Instant messaging is more than a great way to keep in touch: It's a full-fledged business tool and there are plenty of reasons that you might be interested in extending your favorite IM service into a custom chat application. But if you choose AIM, you'll need to be armed with some detailed information about its brand new protocol.
by Jeff Heaton
December 7, 2005
OL Instant Messenger (AIM) is well known as one of the top four IM clients used today. Popular with both home users and businesses, AIM allows you to send instant messages (IMs) to other people who have a handle on the AIM network. However, you may not be aware that the protocol underlying AIM, called TOC2, is the gateway through which you can create a lot of customized AIM-based applications. AOL provides an API that anybody can use to connect to TOC2 and AOL's network. In this article I'll give you a brief history of the TOC2 protocol and then show you how to create your own custom chat application using the TOC2 API.
There are many different reasons to integrate instant messaging into an application. Obviously, you can create your own chat client, with whatever features you like. However, the real power lies in creating applications that you can "chat" with, just like you do a human. Want to know the status of your servers? Just fire up your instant messenger and ask your server for some information.
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OL Instant Messenger (AIM) is well known as one of the top four IM clients used today. Popular with both home users and businesses, AIM allows you to send instant messages (IMs) to other people who have a handle on the AIM network. However, you may not be aware that the protocol underlying AIM, called TOC2, is the gateway through which you can create a lot of customized AIM-based applications. AOL provides an API that anybody can use to connect to TOC2 and AOL's network. In this article I'll give you a brief history of the TOC2 protocol and then show you how to create your own custom chat application using the TOC2 API.
