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Remove legacy feature set — IRC, SMTP, Scheduler, first-start wizard, splash screen, update checker

Historical reference only: stale-v0.72a-experimental-clean and analysis\stale-v0.72a-experimental-clean are retired reference sources, not active branch targets or current baselines. Use them only as provenance or idea-extraction sources; landed status is determined against main. See Historical References.

Summary

A large set of legacy features were removed wholesale in the experimental branch. None of these features are part of the core eMule transfer protocol and all have been effectively dead for years (IRC server infrastructure long gone, SMTP notification flows broken, update checker pointing to dead URLs, scheduler UI redundant with OS task scheduler). Removing them reduces binary size, eliminates dead code paths, and makes the codebase significantly easier to audit.

Current support decision: IRC, the legacy Scheduler, SMTP/email notifications, the first-run connection wizard, and the splash screen are frozen surfaces. They receive no support, no new tests, and no release-gated evidence. The preferred resolution is deletion, not compatibility shims or renewed maintenance. The broader frozen-surface policy is recorded in FROZEN-SURFACES.

MiniMule is no longer part of this frozen/removal bucket: the old IE-hosted MiniMule was deleted, and the current native MiniMule is an eMuleBB-owned surface.

Revalidation — 2026-04-13

Current main still compiles and/or constructs the full legacy feature set listed here:

  • emule.vcxproj still includes IrcMain.cpp, PPgIRC.cpp, PPgScheduler.cpp, Scheduler.cpp, SendMail.cpp, SplashScreen.cpp, TLSthreading.cpp, and Wizard.cpp
  • Emule.cpp:706 still constructs CScheduler
  • EmuleDlg.cpp:674 and 2626 still invoke FirstTimeWizard()
  • EmuleDlg.cpp:397 and 2883 still keep the splash-screen path
  • EmuleDlg.cpp and resources still keep the scheduler UI surface

Important boundary for the clean backlog:

  • WebServer.cpp / WebSocket.cpp / PPgWebServer.cpp are also still live in current main, but the clean backlog currently keeps that surface for FEAT-013, FEAT-014, and REF-028 instead of scheduling it for deletion here
  • legacy WebServer HTML templates are frozen separately from the supported REST listener; do not add template support or template tests while this removal item is pending

Mainline Progress

Current main has started trimming the first-start wizard surface, so this item is no longer purely hypothetical.

On 2026-04-19, commit 3105ee3 (chore: remove Connection options wizard entry) removed the Connection-page entry point into the legacy wizard UI. That is only a partial cleanup slice:

  • Wizard.cpp / Wizard.h still build in emule.vcxproj
  • EmuleDlg.cpp still calls FirstTimeWizard()
  • the broader IRC / SMTP / Scheduler / splash / update-checker surfaces remain live

On 2026-04-19, commit 867d303 (REF-025: remove MiniMule feature) landed the MiniMule-specific cleanup slice:

  • MiniMule.cpp / MiniMule.h and IESecurity.cpp / IESecurity.h were removed
  • the General-options checkbox, tray special-case behavior, and persisted MiniMule preference were removed
  • MiniMule HTML/image resources were removed from emule.rc / emule.vcxproj

On 2026-05-09, commit 11e5966 (REF-037 remove stale MiniMule resource surface) removed the remaining dead MiniMule dialog/resource IDs, translated IDS_ENABLEMINIMULE rows, and the stale missing eMule Light.tmpl project entry as part of the Beta 0.7.3 legacy disposition gate.

Status is therefore In Progress, not Done.

Features to Remove

IRC Client (IrcMain, IrcWnd, IrcSocket, IrcChannelListCtrl/TabCtrl, IrcNickListCtrl, PPgIRC)

The IRC feature was always optional and the IRC server it was designed for (eMule's own channel) is long gone. The implementation adds ~8 files, ~3,000 lines, and 66 string resources. PPgIRC.cpp/h preferences page also removed.

Files to remove: - srchybrid/IrcMain.cpp/h - srchybrid/IrcWnd.cpp/h - srchybrid/IrcSocket.cpp/h - srchybrid/IrcChannelListCtrl.cpp/h - srchybrid/IrcChannelTabCtrl.cpp/h - srchybrid/IrcNickListCtrl.cpp/h - srchybrid/PPgIRC.cpp/h - IRC preferences members from Preferences.cpp/h - IDS_IRC_* resource strings from emule.rc and Resource.h - IRC icon resources (res/IRC.ico, res/IRCClipboard.ico)

SMTP / Email Notifications (SMTPdialog, SendMail)

SMTP notification on download completion. Rarely used, adds an outbound email attack surface. PPgNotify references to SMTP removed.

