Multiprotocol instant messaging application
Encyclopedia
A multiprotocol instant messaging application is client
software
composed of an IM
application which may connect to multiple IM networks. The networks supported include: AOL Instant Messenger
, ICQ
, XMPP
(including Google Talk
, Gizmo5
, and other XMPP-based networks), MSN Messenger, QQ, Yahoo! Messenger
, as well as specialized networks such as Novell GroupWise
and Zephyr
. Some provide an IM interface to IRC.
The major ad-supported IM networks have at times moved to block multi-protocol clients through rapid small changes to their protocols. At one stage, the Trillian developers made new releases every few days to restore access, as AOL attempted to discourage use of the third-party clients. As of June 2006, there have been no publicized attempts to block multi-protocol clients for over two years.
XMPP
itself provides an alternative to directly managing each IM account through the multi-protocol client: IM gateways, or transports. Using transports, connections to the closed IM networks are handled by a gateway on the users XMPP server, while XMPP users talk to each other directly. This seems to function well for users running a private XMPP server, but large public XMPP servers sometimes become the subject of IP blocks from the large networks, or are not able to handle the high load. On the other hand, using a XMPP transport brings several advantages, both for the end user and the programmer of the client: less complexity on the client level, possibility to log in with multiple clients (e.g. mobile phone and computer) to the same account, lower chance for security and privacy risks for the end user thanks to the use of only one connection that can be secured to the Internet and thanks to the fact that people will not know your IP, possibility to archive messages on the XMPP server (as easy as normal XMPP messages) to comply with regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
, amongst others.
Many IRC
-only clients are listed at Comparison of Internet Relay Chat clients
Client (computing)
A client is an application or system that accesses a service made available by a server. The server is often on another computer system, in which case the client accesses the service by way of a network....
software
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
composed of an IM
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
application which may connect to multiple IM networks. The networks supported include: AOL Instant Messenger
AOL Instant Messenger
AOL Instant Messenger is an instant messaging and presence computer program which uses the proprietary OSCAR instant messaging protocol and the TOC protocol to allow registered users to communicate in real time. It was released by AOL in May 1997...
, ICQ
ICQ
ICQ is an instant messaging computer program, which was first developed and popularized by the Israeli company Mirabilis, then bought by America Online, and since April 2010 owned by Mail.ru Group. The name ICQ is a homophone for the phrase "I seek you"...
, XMPP
Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol
Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol is an open-standard communications protocol for message-oriented middleware based on XML . The protocol was originally named Jabber, and was developed by the Jabber open-source community in 1999 for near-real-time, extensible instant messaging , presence...
(including Google Talk
Google Talk
Google Talk is a freeware voice over Internet protocol client application offered by Google Inc. The first beta version of the program was released on August 24, 2005...
, Gizmo5
Gizmo5
Gizmo5 was a Voice over Internet Protocol communications network and a proprietary freeware soft phone for that network. On November 12, 2009, Google announced that it had acquired Gizmo5...
, and other XMPP-based networks), MSN Messenger, QQ, Yahoo! Messenger
Yahoo! Messenger
Yahoo! Messenger is an advertisement-supported instant messaging client and associated protocol provided by Yahoo!...
, as well as specialized networks such as Novell GroupWise
Novell GroupWise
GroupWise is a messaging and collaborative software platform from Novell that supports email, calendaring, personal information management, instant messaging, and document management. The platform consists of the client software, which is available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, and the server...
and Zephyr
Zephyr (protocol)
Created at MIT, as part of Project Athena, Zephyr was designed as an instant messaging protocol and application-suite with a heavy Unix background. Using the "do one thing, do it well" philosophy of Unix, it was made up of several separate programs working together to make a complete messaging...
. Some provide an IM interface to IRC.
The major ad-supported IM networks have at times moved to block multi-protocol clients through rapid small changes to their protocols. At one stage, the Trillian developers made new releases every few days to restore access, as AOL attempted to discourage use of the third-party clients. As of June 2006, there have been no publicized attempts to block multi-protocol clients for over two years.
