Jabber is an open communication protocol designed for instant messaging (IM), presence information, and contact list maintenance. It is based on XML (Extensible Markup Language) and enables the near-real-time exchange of structured data between two or more network entities. One of the original design goals of the early Jabber open-source community was enabling users to connect to multiple instant messaging systems (especially non-XMPP systems) through a single client application. This was done through entities called transports or gateways to other instant messaging protocols like ICQ, AIM, or Yahoo Messenger, but also to protocols such as SMS, IRC, or email.
Jabber is also known as XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol), which is an open standard for instant messaging. There are tens of thousands of Jabber servers on the Internet, most of which are privately run within a company or college campus. The Jabber protocol is XMPP, and any client program that supports XMPP can communicate with any other user with an XMPP client, providing the sender is in the recipients contact list (buddy list). Multi-protocol IM clients support XMPP along with proprietary IM services such as AOL/AIM, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo!; however, an IM account must be opened with each service.
Jabber is also the name of a software application developed by Cisco that delivers instant messaging, voice and video calls, voice messaging, desktop sharing, conferencing, and presence. It allows users to work outside the office while simultaneously unifying their communications with their colleagues. With a computer or a mobile device and an Internet connection, users can instant message, place voice and video calls, share their desktop, and more.
In summary, Jabber is an open communication protocol designed for instant messaging, presence information, and contact list maintenance. It is based on XML and enables the near-real-time exchange of structured data between two or more network entities. Jabber is also the name of a software application developed by Cisco that delivers instant messaging, voice and video calls, voice messaging, desktop sharing, conferencing, and presence.
