IRC is used for chatting but Before we start understanding IRC(internet relay chat), we need to understand how real-time chatting works.
When two users do the chatting, The first user doesn't give directly his message to the Second user. But first, he sends his message to a server, and then the server sends the message to the second user. Now let's talk about Internet relay chat. Here you simply need four basic things to participate in IRC Conversations. (I) A Network (II) A Name (III) A Client (IV) A-Channel. Now let's talk of them one by one.
1. Network
IRC networks are composed of servers such as Freenode IRC Network which is made combining around 27 different servers. When connecting to an IRC network, you should connect to the network and not to a specific server. The network will do the heavy lifting of making sure you are connected to the server appropriate for your location and for current network traffic. Regardless of the server to which you are connected, you will be able to communicate with any other person on the network. Freenode IRC Network is one of the many IRC networks like Mozilla, OFTC, etc.
2. Clients
This is just an application or software that lets you connect to the IRC Networld. There are several applications available in the market like Weechat, Hexchat, etc. So choose the one which suits you.
3. Name
There are three Names that can be used in IRC Network.
NickName:
The nickname supplied with NICK is the name that's used to address you on IRC. The nickname must be unique across the network, so you can't use a nickname that's already in use at the time.
While it is not necessary to register your nick with the IRC network, it's a good idea to do so. since you did not register the nick it is therefore up for grabs, and someone can grab it before you do.
UserName:
The username supplied with USER is simply the user part in your user@host hostmask that appears to others on IRC, showing where your connection originates from (if you've never seen these, then your client may be hiding them). In the early days of IRC it was typical for people to run their IRC client on multi-user machines, and the username corresponded to their local username on that machine.
RealName:
The real name supplied with USER is used to populate the real name field that appears when someone uses the WHOIS command on your nick. Unlike the other two fields, this field can be fairly long and contain most characters (including spaces). Some people do put their real name here, but many do not.
4. Channels
An IRC channel is a discrete chatroom. People outside of the room cannot see what is being said within. Channels are usually topical in nature.
There are different types of channels on IRC, signified by a prefix before the channel name. The two which you will see most often (if not 100% of the time) are '#' and '##'. Channels whose name is prefixed with a single '#' are "official" channels for projects or groups. These are places where work gets done and where you should strive to stay on topic. Then there are channels that start with a double '##'. These channels are "unofficial" and usually are more casual in nature.
5. Process
We simply download a client and then connect to an IRC network through that client. After connecting, we join a channel. Now we can have a normal discussion with others in that chatroom or channel.
6. Important
Now since we have understood the basic terms, let's get a client.
Here we are going to use a client called WeeChat, So install it. If you are using ubuntu, open your terminal and type "Sudo apt-get install WeeChat" and now hit enter. Now if you type "WeeChat -v", You will be able to see its installed version, which means it is now ready to use.
Now if you want to know how to use WeeChat, ClickHere