Re: [Gaim-devel] Using gaim + perl for an IM bot

[Mark D. <ma...@ki...>]

On Fri, 21 Apr 2006 16:42:59 -0400, Jim Spath wrote
> Hi there,
> 
> I wanted to know if it was feasible to write a command-line Perl app
> which uses Gaim to send and receive messages.  I know that
> http://www.meebo.com/ uses Gaim in this manner to handle its
> communications.
> 
> The reason I ask is that I wrote an IM bot in Perl, using Net::OSCAR,
> about an year and half ago which I use daily.  I'm looking to support
> more protocols now and Gaim would an excellent substitution for
> Net::OSCAR.
> 
> I did a brief overview of the Perl docs you guys have, and wasn't quite
> sure if I could do what I needed to, since Perl seems to be limited 
> to plugin status in Gaim.
> 
> I'm happy to dive more in depth with the docs, but it would be nice 
> if you guys could tell me if the idea is feasible or not, and if it 
> is, give me a nudge in the right direction to get started.
> 
> Thank you for your time and effort,
> Jim

If you're restricting yourself to using perl then there is no way to avoid
having the Gaim buddy list window open, etc.  You would basically be running a
normal Gaim instance and running a perl script in the background that IMs people.

If you wrote a C plugin or TCL script you would be in the same boat.

The only way to avoid this is to write a simple/stub console "UI" using C. 
Then you could still run a perl script to do whatever in the background.

There is some info on writing perl scripts at
http://gaim.sourceforge.net/api/perl-howto.html

FYI, if you're writing this because you want to spam people, a word of advice:
 Don't.  Because I will kill you.  I don't mean this figuratively.  I mean
that I will find out where you live, come to your house and kill you.

-Mark