XMPP
Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol
Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol is an open-standard communications protocol for message-oriented middleware based on XML . The protocol was originally named Jabber, and was developed by the Jabber open-source community in 1999 for near-real-time, extensible instant messaging , presence...
itself provides an alternative to directly managing each IM account through the multi-protocol client: IM gateways, or transports. Using transports, connections to the closed IM networks are handled by a gateway on the users XMPP server, while XMPP users talk to each other directly. This seems to function well for users running a private XMPP server, but large public XMPP servers sometimes become the subject of IP blocks from the large networks, or are not able to handle the high load. On the other hand, using a XMPP transport brings several advantages, both for the end user and the programmer of the client: less complexity on the client level, possibility to log in with multiple clients (e.g. mobile phone and computer) to the same account, lower chance for security and privacy risks for the end user thanks to the use of only one connection that can be secured to the Internet and thanks to the fact that people will not know your IP, possibility to archive messages on the XMPP server (as easy as normal XMPP messages) to comply with regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
Sarbanes-Oxley Act
The Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 , also known as the 'Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act' and 'Corporate and Auditing Accountability and Responsibility Act' and commonly called Sarbanes–Oxley, Sarbox or SOX, is a United States federal law enacted on July 30, 2002, which...
, amongst others.
Examples
- AdiumAdiumAdium is a free and open source instant messaging client for Mac OS X that supports multiple IM networks, including Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk, AIM, ICQ, and XMPP. It supports many protocols through the libraries libezv , MGTwitterEngine , and libpurple...
, FireFire (instant messaging client)Fire is the first instant messaging client for Mac OS X , that can access IRC, XMPP, AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo! Messenger, and Bonjour. All services are built on GPL’d libraries, including firetalk, libfaim, libicq2000, libmsn, XMPP, and libyahoo2. Fire supports OS X v10.1 and higher.The latest version...
, iChatIChatiChat is an instant messaging software application developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its Mac OS X operating system. It has audio, video and screen-sharing capabilities as well as text messaging...
, and ProteusProteus (instant messaging client)Proteus is an instant messaging client for Mac OS X that supports multiple protocols through the libpurple library. It is written using OS X's Cocoa API.-History:Proteus was originally developed by Justin Wood, then in 2004 Defaultware took over development...
(for MacMac OS XMac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
) - Miranda IMMiranda IMMiranda IM is an open source multiprotocol instant messaging application, designed for Microsoft Windows. Miranda is free software distributed under GNU General Public License.- Architecture :...
, Trillian and DigsbyDigsbyDigsby is a freeware proprietary multiprotocol instant messaging application developed by dotSyntax, LLC. Digsby is written in Python and uses wxPython as its widget toolkit and WebKit for rendering...
(for WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
) - KopeteKopeteKopete is a multi-protocol, free software instant messaging client. Although it can run in numerous environments, it was designed for and integrates with the KDE desktop environment...
(for LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and other operating systems running KDEKDEKDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
) - EmpathyEmpathy (software)Empathy is an instant messaging client which supports text, voice, video, file transfers, and inter-application communication over various IM protocols....
(for LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and other operating systems running GNOMEGNOMEGNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...
) - PidginPidgin (software)Pidgin is an open-source multi-platform instant messaging client, based on a library named libpurple. Libpurple has support for many commonly used instant messaging protocols, allowing the user to log into various services from one application.The number of Pidgin users was estimated to be over 3...
, QnextQnextQnext is a multi-protocol instant messaging service for Linux, Mac OS, Windows, and mobile devices. Qnext lets people connect to their digital content when they have access to the internet.Qnext desktop client runs on Linux, Macintosh, and Windows....
Single protocol clients
- aMSNAMSNaMSN is a free Windows Live Messenger clone. aMSN attempts to emulate the look and feel of Windows Live Messenger, and supports many of its features...
- MSNP - BitWise IM
- BrosixBrosixBrosix is a secure instant messenger that is designed to help users connect to each other. It uses 256-bits AES encryption in order to encrypt messages, thus ensuring their security...
- emeseneEmeseneemesene is an open source instant messaging client designed for use with Microsoft's .NET Messenger Service. It is a clone of Windows Live Messenger. emesene is the Spanish pronunciation of MSN, former name of Windows Live Messenger...
- MSNP - Gale
- Google TalkGoogle TalkGoogle Talk is a freeware voice over Internet protocol client application offered by Google Inc. The first beta version of the program was released on August 24, 2005...
- GyachiGyachiGyachE Improved program is a fork from Gyach Enhanced Yahoo! client for Linux operating systems intended for bug-fixes and further development that supports the Yahoo! Messenger Protocol...
- Kadu (instant messenger) - GG
- KMess - MSNP
- Mail.ru AgentMail.ru AgentMail.Ru Agent is a free instant messaging program created by Mail.ru, one of the largest Russian web portals. Besides basic IM functionality , M-Agent also provides online gaming, peer-to-peer voice calls, video calls, low-rate VoIP calls, free SMS, automatic mail checking and...
