In PyLink, each protocol module is a single file consisting of a protocol class, and a global `Class` attribute that is set equal to it (e.g. `Class = InspIRCdProtocol`). These classes should be based off of either [`classes.Protocol`](https://github.com/GLolol/PyLink/blob/e4fb64aebaf542122c70a8f3a49061386a00b0ca/classes.py#L532), a boilerplate class that only defines a few basic things, or [`ts6_common.TS6BaseProtocol`](https://github.com/GLolol/PyLink/blob/0.5.0-dev/protocols/ts6_common.py), which includes elements of the TS6 protocol that are shared by the InspIRCd, UnrealIRCd, and TS6 protocols. IRC objects load protocol modules by creating an instance of its main class, and sends it commands accordingly.
4) Respond to both pings *and* pongs - the `irc.lastping` attribute **must** be set to the current time whenever a `PONG` is received from the uplink, so PyLink's doesn't [lag out the uplink thinking that it isn't responding to our pings](https://github.com/GLolol/PyLink/blob/e4fb64aebaf542122c70a8f3a49061386a00b0ca/classes.py#L309-L311).
5) Implement a series of camelCase `commandServer/Client` functions - plugins use these for sending outgoing commands. See the `Outbound commands` section below for a list of which ones are needed.
6) Set the threading.Event object `irc.connected` (via `irc.connected.set()`) when the protocol negotiation with the uplink is complete. This is important for plugins like relay which must check that links are ready before spawning clients, and they will fail to work if this is not set.
- **`handle_events`**`(self, line)` - Handles inbound data (lines of text) from the uplink IRC server. Normally, this will pass commands to other command handlers within the protocol module, while dropping commands that are unrecognized (wildcard handling). But, it's really up to you how to structure your modules. You will want to be able to parse command arguments properly into a list: many protocols send RFC1459-style commands that can be parsed using the [`Protocol.parseArgs()`](https://github.com/GLolol/PyLink/blob/e4fb64aebaf542122c70a8f3a49061386a00b0ca/classes.py#L539) function.
- **`pingServer`**`(self, source=None, target=None)` - Sends a PING to a target server. Periodic PINGs are sent to our uplink automatically by the [`Irc()`
internals](https://github.com/GLolol/PyLink/blob/0.4.0-dev/classes.py#L267-L272); plugins shouldn't have to use this.
- **`spawnClient`**`(self, nick, ident='null', host='null', realhost=None, modes=set(), server=None, ip='0.0.0.0', realname=None, ts=None, opertype=None, manipulatable=False)` - Spawns a client on the PyLink server. No nick collision / valid nickname checks are done by protocol modules, as it is up to plugins to make sure they don't introduce anything invalid.
-`realname` defaults to the real name specified in the PyLink config, if not given.
-`ts` defaults to the current time if not given.
-`opertype` (the oper type name, if applicable) defaults to the simple text of `IRC Operator`.
- The `manipulatable` option toggles whether the client spawned should be considered protected. Currently, all this does is prevent commands from plugins like `bots` from modifying these clients, but future client protections (anti-kill flood, etc.) may also depend on this.
- The `server` option optionally takes a SID of any PyLink server, and spawns the client on the one given. It will default to the root PyLink server.
- **`modeClient`**`(self, source, target, modes, ts=None)` - Sends modes from a PyLink client. `modes` takes a set of `([+/-]mode char, mode arg)` tuples.
- **`modeServer`**`(self, source, target, modes, ts=None)` - Sends modes from a PyLink server.
- **`sjoin`**`(self, server, channel, users, ts=None)` - Sends an SJOIN for a group of users to a channel. The sender should always be a Server ID (SID). TS is
- **`spawnServer`**`(self, name, sid=None, uplink=None, desc=None)` - Spawns a server off another PyLink server. `desc` (server description) defaults to the one in the config. `uplink` defaults to the main PyLink server, and `sid` (the server ID) is automatically generated if not given. Sanity checks for server name and SID validity ARE done by the protocol module here.
- **`topicClient`**`(self, source, target, text)` - Sends a topic change from a PyLink client.
- **`topicServer`**`(self, source, target, text)` - Sends a topic change from a PyLink server. This is usually used on burst.
- **`updateClient`**`(self, source, field, text)` - Updates the ident, host, or realname of a PyLink client. `field` should be either "IDENT", "HOST", "GECOS", or
"REALNAME". If changing the field given on the IRCd isn't supported, `NotImplementedError` should be raised.
-`self.casemapping`: set this to `rfc1459` (default) or `ascii` to determine which case mapping the IRCd uses.
-`self.hook_map`: this is a `dict`, which maps non-standard command names sent by the IRCd to those that PyLink plugins use internally.
- Examples exist in the [UnrealIRCd](https://github.com/GLolol/PyLink/blob/0.5-dev/protocols/unreal.py#L22) and [InspIRCd](https://github.com/GLolol/PyLink/blob/0.5-dev/protocols/inspircd.py#L24) modules.
When receiving or sending topics, there is a `topicset` attribute in the IRC channel (IrcChannel) object that should be set **True**. It simply denotes that a topic has been set in the channel at least once.
(Relay uses this so it doesn't overwrite topics with empty ones during burst, when a relay channel initialize before the uplink has sent the topic for it)
### Mode formats
Modes are stored a special format in PyLink, different from raw mode strings in order to make them easier to parse. Mode strings can be turned into mode *lists*, which are used to both represent mode changes in hooks, and when storing them internally.
`utils.parseModes(irc, target, split_modestring)` is used to convert mode strings to mode lists, where `irc` is the IRC object, `target` is the channel or user the mode is being set on, and `split_modestring` is the string of modes to parse, *split at each space* (really a list).
-`utils.parseModes(irc, '#chat', ['+tHIs', '*!*@is.sparta'])` would give:
