Making a bot

[MyndFyre]

If it's so irritating to read these threads because it's repetative, then is it not equally as repetative to reply to these threads with the same useless help? It could be a possibility that someone would be too dull to realize that they're as irritating as the one asking the questions, but isn't even more stupid if no one gives a useful answer to end the monotony of infinite repetition of stupid questions and equally as stupid answers?

Most likely the people intelligent enough to use the Search feature would be rebuffed by the neverending plethora of ignorant responses as well. 

[Joe[x86]]

AIM/ICQ (Oscar)
On this website, under the Oscar section, it says that TOC has been released. I don't remember if the TOC logon clients are allowed to use chatrooms, but if they are, you've got this one easy.

If TOC isn't allowed to access chatrooms, there's plenty of documentation out there for the Oscar protocol. This looks promising. I've used this in my small endeavor of the Oscar protocol. Its a little bit confusing, but I'm sure someone here can figure it out if you ask. .

Last but not least, we have a Oscar Protocol Forum, where many of your questions may already be answered, and protocol specific questions should be posted.



Yahoo! Messenger
According to this, Yahoo changed their protocol to block third-party clients. I remember this happening about 6 months ago, though, so I asume a good deal of research has been done since, and you can log on. Even though you can't read C, Gaim has been fixed to use the new protocol, and its open source, so if you want to try to use this, I'm sure someone will be willing to help you.

As for documentation on the new protocol, you might want to read this. A quick glance at the first packet shows protocol version 0x000B, which is 12 when converted to decimal. I don't know what version the current one is, but you could packetlog the first packet using a tool such as Etherea. Remember, though, Ethereal will output the TCP packet header as well, so you'll want to skip to the 0x37th byte (remove rows 0x0000, 0x0010, 0x0020, and the first six characters of row 0x0030). They included the TCP header on that page as well.



Microsoft Network Messenger
For reasons of personal opinion, which some may say are biased *cough*, I'm not going to go in depth on the MSNM protocol, but again, we have a forum devoted to it. MSN was once an open protocol, but has aparently been changed so much since that time that it required reverse-engineering to even work. Skywing[vL] has done some work with the MSN protocol, resulting in his MSNClient (scroll down). Its a BinaryChat plugin, but theres a standalone EXE, as well as the source code (written in C++, I believe).



Feel free to contact me (info to the left) with any questions on programming terminology or how to do something, but I'm afraid I'll be of little help with protocol analysis. Hope I helped.

[LivedKrad]

Blah, I think I remember posting something to that effect earlier in the thread. My lack of links was most likely due to the fact that I wanted to help yet still wanted to keep the subtle undertone that I was slightly annoyed about having to make the post initially.

[Joe[x86]]

I wasn't slightly annoyed. In fact, the only reason I went out of my way for a good 15-minutes link-searching is because I failed (from lack of effort, not understanding, but I failed none-the-less) to write this project, and would like to see it be done in VisualBasic. Writing a combination YIM/MSN/Oscar IM client in VB would bring redemtion to its name as a "newb" language, to some degree. It doesn't change the fact that next to anyone can use it (we use it in entry-level computer science, in fact..), but is it really a bad thing that average users can tell their computer what to do?

Wow, that was a ramble. =p

[LivedKrad]

Next-to-anyone can use it? Aside from mental cases from a person who can't even process cutting a piece of string in half, anyone could use any programming language. The fact that one language is better-suited for a specific purpose or has a more complex syntax or operation spectrum does not mean that someone you consider to be a "next-to-anyone" would not be able to use a more complex language. To make my point simple: why would this "next-to-anyone" not be able to use a language like C++ when it's basically more of the same, with slightly more complexity?

[Joe[x86]]

Because C++ is not an RAD, nor easy to learn. Sure, its the love of your life once you learn it, but you simply can't learn it without devoting an unreasonable (to most people) ammount of time to it. Last year in Language Arts class, we were asked what our greatest dreams were. Someone said "to be a computer programmer". Its not hard, its just unreasonably time consuming, whereas VB is easy to learn and easy to use.

EDIT -
And before someone asks me why I, a mere student, know C++, yet claim it to take an unreasonable amount of time to learn, just remember, I am an unreasonably weird person, and have (next to) no life.

EDIT -
Not to be an insult, but just a question. LivedKrad, do you know C++?

[rabbit]

If you're being taught the language, spending a lot of time on it is not required.

[LivedKrad]

Because C++ is not an RAD, nor easy to learn. Sure, its the love of your life once you learn it, but you simply can't learn it without devoting an unreasonable (to most people) ammount of time to it. Last year in Language Arts class, we were asked what our greatest dreams were. Someone said "to be a computer programmer". Its not hard, its just unreasonably time consuming, whereas VB is easy to learn and easy to use.

