Jabber: Instant Messaging at Its Best

nstant messaging services are really just turbocharged e-mail systems. While the protocols, clients, and servers are very different, the result is very similar to an on-the-fly exchange of short e-mail messages. Of course, many instant messaging systems have gone far beyond this, integrating with video conferencing software, allowing voice messages, avatar-based chat, and many additional features. Jabber is one of the most quickly growing instant messaging applications. It offers users a wide range of platform support and easy extendibility; its open-source nature makes it a perfect platform for developers who are looking to create a custom solution.

In fact, next to the Linux operating system, Jabber represents the most successful open-source project to hit the big time, and it's only been available for a few months. Overall, the Jabber project has shown the true strengths of the open-source development model. A loose-knit group of programmers came together to create a truly extraordinary product. Jabber offers just the right mix of new features and wide platform support, while also providing an easy upgrade path and simplified communication with users of other systems via its transport server system.

If you're a developer looking to contribute to a good open-source project, or if you are in the market for a new and improved way to handle instant messaging, Jabber is definitely worth a close look. The rest of this story explains why.