KDE Jabber Library

[Simon Hausmann]

On Sun, Aug 04, 2002 at 08:16:09AM -0700, Neil Stevens wrote:
> On Sunday August 04, 2002 03:40, Simon Hausmann wrote:
> > > So you'd requre that all applications wanting to send messages or
> > > export presences to go through the *app*, rather than making direct
> > > connections? That's a terrible waste, and adds a needless dependency. 
> > > SMTP use doesn't require kmail, why should my app that wants Jabber
> > > have to go through Kopete?
> >
> > Because that's the idea of reusable components. Talking to kopete
> > through a DCOP interface -- after asking the trader of an app
> > implementing the interface and after using klauncher to launch the
> > app and get the app id -- is much better than making every app that
> > wants to send a jabber message to link against a jabber library. Of
> > this isn't a general solution, but IMHO for simple send-and-forget
> > communication like with IM a using dcop seems much easier and
> > lightweight to me than using C++ directly.
> 
> On reusability - Libraries have been the core component of Unix reusability 
> for a lot longer than DCOP has.  You may have noticed that KDE uses 
> libraries extensively, too.  DCOP isn't "more reusable" than a library.

For the user it is. A library can't be scripted (dcop kopete
KIMIface sendMessage icq://12345678 'Hi Bob')

> And you say "much better" - why is it much better?  Aesthetics?  A 
> preference for KDE tech over plain libraries?  And why do you assume that 
> all uses are just "send and forget?"
> 
> No, DCOP isn't a general solution.  Having full access to the library 
> functionality *is*, especially when it won't limit you to some paltry 
> "send and forget."  A full Jabber implementation will let apps access some 
> other functionality - like taking advantage of Jabber's presence system, 
> too.

Ok, I apparently misunderstood the thread a bit, mixing up two
slightly different things: A generic mechanism for sending IM
messages and an implementation of the Jabber protocol. Agreed that a
nice C++ interface to Jabber is something useful to have in any way,
independent from the first point.

Simon