Getting Started Building a Chat Bot / Client

[goodtokno]

I'm a software developer that would like to build a program (preferably a command-line utility) that will allow me to login, see my friends, and chat with them. 

Basically, I'm not always in a position where I can fire up a viewer but would still like to be able to communicate with those logged in.

Can someone point me in the right direction? I'm looking for feedback on which API's to use and the approach I should take (do I need to create a bot or something else)?

Thanks!

[bigmoe Whitfield]

all I can suggest is http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Get_source_and_compile  looking there.