary to
     "/usr/local/bin". Commonly, users may not have superuser access, thus a
     refusal ("permission denied" message) will occur. If you still insist on
     using "make install" to install BitchX, it is required that you change
     the installation path defined in step 4 by using
     "configure --prefix=/home/johndoe", for example, or use
     "make install_local" to install the binary to your home directory.
     However, it is recommened that you use the "--prefix=" method if you wish
     to have a full BitchX installation with all of the help files installed.

* 8) It is not a requirement to use function-filled scripts with BitchX,
     because the aim of BitchX is to create a scriptless client, or more
     appropriately, a client less dependant upon scripts. With the development
     of BitchX, scripts will become quickly outdated due to the
     incompatibility caused by new commands, hooks, or hardcoded replacements
     for a function in the script. This is merely a warning.

--
Last updated:
David Walluck
<david@bitchx.org>
May 5, 2000

--
Previous authors:
BarK0de
BlackJac
