XMPP Chat Client - Project Overview

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Project Objectives
3. Development
   • Features and Limitations
   • Functionalities
4. Implementation
   • User Management
   • Communication
5. Usage
6. Getting Started
7. Dependencies

Introduction

The XMPP Chat Client project aims to develop a client for instant messaging that supports the XMPP (eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol) protocol. This protocol is open-source and designed to enable communication across different instant messaging providers. The project involves implementing essential functionalities of an XMPP client to provide a seamless and decentralized messaging experience.

Project Objectives

• Protocol Implementation: Develop a client that adheres to the XMPP protocol's standards.
• Understanding XMPP: Gain insight into the purpose and working of the XMPP protocol.
• Service Functionality: Understand the core functionalities offered by the XMPP protocol.
• Asynchronous Programming: Grasp the basics of asynchronous programming for network development.

Development

Features and Limitations

The project entails creating an XMPP client that operates based on the XMPP protocol.

User Management

1. Register a New Account: Allow users to register a new account on the server.
2. Login: Enable users to log in to their accounts.
3. Logout: Provide the ability to log out from an account.
4. Account Deletion: Allow users to delete their account from the server.

Communication

1. Display Contacts: Display a list of contacts along with their online status.
2. Add Contact: Allow users to add other users to their contact list.
3. View Contact Details: Show detailed information about a selected contact.
4. One-on-One Communication: Facilitate one-on-one conversations with any user/contact.
5. Group Chat Participation: Enable users to participate in group conversations.
6. Set Presence Message: Allow users to set their presence message.
7. Send/Receive Notifications: Provide the ability to send and receive notifications.
8. File Transfer: Allow users to send and receive files.

The project's user interface is in the form of a Command-Line Interface (CLI).

Implementation

User Management

The UserManager class provides methods to manage user-related actions, including account registration, login, contact management, and presence updates. (All the methods includes a description with javadocs)

Methods

• addPendingNotification(NotificationP notification): Adds a pending notification to the list.
• getPendingNotifications(): Retrieves the list of pending notifications.
• ...

Communication

The ChatManager class handles user communication, including managing chat options and sending files.

Methods

• manageChat(AbstractXMPPConnection connection): Manages user chat options.
• startChatWithContact(ChatManager chatManager, String contact): Initiates a one-on-one chat with a contact.
• ...

Usage

The XMPP Chat Client offers a command-line interface for users to interact with the application. Users can register, log in, manage contacts, participate in one-on-one chats and group conversations, set presence messages, and send/receive files.

Getting Started

1. Clone the repository.
2. Install the necessary dependencies (see Dependencies).
3. Compile and run the main application.
4. Follow the on-screen prompts to interact with the XMPP Chat Client.

Dependencies

The XMPP Chat Client relies on the following libraries:

• Smack: Provides all the methods that I implemented

  <dependency>
    <groupId>org.igniterealtime.smack</groupId>
    <artifactId>smack-tcp</artifactId>
    <version>4.2.0</version>
  </dependency>
  <dependency>
      <groupId>org.igniterealtime.smack</groupId>
      <artifactId>smack-extensions</artifactId>
      <version>4.2.0</version>
  </dependency>
  <dependency>
      <groupId>org.igniterealtime.smack</groupId>
      <artifactId>smack-im</artifactId>
      <version>4.2.0</version>
  </dependency>
  <dependency>
      <groupId>org.igniterealtime.smack</groupId>
      <artifactId>smack-java7</artifactId>
      <version>4.2.0</version>
  </dependency>
  <dependency>
      <groupId>org.igniterealtime.smack</groupId>
      <artifactId>smack-experimental</artifactId>
      <version>4.2.0</version>
  </dependency>

PS. I created this README.md with the assistance of ChatGPT. I provided the necessary information and the desired format to generate the syntax of the file