I rebuilt my 28-year-old IRC network from scratch in Go and WebAssembly
In 1998 I opened an IRC network for Turkish chatters called Yudum.NET . It started on HybridIRC, moved to UnrealIRCd, and for more than two decades it ran on the same kind of software almost every Turkish IRC network still runs today: an old C daemon, a pile of Tcl/mIRC-script bots, and a web chat bolted on the side. This year I threw all of that away and wrote the whole thing again. Alone.…
In 1998, the reporter opened an IRC network for Turkish users called Yudum.NET, which initially ran on HybridIRC and later UnrealIRCd. Over two decades, the network remained on an old C daemon and Tcl/mIRC-script bots, with a web chat attached. In 2022, the reporter rebuilt the entire network from scratch, this time using Go and WebAssembly.
The new platform is a single binary that includes an IRC daemon, services, a website, and a webchat, all in one place. The webchat is written in Go and compiled to WebAssembly, eliminating the need for JavaScript. This approach allows for zero-downtime web deploys, batch updates for templates, styles, translations, and WASM settings.
The reporter emphasizes that features alone won't retain users; reliability and zero-downtime are crucial. The network still supports classic IRC connections, allowing old users to continue using their familiar clients.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
