From:	 Lisa Mann <lisam@oreilly.com>
To:	 lwn@lwn.net
Subject: Jabber Much More Than an IM System Says O'Reilly Author
Date:	 Wed, 16 Jan 2002 18:21:23 -0800 (PST)

For immediate release
For more information, a review copy, 
cover art, or interview with the author, contact:
Lisa Mann (707) 829-0515 ext 230 or lisam@oreilly.com


Jabber Much More Than an IM System Says O'Reilly Author
"Programming Jabber: Extending XML Messaging"

Sebastopol, CA--"Quite simply, 'Programming Jabber rocks!"  Jeremie
Miller, Founder and Lead Developer of Jabber, says about the new book
by DJ Adams.

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 programmers the
power to build applications that have identity, presence, and that can
take part in conversations.

"This is an era of exploration," says author DJ Adams. "Programmers
today want and need to discover new ways of building applications and
services that are not islands, but are connected to each other and to
their users. People are beginning to realize that Jabber isn't just an
Instant Messaging (IM) system, nor just a system that can connect you
seamlessly to different foreign IM systems. It's more than that; a
framework, an architecture, and a protocol that arms you with the tools
to build all kinds of messaging- based systems. The book is called
'Programming Jabber' because that's really what it's about--using
Jabber to build all kinds of different things."

"Programming Jabber" provides programmers the opportunity to learn and
understand the Jabber technology and protocol from an implementer's
point of view. "I was intrigued by the protocol; my entry point into
the Jabber world was from the bottom up, so to speak," Adams says.
"From day one, I was looking at the XML flowing between client and
server. At the time, my head was full of XML, messaging, and
Internet-wide communication. Jabber seemed to encapsulate all these
things in one neat little box of potential. The more I learned about
Jabber the more mesmerized I became"

According to Adams, one of the attractive features of Jabber is the low
cost of entry. "By this I mean that Jabber's protocol is simple," he
explains.  "If you can read and construct XML, and use TCP sockets, you
can turn Jabber to your advantage. The open source Jabber server is
written in C, and the codebase is fairly small, which means that it's
not an impossible task to get a grip on what's going on from end to
end. Moreover, there are libraries that make Jabber programming easier
in many popular languages: C++, Java, Python, and Perl, to name a few.
I've even seen some Jabber stuff in REBOL!"

"Like chess, which has a small set of rules but countless game
possibilities, the technologies employed in Jabber and the protocol
itself are straightforward," says Adams.  "The possibilities are almost
limitless.  Jabber is an idea whose time has come."


Additional Resources:
"Programming Jabber" is also available on Safari Books Online, see:
http://safari.oreilly.com/

An article by the author is available online at: 
http://www.openp2p.com/pub/a/p2p/2002/01/11/jabber_bots.html

Chapter 5, Jabber Technology Basics, is available free online at: 
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/jabber/chapter/ch05.html

For more information about the book, including Table of Contents, index, 
author bio, and samples, see:
http://oreilly.com/catalog/jabber/

For a cover graphic in jpeg format, go to:
ftp://ftp.ora.com/pub/graphics/book_covers/hi-res/0596002025.jpg

Programming Jabber 
Extending XML Messaging
By DJ Adams
0-596-00202-5, Order Number: 2025
480 pages, $39.95 US $59.95 CA ú28.50 UK
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938
http://www.oreilly.com

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