Date: Oct. 30, 2000
Link: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/p2p/2000/10/06/jabber_xml.html?page=1
Source Author or Organization: Peter Saint-André, O'Reilly P2P (Peer To Peer) DevCenter

This is an article about using Jabber, an XML-based Peer To Peer (P2P) instant messaging platform similar to ICQ and America Online's Instant Messaging protocol.

Jabber is currently the only open source instant messaging system built on a foundation of XML. The basic architecture of Jabber is similar to that of e-mail (a network of distributed servers), and from the perspective of the user, Jabber IDs are identical in form to e-mail addresses.

The Jabber server is made of two basic components; the core Jabber libraries, and optional "transports." The core libraries handle communications within the Jabber system, where the messaging occurs in the format of the Jabber's open XML protocol. The transports translate Jabber XML into and out of other protocols, such as AIM or ICQ.

Several Jabber clients are now available (http://jabbercentral.com/). The Jabber server is distributed under the GNU's Not UNIX Public License (GPL).