Each object contains a unique prefix that identifies the type of object. By tagging UNICODE objects with a special prefix, a client can easily decide whether to use standard ASCII or UNICODE when sending a message to a user or channel. The IRCX client is responsible, when sending a UNICODE string, for prefixing it with a '%' character so that other IRCX clients can interpret it as UNICODE.
Table 2.3. Object identifiers
| Prefix | Definition |
|---|---|
| # | The '#' prefix identifies a RFC1459 global channel. |
| & | The '&' prefix identifies a RFC1459 local channel. |
| %# | The '%#' prefix identifies an extended global channel name (a modified UTF8-encoded UNICODE string). |
| %& | The '%&' prefix identifies an extended local channel name (a modified UTF8-encoded UNICODE string). |
| % | The '%' character followed by a space or comma can identify the last channel that this client specified and is a member of. Its function is to optimize server processing of multiple messages from a client to a channel. |
| A to } | The 'A' through '}' prefix identifies a standard RFC1459 nickname. |
| ' | The ''' prefix identifies an extended IRCX nickname which consists of a modified UTF8-encoded UNICODE string. The ''' character followed by a space or comma is used to represent the local client connection. The characters following ''' can be '0' through '9', '-', and any character above 'A'. |
| ^ | The '^' prefix identifies a nickname which was translated from UTF8 into hex characters so that the nickname can be viewed by non-IRCX clients. The characters following '^' can be any standard RFC1459 nickname characters. |
| 0 | The '0' prefix identifies an internal object identifier (OID). The OID consists of the '0' prefix and eight hexadecimal characters. If not supported by the server, then OID must be returned as '0'. |
| $ | The '$' prefix identifies a server on the network. The '$' character followed by a space or comma may be used to represent the local server the client is connected to. |