Programming Jabber: Extending XML Messaging (O'Reilly XML) [Paperback]

DJ Adams (Author)

Book Description

Series: Programming | Publication Date: January 1, 2002

Jabber is a set of protocols expressed in XML, and an extensible framework that allows people and applications to exchange all sorts of information, from simple text messages to being used to extend the backbone of an enterprise data system. Jabber gives you the power to build applications that have identity, presence, and that can take part in conversations.

Programming Jabber offers developers a chance to learn and understand the Jabber technology and protocol from an implementer's point of view. Detailed information of each part of the Jabber protocol is introduced, explained, and discussed in the form of mini-projects, or simple and extended examples. Programming Jabber provides this foundation by:

• Showing you how to install and configure the Jabber server
• Providing a detailed overview of the server architecture and configuration options
• Covering the core Jabber technologies such as XML streams and Jabber identifiers
• Referencing all of Jabber's XML namespaces
• Examining the client registration and authentication phases
• Showing how to deploy your own Jabber-based messaging solutions
• Demonstrating how to embed XML-RPC-style call mechanisms into Jabber

Programming Jabber is divided into two parts. The first part serves as an introduction to Jabber; you'll learn about its features, why it's more than an IM system, and how to install and configure a Jabber server of your own. The second part provides detailed information about the Jabber protocol, and a series of practical examples, which can be used to solve everyday problems. The examples, in Perl, Python, and Java, use various Jabber features as a way of illustrating parts of the protocol.

Programming Jabber provides the foundation and framework for developers to hit the ground running, and is the essential book on Jabber.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

DJ Adams is an old SAP hacker who still thinks JCL and S/370 assembler are pretty cool. In recent years he's been successfully combining open source software with R/3 to produce hybrid systems that show off the power of free software. He's the author of O'Reilly's Programming Jabber book, contributes articles to O'ReillyNet's P2P site, and has to own up to being responsible for the Jabber::Connection, Jabber::RPC and Jabber::Component::Proxy modules on CPAN.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1st edition (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596002025
• ISBN-13: 978-0596002022
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,231,355 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DJ delivers an excellent primer into the world of Jabber, February 6, 2002

By 

Julian Missig (Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Programming Jabber: Extending XML Messaging (O'Reilly XML) (Paperback)

As a disclaimer, I have been involved with Jabber for 3 years, am the author of one of the more popular Jabber clients for linux, and am a friend of DJ's.

Jabber finally has its Bible. DJ has written an excellent introduction into the world of Jabber, covering everything a programmer would need to become familiar with the protocol for this Open instant messaging system. He covers everything from the basics of what exactly Jabber is, how to deal with presence, messages, and basic extensions, all the way up to complicated and unfinished extensions such as XML-RPC. Anyone programming Jabber needs this as a reference, and anyone looking to get started in the Jabber world need not look further than this book.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book covers all layers of Jabber very well, March 26, 2002

By 

"cpfeifer" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Programming Jabber: Extending XML Messaging (O'Reilly XML) (Paperback)

When I first picked up this book, I expeted to understand the Jabber protocol in sufficient depth to implement my own IM client. Instead, the approach this book takes is that Jabber isn't just an XML-based protocol strictly for IM, rather it is a general purpose event notification protocol that has some very nice message routing and user management features built into it. While I was reading about the messages that Jabber has defined as part of the protocol, I could easily see other applications/devices generating Jabber messages to notify subscribers (either other systems, or people) of events.

This book covers everything relevant to Jabber technology, from lowest level innerworkings and extensibility examples for developers to configuration and deployment for admins. Most of the book is spent looking directly at the Jabber XML protocol, instead of a specific API implementation. This way, the book covers the technology and doesn't get lost in how one particular API models the protocol.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thorough, With Well Thought Out Examples, July 30, 2002

By 

David Griffiths "David G." (Vancouver, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Programming Jabber: Extending XML Messaging (O'Reilly XML) (Paperback)

I picked up this book after reading a good review on Slashdot.org, and I'm happy to say that I'm not disappointed.

The book covers the installation of the server and the configuration (including a Jabber cluster), and then starts covering the XML protocol that is used to send information between servers and clients.

Several useful real-world examples are given, including a CVS-notification system, keyword assistant, headline viewer, etc. There is even a project to hook Jabber up to a coffee pot using Lego Mindstorm, with the point being to show how flexible Jabber can be. Examples are in PERL, Python and Java.

The book makes it quite clear that there is far more to Jabber than just instant-messaging.