X-Git-Url: http://git.silcnet.org/gitweb/?p=silc.git;a=blobdiff_plain;f=README;h=4ed2fba46b2cbae88c5fb6a5382ed14b85d04192;hp=13e88e5ae66ab5e638a0eef252164a1cdcfbe7db;hb=HEAD;hpb=01f3ed70ac686777ebfb992e062d65f2322d8998 diff --git a/README b/README index 13e88e5a..4ed2fba4 100644 --- a/README +++ b/README @@ -2,12 +2,12 @@ SILC - Secure Internet Live Conferencing ======================================== SILC (Secure Internet Live Conferencing) is a protocol which provides -secure conferencing services in the Internet over insecure channel. -SILC is IRC like softwarre although internally they are very different. -Biggest similarity between SILC and IRC is that they both provide -conferencing services and that SILC has almost same commands as IRC. Other -than that they are nothing alike. Biggest differences are that SILC is -secure what IRC is not in any way. The network model is also entirely +secure conferencing services on the Internet over insecure channel. +SILC is IRC-like software although internally they are very different. +The biggest similarity between SILC and IRC is that they both provide +conferencing services and that SILC has almost the same commands as IRC. +Other than that they are nothing alike. Major differences are that SILC +is secure what IRC is not in any way. The network model is also entirely different compared to IRC. @@ -76,53 +76,34 @@ TODO file for more information.] History ======= -Even though SILC were released in summer 2000 to the public the idea and -the protocol itself is quite old. I got the idea about SILC in its -current form in the year 1996 and first lines of codes were written in -early 1997. This release is now third rewrite of the SILC. The very first -version were written in 1997 and it included SILC client and very very -preliminary SILC server. The server actually weren't usable but the -client looked pretty much the same as it does now. At that time the SILC -also included RSA implementation and 3DES implementation. The random -number generator that exists in this current release is actually based on -the RNG written in 1997. The RNG written in 1997, on the other hand, were -based on the SSH's random number generator. The RNG has been rewritten -twice since the first version. - -I stopped writing the SILC later in 1997 when I got busy at school and in -work. The pause lasted several months. The development resumed in 1998 -when my friend (Juha Räsänen) and I implemented ElGamal algorithm. I -rewrote some other parts as well. However, for the same reasons as -previously the development stopped again. I resumed the development later -in 1998 by doing rewrite of the SILC in C++. This was obviously a mistake -but at that time it seemed like a good idea. Again, in the winter 1999 I -got very busy writing my thesis and was forced to stop the development -again. I also, started a new job in the spring. - -Later, in 1999, I decided that this time I'm going to make it the right -way. C++ was obviously a bad choice so I decided to fall back to plain C -language. I also decided to do complete rewrite and started doing more -thorough planning of what the SILC actually should include. I also -decided that this time it is going to kill me before I stop the -development. I started writing SILC in the weekends and actually -everytime I had some spare time. I also started a new job but I didn't -let that get to my way. The result of this development effort is the -release now in public. - -I've learned a lot by doing the SILC. I guess, when I started it I wasn't -that good of a C programmer. That alone was a reason why SILC hasn't seen -the day of light before now. My programming style has also changed -dramatically during these years. Actually, it has changed couple times -since this last rewrite as well. However, the code style of current SILC -release is quite consistent (actually the coding style SILC has been -written now I've learned in my current job). - -There is probably over 85% of new code in this third rewrite. Rest has -just been copied from the old versions and only minor changes has been -made (like changed function names and overall coding style). I've -preserved the dates of the old files (dating back to 1997) that has -existed in some forms in the old versions. There is a lot of new code but -already I see a lot that needs rewriting. The development continues. +SILC was released in the summer 2000 to the public, but the idea and the +protocol itself is quite old. The SILC was designed by Pekka Riikonen in +the year 1996 and first lines of codes were written in the early 1997. The +SILC has been rewritten three times since its very first version in 1997. +The first version included SILC client, very preliminary SILC server, RSA +implementation and 3DES implementation. The server actually was not usable +but the client looked pretty much the same as the first client released in +the summer 2000. The first version had also random number generator which +were based on the SSH's random number generator. The current RNG is based +on the first RNG but has been rewritten twice since the first version. + +The development of SILC was suspended in 1997 when Pekka got busy at +school and in work. The pause laster several months. The development +resumed in 1998 when Juha Räsänen and Pekka implemented the ElGamal +algorithm. However, for the same reasons as previously the development +stopped again, and was resumed again later in 1998 by doing rewrite of +ther SILC in C++. This was obviously a mistake but at that time it seemed +like a good idea. Again, in the winter 1999 the development suspended when +Pekka got busy writing his thesis and was forced to stop the development. + +Later, in 1999, it was decided that this time SILC will be rewritten from +scratch in the right way. C++ was obviously a bad choice so plain C +language was selected again. The protocol itself faced some rework by +redesigning some core parts of the protocol. The protocol was also fully +documented and the protocol specifications were submitted to the IETF. The +result of this development effort is the release now in public. Since the +release in the summer 2000 several other people have contributed to the +project as well. And, the development continues. Contact @@ -132,7 +113,7 @@ Feedback and comments are welcome. Bug reports should be sent to the development mailing list. Official SILC project web site : http://silcnet.org/ -FTP archive for SILC project : ftp://silc.pspt.fi/pub/silc/ -Development mailing list address : silc-devel@lists.sourceforge.net +FTP archive for SILC project : ftp://ftp.silcnet.org/ +Development mailing list address : silc-devel@lists.silcnet.org +SILC Server : /server silc.silcnet.org - Pekka Riikonen