EPIC Enhanced Programmable IRC-II Client

Using embedded Perl: removed

EPIC6 no longer includes the embedded Perl environment. The former perl(), perlcall(), and perlxcall() functions are not registered C built-ins, and there is no configure option that restores that interpreter.

What the former interface provided

The embedded interface evaluated Perl inside the client process. perl() initialized the interpreter and evaluated expressions; perlcall() called a defined Perl subroutine in scalar context, while perlxcall() supported more complex argument exchange. The interpreter exposed EPIC::cmd, EPIC::eval, EPIC::expr, and EPIC::yell so Perl code could execute client commands, evaluate expressions, or report messages.

Those entry points, shared interpreter state, and callbacks are unavailable in EPIC6. Examples that define hooks or aliases calling them do not establish a working Perl bridge. There is no current embedded-Perl return-value, error-handling, signal-handler, or networking contract. A script can define functions with similar names, but that does not restore the removed C implementation.

Running an external Perl program

exec remains available for running a separate program asynchronously. If Perl is installed and available on the executable search path, an interactive example is:

/exec -direct perl -e "print qq(hello from Perl),chr(10)"

This starts an external interpreter and displays its output through exec handling. It does not create an embedded interpreter or give the child access to EPIC::*, local client variables, aliases, or hooks. Exec provides pipes and output callbacks for explicitly exchanging text; consult its documentation for shell versus direct execution and quoting. Script statements can undergo EPIC expansion before the external program sees their arguments.

An external interpreter has its own startup cost and memory use, so no universal performance advantage is implied. If the task needs direct client hooks or variable access, implement that part using EPIC programming and expressions, with an explicit text protocol to the child where needed. The former raw-DCC networking alternative is also unavailable in EPIC6.

Source references