Files to remove: - srchybrid/SMTPdialog.cpp/h - srchybrid/SendMail.cpp - SMTP preferences members from Preferences.cpp/h

Legacy Scheduler (Scheduler, PPgScheduler)

Upload/download scheduler with time-based rules. Functionality covered by OS task scheduler. Preferences page and resource strings removed.

Files to remove: - srchybrid/Scheduler.cpp/h - srchybrid/PPgScheduler.cpp/h - Scheduler resource strings and icon (res/Scheduler.ico)

Historical MiniMule (MiniMule, IE/HTML host)

IE-embedded mini client window. IE is removed from Win11; broken on modern systems.

Landed on current main: yes, in commit 867d303.

Current product boundary: the native MiniMuleDlg surface is eMuleBB-owned and is not frozen by this item.

Files to remove: - srchybrid/MiniMule.cpp/h - srchybrid/IESecurity.cpp/h - res/MiniMule.htm, res/MiniMuleBack.gif - MiniMule preferences and resource strings

First-Start Wizard (Wizard, PShtWiz1)

The first-start connection wizard. Replaced by sensible defaults (FEAT-016). No longer necessary.

Files to remove: - srchybrid/Wizard.cpp/h - srchybrid/PShtWiz1.cpp - Wizard resource strings and icon (res/Wizard.ico)

Splash Screen (SplashScreen)

Startup splash screen. Modern apps skip splash screens.

Files to remove: - srchybrid/SplashScreen.cpp/h - Splash screen preferences member

Legacy Update Checker

WinINet-based update checker pointing to defunct eMule update infrastructure.

Files to remove: - Update checker code from Emule.cpp / EmuleDlg.cpp - stale version-check counter state removed; active update delay/notification preferences kept and normalized behind accessor-backed state

TLSthreading (TLSthreading)

Thread-local storage helper that was part of the web server stack (now removed). No remaining consumers.

Revalidated current-main note: TLSthreading.cpp/h is still compiled in current main via emule.vcxproj, so the "now removed" state applies only to the experimental branch, not to the live mainline.

Files to remove: - srchybrid/TLSthreading.cpp/h

Dependency Notes

  • IRC removal prerequisite for REF-003: Once IRC is removed, REF-003 (rename IRC strings) becomes Wont-Fix by deletion.
  • SMTP/Scheduler removal prerequisite for BUG-001: Several load-only prefs (from BUG-001) are IRC/SMTP/Scheduler related — after feature removal those prefs are deleted rather than saved.
  • Wizard removal enables cleaner Preferences.cpp: PShtWiz1.cpp and Wizard.cpp both wire into CPreferencesSheet — removing them simplifies dialog initialization.

Experimental Reference Commits

All work was done in stale-v0.72a-experimental-clean: - a639213 — remove IRC implementation and UI wiring - b981984 — remove IRC preferences and resources - fa39611 — remove SMTP notifications and settings UI - a9fdd41 — remove legacy scheduler - 22f3081 — remove legacy update checker code - 917fb40 — remove minimule and IE host path - 83ff501 — remove first-start wizard - c4cef47 — retire archive recovery feature (see BUG-002/BUG-013) - 3e7dc0f — retire thumbnail preview capability in the stale branch; current main keeps PreviewDlg/3DPreviewControl and replaces DirectShow frame grabbing with FFmpeg peer-preview frames

Scope Warning

These are coordinated removals — each feature touches Preferences.cpp, Resource.h, emule.rc, and emule.vcxproj. Plan as a single pass to avoid half-removed state that breaks the build.

Acceptance Criteria

  • [ ] No IRC implementation files in srchybrid/
  • [ ] No IDS_IRC_* resource strings
  • [ ] No SMTP dialog or SendMail references
  • [ ] No Scheduler files
  • [ ] No SplashScreen files
  • [ ] No first-start Wizard files
  • [ ] No update-checker code paths
  • [ ] Build passes cleanly; no dangling references in emule.vcxproj or emule.rc
  • [ ] Removed preferences members cleaned from Preferences.h and load/save paths