EDIT -
And before someone asks me why I, a mere student, know C++, yet claim it to take an unreasonable amount of time to learn, just remember, I am an unreasonably weird person, and have (next to) no life.

EDIT -
Not to be an insult, but just a question. LivedKrad, do you know C++?

Do you know the English language? If you program in C++ as you say, and know the syntax and a lot of functions and routines and keywords and blah blah, what makes you think you know the language? I would assume very few people in this world know a language, and even those people are the ones who were around when it was being developed originally. So to answer your question, no, I do not know C++.

[Networks]

Because C++ is not an RAD, nor easy to learn. Sure, its the love of your life once you learn it, but you simply can't learn it without devoting an unreasonable (to most people) ammount of time to it. Last year in Language Arts class, we were asked what our greatest dreams were. Someone said "to be a computer programmer". Its not hard, its just unreasonably time consuming, whereas VB is easy to learn and easy to use.

EDIT -
And before someone asks me why I, a mere student, know C++, yet claim it to take an unreasonable amount of time to learn, just remember, I am an unreasonably weird person, and have (next to) no life.

EDIT -
Not to be an insult, but just a question. LivedKrad, do you know C++?

Wow you make it seem like knowing C++ is becoming godly. Puh-lease...
Anyhow, any language is tough to learn with little to no past programming experience. Joe I'd say you have little experience so in your case I'd say you'd have trouble compared to those of us who have stuck with a language longer then 3 months. I wouldn't say most people devote an unreasonable amount of time, I'd say we devote the same amount of time anyone passionate about their hobby would. (ie: Skateboarders, Basketball players, etc.)

Also if you're attempting to brag that you spend LOTS of time learning C++, you do it poorly since what you show to the public is very simple and requires very LITTLE time.

My conclusion: Joe you're not 'cool' just because you know a little bit of C++. Stop being an attention whore all the time and posting in topics in which you have 1% knowledge over the subject or the subject of the argument at hand (in this case).

To contribute to the thread...(it's so hard these days with all the attention whores)

I'd suggest 3 golden rules:
- Google
- Reading
- Experimentation

(The G.R.E METHOD (c) 2005-2006)

Often google covers everything from finding open source projects and places where you can read.

[Joe[x86]]

LivedKrad, I realize that most people could learn C++, but I still don't see why you're arguing this with me.

VB is easy.
C++ is a little bit harder.

Obviously, if efficency isn't a matter, your choice is VB.

[LivedKrad]

If you say that you realize that most people have the ability to learn and use C++, then you not only agree with but confirm my argument. Thus, I consider this particular off-topicness to be done with.

[Warrior]

Generally I'd make a decision if I want to sacrifice a little bit of ease for a shitload of power (meaning flexibility, not benchmarking any of the two). It's generally like this: If I want something done fast which doesn't need a lot of thought such as a client to a chat server or a battle.net bot or anything client side for the most part, then I'd use VB.

I'd only use C if I want to do the memory management myself or if I'm on a different platform and of course if I'm OSDeving but once you learn both of them there seems to be little difference between the two (Not talking syntax, but in the way you understand it)

I wouldn't claim to know C fluently as I am still learning new things each day but I know enough and have enough C projects under my belt to help along the way. The way I see it is once you know the basis (Syntax, flow control, memory management, bit manipulation, etc) everything else is either reusing an open source library or doing some googling.

[LivedKrad]

http://www.javaop.com/~joe/JBBE/screenshots/channellist.png

Apparently, you are: "inefficient, easy, and a common schmuck who is considered to be a next-to-anyone"! To quote Maddox, "Congratulations! You're mediocre!"

[Grok]

Chill out on the personal attacks.

[Joe[x86]]

I don't see why you feel the need to play devils advocate in this, which isn't even about languages, but protocols, but oh well.

Yes, I do agree that the majority of the population can learn C++. I've agreed with you from the start. I'm simply saying that the majority doesn't have the time (or want to devote it) to learn C++.

I don't claim to be more than mediocre, as programmers go. As far as the average Visual Basic user goes, that which has just finished Computer Literacy and learned how to multipy a few numbers, I consider myself far beyond that, not to mention those who don't even know the BASIC language.

Now, to take MyndFyre's advice. Take the last laugh if you want, I could really care less, because I agree with you anyhow. This conflict is over, as far as I care.

EDIT -
Grok, I'm not sure if his were ment to be taken personally, but I know mine weren't. Its just devils advocacy taken way too far.