Forgive me, for I have punned.

Index:

What is it?
Details
When will it be finished?
Project rules
Current status

Released components
Beta and Dev components
Project outlook

What is it?

The Infinity project is my attempt at the ultimate web suite. Supporting all modern, classic and custom protocols, such as http, email, ftp, irc and hotline, it will hopefully become a very powerful piece of software.

I started it when I became sick of how Netscape and Eudora and all those work. Fat, crash-prone programs, that are never compatible with each other. So I decided to do something about it. I started the Infinity Project.

So far, the Infinity project is run only by myself, and has no willing contributors, although several people have expressed interest in it. I take what code already exists and update or reverse engineer it to work as I like. If it doesn't already exists, then I simply make it. I had to make my POP3 Socket myself, and I've had to add a heck of a lot to the xSMTP class to create my own SMTP class.

If you look through my code and find something which you created, or which you think you did, please email me, so I can check it and then work out any copyright, credits and whatever. I don't keep any sort of diary of where I get stuff, so if you don't tell me, I'll never know.

Unfortunately I'm no longer working on this, although I'd like to come back to it one day. I'm still quite happy to help anyone else who wants to work on/with it, though, so feel free to take a peek, at least.

Details:

The Infinity project consists of three levels, each one a group of protocols. These levels are:

Common protocols - these are http, ftp, irc, pop3, telnet and news protocols. The original protocols used by most users online.

Recent protocols - ones that are only just now becoming popular, including Hotline, Carracho, ICQ and various offshoots of html (ssl, https etc).

Custom protocols - ones created by either myself or others. These include QuickChat, VST and SimpleTransfer. May eventually include Infinity Messages (email alternative), Infinity Memo's (similar to Messages in a way) and Infinity Notes. Also, Vworld may one day be included too. If it ever gets past the design stage. Note that Project X will never be included in the Infinity Project. And components from the Infinity project probably won't be cannibalised by Project X.

And of course there are other things included, such as Infinity Words, Infinity xBits and other utilities.

When will it be finished?

Never, probably, without me working on it. It's not that far from completion - although it might as well not exist for the amount of time I have for it at the moment. :(

The web part is pretty much finished, outside and in, and QuickChat is now working happily. Email doesn't save to disk yet, but nevertheless, it's fully functional so far as the socket part is concerned.

Project rules:

The project may not go above a 5 meg minimum working install. This will mean it must be able to run all parts of itself and take up less than 5 meg. I expect that once I start adding various bits and pieces the extras section will grow, but the program must work properly and quickly without these extras.

Every part must have the same interface. No variation between how the interface looks and operates is allowed between windows and protocols and so forth.

The Infinity project will not be sold commercially. It may one day be sold to a larger company for large amounts of money ;), or distributed as shareware, but never commercially.

The only exception is if it is ever distributed on cd, in which case only a minimal cost will apply ($10 or so).

Current Status:

Common Protocols	Web (http) - This part of the project is almost finished. Proxy support, renders html reasonably well, and looks nice. But there are still parts that need polishing before it's ready for first release. Actually, the http parts of Inferno are far superior, so if I ever do finish this project, I'll probably use that instead. FTP (ftp) - I've had to completely drop the original ftp component, and start it again. This time, I'm using RB FTP and remodelling it to suite the project, and I'm going to change as absolutely little as possible, so it should work right from the start. This part has also been surpassed by the FTP things in Inferno. Chat (irc) - Not begun yet. Not in this project, at least. Inferno has IRC support. Email (pop3) - The socket part is complete, now all that remains is for more management things, such as the ability to save emails to disk, and to remember things such as window positions and so forth. One thing Inferno isn't ahead in, this is. Telnet (telnet) - This part is finished, although, yep, you guessed it, the Inferno version is better. :) News (nntp) - I haven't started this, because it's the hardest one, and not really used much anymore. I will probably implement it eventually though. And it will never be implemented in Inferno, so no worries there. :) Bloody crap protocol, it is.
Recent Protocols	Hotline (hotline) - I think I might convert HotStuff to this, rather than trying to push ahead with what I have already, which uses MasterHotlineSocket, an obsolete and now private development. ICQ (icq) - ICQ uses UDP connections, which RB cannot do normally, so I'll need to wait for some sort of socket plugin that lets me. There's already one or more out there, but I haven't found one that I can use yet without having to pay for it. However, if I can get a copy of CodeWarrior I believe I am now capable of creating this myself. Carracho (Carracho) - Well, it's idealistic, and little else at the moment. Maybe one day I'll do it.
Custom Protocols	QC (QuickChat) - I've finished this part. Fixed all the bugs too. You can't get user info yet, which is a pity, but everything else is implemented. I've dropped file transfer, as I intend to use VST and SimpleTransfer for this instead. A superior chat client is in development for Inferno. VST (vst) - This is complete already, but I'm not ready to release it until I figure out some of the glitches. It is an incredibly simple way of uploading and downloading files, and took me around 20 minutes to create fully, including it's own server. It's a pretty good protocol, imho, for what it is. Something similar will be supported in Inferno. Memo's (mmo) - this is an experimental idea that will allow you to send small messages to someone, and with a built-in virtual secretary, sort them and handle them as appropriate. It will include styling from day one. Messages (mess) - this is a superior alternative to email. Utilizing a very simple protocol which is both fast and secure, this will allow you to very easily send detailed emails with advanced layouts, images and more. Very similar to the mime format, but more like a professional dtp document, in that text and images are displayed anywhere with no display restrictions at all. Quite simple from a programming point of view, with a complex and very nice visual result. Still vapourware atm, though. Notes (notes) - this protocol is similar to Notepad, except it works over the internet to a note-book type of thing. You write a note, and it is saved on the server, with subjects, headings and whatever. Other people can read notes, eat them (providing they have access) and so on. SimpleTransfer (st) - this is somewhat similar to ftp, but easier and faster, and with multiple simultaneous transfers, similar in some respects to Hotline, and a method of checking to see if a file on a server is exactly what you want to resume download with, among other things. This will be part of Inferno eventually. Links (lnk) - this is a very simple protocol for establishing an online archive of bookmarks. It does nothing else - you connect, browse the bookmarks, followup and/or save the ones you want, and can add your own.