- Mercury Messenger - MSNP
- Microsoft Messenger for MacMicrosoft Messenger for MacMicrosoft Messenger for Mac is the official Mac OS X instant messaging client for use with Microsoft's .NET Messenger Service and is developed by the Macintosh Business Unit, a division of Microsoft. However, the feature list is limited in comparison to that of its counterpart Windows Live Messenger...
- MSNP - MSNP-Sharp - MSNP
- NateOn
- SkypeSkypeSkype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
- Tencent QQTencent QQTencent QQ, generally referred to as QQ, is the most popular free instant messaging computer program in mainland China. As of July 11, 2011, the active QQ users accounts for QQ IM totaled 812.3 million, possibly making it the world's second largest online community. The number of simultaneous...
- TerraIMTerraIMTerraIM is a free, lightweight, cross-platform AOL Instant Messenger client, supporting most standard features of AIM's OSCAR protocol. One notable exception is the lack of Direct Connect support, which TerraIM compensates for with its file sending and download manager. Some features include...
- VZOchatVZOchatVZOchat is a free software for making video calls and instant messaging. Unlike well-known Skype and other VoIP software, VZOchat is not based on P2P technology. Instead, it uses a central server to handle data flows...
- ZephyrZephyr (protocol)Created at MIT, as part of Project Athena, Zephyr was designed as an instant messaging protocol and application-suite with a heavy Unix background. Using the "do one thing, do it well" philosophy of Unix, it was made up of several separate programs working together to make a complete messaging...
Many IRC
Internet Relay Chat
Internet Relay Chat is a protocol for real-time Internet text messaging or synchronous conferencing. It is mainly designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels, but also allows one-to-one communication via private message as well as chat and data transfer, including file...
-only clients are listed at Comparison of Internet Relay Chat clients
Comparison of Internet Relay Chat clients
The following tables compare general and technical information between a number of IRC client programs. Please see the individual products articles for further information.- General :...
XMPP Clients using server-side multi-protocol transports
- CoccinellaCoccinella (Instant Messenger)Coccinella is a free client for the XMPP/Jabber-Instant-Messaging-protocol.The software is written in the Tcl/Tk language, and it runs under BSD, Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris, Windows and all other platforms that support Tcl/Tk. Mats Bengtsson published it in 1999, under the name Whiteboard...
- GajimGajimGajim is an instant messaging client for the XMPP protocol which uses the GTK+ toolkit. The name Gajim is a recursive acronym for Gajim's a jabber instant messenger. Gajim runs on GNU/Linux, BSD and Microsoft Windows. Released under the GNU General Public License, Gajim is free software...
- Global Communications NetworkGlobal Communications NetworkGlobal Communications Network is an instant messaging client for Microsoft Windows. The software and service are provided free of charge, and supported by banner advertisements...
- Google TalkGoogle TalkGoogle Talk is a freeware voice over Internet protocol client application offered by Google Inc. The first beta version of the program was released on August 24, 2005...
- iChatIChatiChat is an instant messaging software application developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its Mac OS X operating system. It has audio, video and screen-sharing capabilities as well as text messaging...
- MCabberMCabberMCabber is a free software client for the instant messaging protocol XMPP with a text user interface based on ncurses. It runs on a range of platforms, including GNU/Linux, BSD, and Mac OS X. As free software it is freely available – including the source code – under the terms of the GNU General...
- PandionPandion (software)Pandion is an XMPP client, developed by Dries Staelens and Sebastiaan Deckers.Pandion is developed as a Rich Desktop Application. This means it uses HTML, CSS and JavaScript to make up its interface and C++ for a backend. The backend embeds a web browser to host the interface and provides access to...
- PsiPsi (instant messaging client)Psi is a GPL instant messaging client for the XMPP protocol which uses the Qt toolkit. It runs on Linux, Windows, Mac OS X and eComStation.Ready-to-install deb and RPM packages are available for many Linux distributions...
- NimbuzzNimbuzz IMNimbuzz IM is a free peer-to-peer mobile and desktop application service that enables people to chat/ call from their mobile phones and desktop applications. Co founded by Evert Jaap Lugt, Nimbuzz IM allows users to add their Gtalk, Facebook, Yahoo, Windows Live, AIM, Twitter, MySpace IM, ICQ and...